Roadschooling: tips for traveling homeschoolers
reviewed by Jo-ann Caballes
Updated on September 1, 2025
Roadschooling is a beneficial alternative to traditional education with a growing appeal among families in the United States. But how to homeschool on the road without hurting your child’s learning path and chances to attend a good college? As a teacher, I’ve created this guide with 5 easy-to-implement tips for roadschooling that every family with this philosophy can take advantage of.
Key points
- Roadschooling offers a unique alternative to traditional education for traveling families.
- With 1:1, personalized tutoring, Brighterly helps roadschooling parents solidify their children’s academic knowledge with an award-winning curriculum.
- To succeed in homeschooling on the road, be aware of relevant educational laws, choose a good online program, establish a learning schedule, benefit from local resources, and make it an adventure.
What is roadschooling?
Roadschooling offers a way to educate your children while traveling the world. It’s a form of homeschooling, which implies living in a VR or a van and being always on the road. This concept has become an integral part of the digital nomad lifestyle many American families are adopting nowadays.
Roadschooling, or worldschooling, usually combines online roadschooling curriculum with real-life experiences encountered on the road. This synergy brings important advantages to families homeschooling on the road.
Jen Jones, a staff developer, curriculum writer, and decodable book author at Hello Literacy, Inc. and Hello Decodables, highlights the advantages that this learning style brings to children:
“Roadschooling allows kids to learn through experience.”
What roadschooling laws are there?
While there are no national laws governing road schooling in the US, this homeschooling practice is entirely legal in all locations. To provide a legal framework, this practice is regulated by state and county homeschooling laws, referring to the state where a student resides.
Since fulltime families roadschooling frequently change states, it’s important to be aware of the 30-day rule. According to this rule, if you stay in a state different from your residency for more than 30 days, you need to follow their homeschooling regulations.
Best online school for traveling families
The best curriculum for roadschooling is one that integrates structure with flexibility and personalization to address the unique experiences and aspirations of each child following this educational method. It should also allow for adaptable scheduling that works with the traveling patterns of the family.
Some highly recommended homeschool programs for traveling families include Brighterly, Time4Learning, Outschool, Miacademy, and Khan Academy. These free and paid websites offer diverse options that can suit the needs and preferences of nearly any roadschooling family.
Roadschooling with Brighterly school
Brighterly school emerges as one of the top programs for homeschooling for traveling families for the many outstanding benefits it brings. Brighterly offers three distinct programs – math program, reading program, and ELA program – that can be used independently or together to provide high-quality education to students in grades 1-9.
Brighterly roadschooling curriculum: Benefits
- Common Core-aligned curriculum adapted to your child
- Top-ranked tutors to supplement your roadschooling efforts
- Affordable pricing with plenty of free resources
Common Core-aligned curriculum adapted to your child
Unlike many e-learning websites for elementary and middle school, the Brighterly curriculum is fully synced with the Common Core State Standards that govern K-12 education across the US. This means that your child can join a public or private school without any problem, should your family ever decide to settle.
Meanwhile, the math program is STEM-focused to support integrated learning of core subjects. The reading project takes a comprehensive approach to fluency, which works on both reading speed and reading comprehension. The English Language Arts (ELA) program brings together speaking, listening, writing, reading, comprehension, and language strand for an all-inclusive approach to language learning.
💖You can have a look at the video below that provides detailed information about the Brighterly ELA program:
Maybe you’re starting to think that this makes Brighterly too traditional for your roadschooling style? According to Trustpilot reviews, there’s nothing to worry about as Brighterly tutors work with parents to customize the learning path and materials to the requirements of each child. They also use adaptive teaching methods during lessons.
Top-ranked tutors to supplement your roadschooling efforts
1:1, real-time tutoring sessions are delivered by proven professionals with solid experience in their subject and pedagogy training. As part of the top online school for traveling families, Brighterly math and reading tutors are not only knowledgeable but also pleasant to work with. They make lessons interactive and entertaining, which is proven to provide better results than more conventional and boring approaches.
Additionally, tutors are available to arrange sessions at a time convenient for your family, making it a great option for your roadschooling schedule.
Affordable pricing with plenty of free resources
Importantly, all this comes at an affordable price, from only $17.30/lesson for 3 classes/week with a 12-month subscription plan. This is considerably below the average tutoring rates per hour in the US.
For extra value, Brighterly roadschooling offers free educational resources, including worksheets and exams.
The free reading worksheets and math worksheets provide your child with extra practice outside of lessons to develop skills. What is a plus is that they augment theoretical knowledge with real-life examples.
The free math tests and reading tests serve a dual purpose. First, they help assess the current level of your child to assign them the right tutor and prepare the best learning materials. Second, they help keep track of progress over time, along with the regular feedback provided by tutors.
These free learning materials further boost the value that traveling homeschoolers get from Brighterly.
