-by Mimi Rothschild

Are you traveling away from home soon? Homeschooling families have (yet another) advantage over public school families in that they have the flexibility to travel without having to miss school. Still, you will probably have to make some adjustments.

Here are some ways to approach schooling during the holidays:

•    Adjust your routine. Many families find that getting all the basic “book work” done in the morning and leaving the afternoon free for sightseeing and visiting works best. Lessons in the hotel room or guest room, on a regular schedule, can be reassuring for young children and help keep them from getting overexcited. On the other hand, if you’re fitting into the schedules of people you’re visiting, there’s nothing wrong with having lessons in the evenings or at other convenient times. Don’t make your children feel that they’re missing out on the fun. Even if  your routine is completely changed, though, consider keeping something like 15 minutes of reading every evening or something similar, to give a little bit of structure to the kids’ days and make it easier to get back into the swing of things when you return to schooling.

•    Consider how you plan to travel. Some kids can read in the car and some get carsick if they try. Airports can be a fine place to do math lessons, especially if you have your laptop along, but the combined excitement and boredom of air travel can make it hard for kids to concentrate. If you don’t yet know how your particular children will respond to the travel method you’ve chosen, plan to lower your expectations for them while traveling.

•    Take some time off. Sometimes this is truly the best plan. The schoolwork will still be there when you get back to it. Appreciate the opportunities that travel offers to make some unscheduled discoveries, and know that you can make the time up at another time of year if you feel you need to.