How to Skip School and Roadschool
Roadschooling
Alyssa Erickson, KidProject.Org
“Let’s practice our double facts. What is 2+2?” I ask my small gaggle of kids in the back seat. We are on our way to Moab, UT, for five days of exploring sandstone canyons, rock climbing, and arch gazing.
And so, of course, we are doing some “schooling” on the way down. I chuckle to myself as the dashed yellow line disappears into my rearview mirror. This isn’t homeschool. This is roadschool.

While we don’t fit the typical “roadschooling” model because we don’t currently live on Hwy 101 in a remodeled Dodge Sprinter, I will still call us roadschoolers at heart.
Why Roadschool
In the last couple years, I’ve noticed that many families are looking for a different way to do life with their kids. Maybe like us, you have young children and are just figuring out how to camp with an infant, hike with a toddler, and get your five-year-old to turn on her or his skis. You highly value the open road, and your job allows some measure of flexibility in your schedule.
But when you look ahead a few years to friends with elementary age kids, something inside you panics. They pick up, drop off, sit at soccer games, and buy class cupcakes at the grocery store… but they don’t get out on many adventures anymore.
Maybe you live in a rural area and your kids face a one- or two-hour bus ride on each end of their school day, and you are wondering when you’ll ever see them and when they’ll ever get time to just explore and play again.
Maybe you travel a lot and don’t want to be tethered to a schedule set by your local school district.
If this is you, alternatives to traditional school might be a valid option. For the last four years we’ve been homeschooling our children. I don’t even want to call it “homeschool” because honestly, we aren’t home a lot. And while we don’t fit the typical “roadschooling” model because we don’t currently live on Hwy 101 in a remodeled Dodge Sprinter, I will still call us roadschoolers at heart.
We started down this road for a variety of different reasons, but this quote sums up one of them:
“We must go beyond textbooks, go out into the bypaths and untrodden depths of the wilderness and travel and explore and tell the world the glories of our journey.” —John Hope Franklin
The outdoors is built into the way we educate our kids. Often you’ll find us out on a hike, swimming in a lake, or laughing our way up the lifts at Snowbasin Resort or Alta Ski Area, all while other kids sit in school.

Here, we are shown skiing at Snowbasin Resort on a glorious spring day.
We’ve hiked around Silver Lake, learning about the native wildlife and why leaves turn gold in the fall.
We’ve memorized multiplication tables on the way to Big Sur and Yosemite for a week of climbing.

Our family climbing in Yosemite Valley.
Roadschool In Practice
Learning and living and adventuring exists within the same realm for my children. Sure, we spend a good part of our week reading through textbooks and taking quizzes. But our plans are flexible and fluid and open to segues. I want to take them as many places as I can and teach them in different environments and different cultures. I hope to invest in training their character and give them a love for learning.
It is simple to embrace a roadschooling state-of-mind. It starts with a subtle shift in the parent’s thinking to capitalize on the educational moments that are found within their everyday living.
If you hesitate at the idea of schooling your own kids, I get you. Setting aside financial and career obstacles, many parents have also expressed their fear of failure and lack of patience at taking on such an endeavor. I will not lie to you: Many days it is the hardest (yet most rewarding) thing I’ve ever attempted. But I also challenge you: Don’t let your doubts about your abilities prevent you from tackling the challenge and adventure.
Alternatives
Perhaps there are other reasons that homeschooling isn’t for you. It is still possible to break out of the mold and mix life and learning and adventure. Fellow adventure mom, Kristen, shares some awesome tips for embracing travel and the outdoors while having kids enrolled in a traditional school.
How To Skip School
Kristen Lummis, braveskimom.com
My children were only 3 and 1, when I had a discussion I’d never forget.
Chatting with a grandmother, I bemoaned the loss of freedom that would come with school.
“I hate to think that someday they’ll go to school and we won’t be able to travel in fall.”
“That’s crazy!” she replied. “They’re your kids, you can travel with them whenever you want.”
And so, we have.