Roadschooling with Time4Learning school
Time4Learning provides a comprehensive PreK-12 grade curriculum for homeschooling, and since most of the work is done online, I consider it a good option for roadschooling lessons. The program is built on prerecorded online video lessons, practice activities, printable worksheets, and quizzes.
Time4Learning covers all core and many elective subjects, including math, language arts, science, social studies, and others. Students and parents can customize the schedule to cover a few different subjects each day or concentrate on a single topic per day.
My research shows that Time4Learning is a popular option among families whose kids don’t attend public schools. Reddit users generally find the curriculum to be satisfactory.
However, a number of parents highlight the need to be strongly involved when using Time4Learning for homeschooling and traveling. As mentioned on Reddit, the writing exercises are particularly insufficient and require extra practice.
Time4Learning provides templates for transcripts, grades, and diplomas that meet the homeschooling requirements in all 50 states. This makes transitioning to a public or private school easier if your family ever decides to do this.
In terms of pricing, Time4Learning costs $29.95/month for PreK-5 grade and $39.95/month for 6-12 grade. This membership provides access to 4 and 7 courses, respectively, and additional courses can be purchased for $5/month.
Roadschooling with Khan Academy school
Another popular option among families homeschooling while traveling the United States is Khan Academy. The Khan Academy review shows that the website includes a rich library of lessons and practice for grades PreK-12 and even college. Subjects cover everything from math and reading to science, social studies, and test prep.
Roadschooling Reddit parents often choose Khan Academy for the diversity that it offers.
One of the most important Khan Academy’s pros is that it is entirely free to use, which makes it a good option for roadschooling families on a tight budget. In terms of cons, students complain on Trustpilot about poor user experiences as you have to redo all questions in a category if you fail a single one.
How to homeschool and travel the world?
- Know the legal requirements
- Invest in a roadschooling online program
- Establish a learning routine
- Make use of local educational resources
- Make it an adventure
Roadschooling tips
#1 Know the legal requirements
While traveling, you, as a paren,t still have a legal obligation to provide your children with adequate education. Each state has different homeschooling regulations, and you need to familiarize yourself with the laws pertinent to your state of residency. Moreover, if you stay in another state for more than 30 days, you need to follow their roadschooling laws. Otherwise, you risk getting into legal trouble.
#2 Invest in a roadschooling online program
The most efficient way to do full time homeschooling while traveling is to enroll your child in a homeschooling program that can be conducted online. Unless you are a professional educator, the child will benefit significantly from access to homeschooling resources prepared by real teachers. Moreover, this will provide a structure to the educational process and ensure that your kid covers US standards so that they can attend college or immerse in the workforce.
Stephanie Marquis Barber, a product manager at Teaching.com, recommends the following in this regard:
“Use educational apps that use proven methods and best practices for high-quality screen time.”
When choosing a program to roadschool, focus on alignment with your family’s teaching philosophy, your child’s academic and world interests, and your budget. Go for resources that offer interactive, synchronous education so that your child can benefit from communication with teachers.
#3 Establish a learning routine
Another important tip for roadschooling is to put together a homeschool schedule and try to follow it as much as possible. While roadschooling comes with many pros, one of the cons is the general lack of structure and discipline compared to attending a public school.
You can fix this issue by working out a daily educational routine together with your children that incorporates school days and weekends throughout the academic year as well as holidays and vacations. Usually, it’s best to set up a few hours for lessons in the morning and leave the afternoon hours open for practicing new skills, whether in front of the screen or in real-life situations.
#4 Make use of local educational resources
One of the main advantages of roadschooling is the endless learning opportunities that you have around at all times. Make sure to visit local libraries and museums, attend shows and exhibitions, go to the theater and the zoo, and sign up for relevant workshops and lectures. Incorporate the world around you into your educational process to make your roadschooled child a real-world citizen.
#5 Make it an adventure
The roadschooling meaning extends beyond simple education. That’s why my last tip for roadschooling is to make your trip as fun and engaging as possible.
Some ways to add adventures in roadschooling are to go hiking or fishing, get to know local communities, explore the local cuisine, and enroll in an outdoor survival skills course. The sky’s the limit. Meanwhile, choose activities that both your child and you enjoy to enhance the benefits of this approach to education.
How to afford roadschooling?
To afford roadschooling for your children during travel, you can:
- Save up before traveling
- Sell or rent your home
- Find a remote job
- Choose an affordable homeschooling program and learning materials
Conclusion: Make the most of roadschooling with Brighterly
Roadschooling can be an excellent way to augment your child’s education with real-life knowledge and world skills. But to optimize results, I recommend incorporating an online program for structure and subject expertise. If you want your child to excel at learning while traveling, Brighterly is your best option.
With Brigherly, you benefit from:
✅ 1:1, individualized tutoring
✅ Highly qualified math and reading tutors
✅ Affordable rates
Book your 1st lesson free to see why Brighterly tutoring is all you need to make your roadschooling experience a success.
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