14 Resources for Schooling on the Go
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Due to our traveling lifestyle, our family spends a ridiculously large amount of time hanging out in our truck on the road. Whether or not your family travels full-time, I’m willing to bet you also find yourself practically living out of your vehicle during certain periods of time.
When this happens, many families put schoolwork on hold until things settle down. However, since this is such a common occurrence for our family, we have found ways to continue our schooling throughout the madness by creating a fun and engaging learning environment in our truck. This means we can “do school” during our travel days, leaving us more time to explore the world around us when we aren’t cooped up in a vehicle.
I have full confidence you can do the same, and accomplishing this could definitely be a game-changer. After all, what could be better than finishing a reading lesson while driving to ballet class or getting in an amazing science discussion en route to soccer practice?
So how do we go about this? Well, for starters, we have basically given up on the idea of paper and pencil in the car. Writing in the car is a frustrating experience for all involved, so we leave the writing practice for less bumpy instances and focus instead on a variety of other learning methods.
So far, our on-the-road resources have included tablet games, podcasts, audiobooks, discussions, and car games. However, we are constantly on the lookout for new ways to bring education into the truck with us.
I have compiled a list of our favorite resources in the hopes that your family will give “car schooling” a try too.
Apps, Podcasts, and Other Resources for Car Schooling
Teach Your Monster to Read — Available as an app or a desktop game, this is one game I 100% recommend for any young student who wants to learn to read. It is engaging and absolutely brilliant.
Brains On! — This fun science podcast is interesting for people of all ages. It has been the basis of a great many discussions in our vehicle and the start of a variety of new interests for our son.
Tumble — Another great children’s science podcast, this one is fun and engaging for kids as young as 3 or 4 years old.
NPR Podcasts — These podcasts tend to be better for the older crowd. There are a variety of different podcasts, meaning you can pick and choose what your child is interested in. These are great launching pads for thought-provoking discussions.
Storynory — This is a fun podcast filled with stories for young children. The stories tend to have a moral involved, and they introduce kids to other cultures—both huge bonuses, in my book.
The “Barefoot World Atlas” App — A gorgeous journey into a variety of foreign countries, the Barefoot World Atlas is stunning, educational, and interactive. This is a beautiful way to help children learn about the world around them.
“Stack the States” App — An amazing way to become familiar with the states and where they are located, Stack the States is a great on-the-go geography lesson.
Scratch and Scratch Jr — There is no arguing the fact that computer programming is becoming a sought-after skill. Why not start your kids off young? The “Scratch” games give you the opportunity to do just that, even if you have no understanding of the subject.
Dragonbox Games — These are some incredible math games that break down numbers in a way kids can really understand. The company has a variety of apps available, so be sure to choose the one that is best for your child.
Audible — We love audiobooks. They are entertaining and the next best thing to reading with a child. Audible gives us the opportunity to listen to audiobooks on our phones or tablet wherever we go.
Apple Music or Spotify — Music is a huge part of our lives. We believe that listening to various types of music is a great way to broaden our son’s horizons. It also sparks conversations about music theory, and, in turn, mathematics. Apple Music and Spotify are great ways for our family to find new things to listen to any time we like.
Netflix — Most households have Netflix available to them. This is amazing because Netflix is a treasure trove full of amazing educational programming. By downloading their app onto your phone, you open up a whole new world of possibilities for learning in the car.
Duolingo — Duolingo is the perfect way to work on foreign language skills on the go. Whether you are working as a family or individually, this app makes it easy to learn a new language in a way that makes sense.
Local Libraries – The local library is one of our favorite resources for school material both on the road and while we are stationary. Books and audiobooks are available for us to use, and sometimes libraries will event have tablets available to borrow.
By putting these resources to use, you can make your car rides more fun and more educational. How can anyone say no to that?
Do you have a favorite learning resource that could be used to enhance the “car schooling” experience?
This post is linked to the Hip Homeschool Hop.
I’d recommend not just putting iOS device links because many of us have Androids or Kindles 🙂 Like for Scratch, it’s have the link go to here: https://www.scratchjr.org/. Thanks!
Yes, great list here! I found a few we didn’t know about, which is always helpful. 🙂 We LOVE Teach Your Monster to Read. So fun. My little one asks all the time to “play” this. Awesome when a learning app turns into the kids fun time.