Sometimes, our kids need a break. And if they tell us they need a break, we give them a break, without the need to fake a fever or cough.
School Days
My kids are enrolled in traditional public school and in many ways we’re slaves to the school calendar.
But ever since my conversation with that grandmother, we’ve let them miss a lot of school. And guess what? They’re still motivated students, who don’t fall behind.
Skipping School Successfully
1. Set Some Ground Rules. We take education seriously, and our sons know that school is their job. When they’re at school, we expect them to work hard and be polite.
But there are also times when they need a break. And if they tell us they need a break, we give them a break, without the need to fake a fever or cough.
As long as their grades reflect their best efforts, they can call for a day off, whether it’s to catch up on rest or ski fresh powder.
2. Plan Ahead. Fall is a great time to travel, but so are winter and spring. Depending upon where you’re going, traveling during the school year let’s you take advantage of better weather, fewer crowds, and lower prices.
If you’re planning a trip during the school year, let the teachers know early. Offer to help however you can, so that the teacher doesn’t feel burdened by having to teach things twice.
This is especially important during grade school, when having to teach things over and over (and over) is the reality in every classroom.
3. Take Advantage Of The Time You’ve Got. Once our sons hit middle and high school, they became less willing to miss school. Teenage life is busy, with class work, sports, and social life.
This doesn’t mean they always pass by the odd day or two off for skiing or travel, but their willingness to miss a full week (or two) is diminished.
And while my growing inability to tempt them into truancy makes me sad, I can’t help but be proud of them for being responsible, and thankful for all the days that we did skip.

Powder days are OK days for the kids to skip school.
Category: Outdoor Kids
Sounds cruel having to read this and know that I can’t take advantage quite like this where I live..the Cayman Islands…..yeah
You are both spot on and your advice is fantastic. We recently started homeschooling (we did public school before) and I can really see how no matter what your situation or school choices that adventure starts first and foremost with the right state of mind and a passion to just get out there. Thanks for sharing!
I actually took my son out of school for a couple days to go skiing last year and he talked about it for months. He’s already talking about it this year. I didn’t feel bad about it at all as he rarely needs to take a sick day and he isn’t behind in his work.
Great work girl!
I love the idea of roadschooling. My sister made me a firm believer in homeschooling, but sadly only after my kids were graduated. Her children are so well-rounded in the outdoors, music, art, science, and fun and were far ahead of kids at their grade level. They know how to get into projects and have something going all the time.
Traditional schools don’t always cooperate with travel plans. While in high school, my son’s school policy said student could not miss 5 days in a row. I wanted to bring him to Mexico and planned how he’d learn some of the language, the money, the history, and asked teachers for homework, etc. The school wouldn’t budge and he flunked every class that quarter because of the absence. Not a good motivator for him and his heart went out of school for the rest of the year. Dumb. So check the school rules before making truancy plans.
That is a great reminder to check our school policies, I can’t believe that happened to your son! Ugh.
And if policies are unfair, go argue with the school board. Others got their kids off. Speak up.
I agree! More and more families are stepping out of the “box” and not only homeschooling their children, but roadschooling them too. Which IMO is a wonderful thing! Great article, I really enjoyed reading it 🙂
Experiential education is when learners actively engage in activities or experiences. Students learn better when they are actively engaged in the learning process. Experiential education is a philosophy of education that describes the process that occurs between a teacher and student that infuses direct experience with the learning environment and content. The term is not interchangeable with experiential learning; however experiential learning is a sub-field and operates under the methodologies of experiential education. Experimental career education thus plays crucial role in students life. Mr Chris Salamone formerly served as a faculty member at Loyola University Chicago School of Law and the National Institute of Trial Advocacy, and served as a leadership curriculum adviser at The University of Central Oklahoma. Chris Salamone works to improve the lives of young people around the world through his many philanthropic endeavors. To this end, he functions as chairman of the Lead America Foundation whose Mission is to ‘inspire and empower our young people to achieve their full potential and instill in them a sense of purpose, integrity, self confidence, and personal responsibility.’ This is achieved through engaging students (high school for most programs and middle school for a few) in conferences that combine challenging academics with hands-on experiential learning. He has also extended considerable amount of financial support to fund the education of 300 children in Haiti. https://about.me/chrissalamone
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