Why We Chose Homeschool (Even Though I Never Thought We Would)
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If you'd asked me at any point in my life (let alone a year ago) if we'd ever homeschool our kids, I would've said “Absolutely not.”
Not because I had researched it and decided it wasn't for us. Honestly, I had simply bought into the stigma. I pictured homeschooling as something other families did: families with more patience, more structure, more teaching experience... definitely not us.
And yet, here we are.
As I write this, we're officially homeschooling our girls from our home on wheels as we travel full-time across the country. If you had told me this would be our life a few years ago, I never would've believed you.
But I've learned that sometimes the best decisions are the ones you never saw coming.
Why We Chose Homeschool
Our decision wasn't because we thought traditional school was bad. Quite the opposite! We had wonderful experiences with our girls' school & daycare and incredible teachers who loved them well.
But over the last few years, I started realizing that what I wanted most wasn't just a great education for our girls, but really I wanted a different life with them.
Last year, Lowina had lockdowns and practiced shooter drills that became very real for both of our anxiety levels. Like so many parents, every time I saw another school shooting on the news, my anxiety would spike even higher. I'd find myself thinking, “What if?” No parent should have to wonder whether sending their child to school is the safest part of their day, and the fear was always there in the back of my mind daily.
Then came the summer of 2025. We spent two months traveling across the country as a family, and something shifted. Instead of rushing through evenings and cramming quality time into weekends, we had uninterrupted days together. We watched our girls discover new places, ask incredible questions, make friends in campgrounds, and soak up experiences I could never recreate in a classroom or after school.
And honestly? It made me realize how much of their childhood we were missing in the “normal” rhythm of life.
We weren't unhappy. We weren't trying to escape anything. We simply realized there was another way to live. One that gave us more time together, more adventures, and more opportunities to learn from the world around us.
Homeschool became less about leaving traditional school behind and more about saying yes to the life we wanted to build as a family.
I want history to be something they stand in.
I want science to be hiking through Yellowstone, watching Old Faithful erupt, or learning about ecosystems while exploring the Everglades.
I want geography to be crossing state lines, visiting small towns, and experiencing different cultures firsthand.
I want art to happen in museums, music to happen at local festivals, and learning to happen wherever we happen to park for the week.
That doesn't mean textbooks disappear. It just means they're no longer the only classroom.
I Still Wanted Structure
One thing that surprised me was how much I craved a routine. Yes me, the mom who doesn’t abide by sleep or wake schedules. The mom who doesn’t have a weekly menu or schedule outside of the girls’ extracurriculars.
I am someone who functions best with a plan, and I know how the girls benefit from predictable rhythms too. So before we ever hit the road, I sat down and built a schedule that gives us structure without making us feel trapped by it.
Our daily routine includes dedicated time for:
Reading
Math
Language Arts
Spanish
Free play
Dance or Art
Daily chores
Meanwhile, John and I take turns teaching and we each have designated work blocks throughout the day so we can continue running our businesses while traveling.
The schedule has become our home base, not something that controls us, but something we can always come back to.
But Here's the Important Part...
The calendar isn't meant to be followed perfectly. It's simply our default.
Some weeks we'll spend an entire day exploring a children's museum. Other weeks we'll hike through a national park instead of sitting at the table doing every lesson.
We're planning to visit national parks regularly, probably every week or two depending on where we are throughout our travels, and those experiences are every bit as valuable as a workbook page.
On travel weeks, we're also planning for flexibility. If our travel day falls during the week, we'll simply shift to a four-day school week.
That's one of the biggest gifts homeschool gives us.
Learning doesn't have to happen between certain hours or inside certain walls. It happens everywhere.
Capturing the Journey
One thing I knew from the beginning was that I didn't want this season to become a blur. We're going to see so many incredible places, meet new people, and learn things I never want us to forget.
So I created a Weekly Journal for each of the girls.
Every week they'll fill out where we are on a US map, write what they learned, their favorite memory from the week, an affirmation, where we're headed next, and what they're most excited about. They'll even track how many miles and hours we'll travel to our next destination (a mini geography lesson!).
My hope is that years from now they'll be able to flip through these journals and relive this adventure through their own eyes, not mine. They'll remember not just the places we visited, but how those places made them feel, what they discovered, and who they were becoming along the way.
I have a feeling these journals will end up being one of our most treasured keepsakes from this chapter of our lives.
The Curriculum We Chose
After what felt like endless research, I landed on The Good and the Beautiful, and we're excited to get started.
As a first-time homeschool mom, I wanted something beautiful, open-and-go, academically strong, and simple enough that we wouldn't spend hours every week planning lessons. Since we'll be learning from campgrounds, picnic tables, libraries, coffee shops, and wherever our travels take us, flexibility was just as important as the curriculum itself.
Here's what each girl will be using:
Lizzie (Preschool)
The Good and the Beautiful Preschool Basic Bundle
Lowina (2nd Grade)
The Good and the Beautiful Level 2 Basic Bundle
The Good and the Beautiful Science Course
The Good and the Beautiful Typing Course
We're also adding a few things that go beyond traditional academics.
As a family, we'll be working through the Teach & Learn Spanish Program together. With Lowina in Spanish-Immersion School back at home, we're excited to make it a whole family activity and learn Spanish alongside the girls instead of making it just another school subject.
Our curriculum also extends well beyond the workbook. Most of our daily reading will happen over breakfast and lunch, turning meals into another opportunity to slow down and learn together. Art and dance won't be confined to structured lessons either—we'll supplement them with crafts, nature projects, music, movement, and creative activities inspired by wherever we're parked. I have a feeling some of our best classrooms will be national parks, children's museums, beaches, forests, and campground picnic tables.
We're also intentionally building life skills into our homeschool. Using our Skylight Calendar, I created a daily chore chart that keeps everyone on track with responsibilities like brushing teeth, making beds, helping with dishes, tidying up, and other age-appropriate tasks. Living in 43 feet means everyone pitches in, and I want our girls to understand that learning isn't just about math and reading, but it's also about responsibility, teamwork, and taking pride in caring for your home, wherever it happens to be.
At the end of the day, our curriculum is simply the foundation. The real goal is raising curious, capable, kind girls who see the world as their classroom, and I can't wait to see where this adventure takes us.
We Have No Idea What We're Doing... And That's Okay
I'll be honest. We're figuring this out as we go.
I'm sure there will be hard days. Days when nobody wants to do math. Days when we get behind. Days when the campground playground wins over handwriting practice.
And honestly... I'm okay with that.
This isn't about creating the perfect homeschool. It's about creating a childhood full of memories, curiosity, adventure, and meaningful time together.
Maybe someday we'll look back and decide this wasn't forever. Or maybe we'll discover this is exactly where we're supposed to be.
Either way, I'm grateful we were willing to challenge the assumptions I once had about homeschooling.
Sometimes the life you never imagined ends up being the one you wouldn't trade for anything.
If you're a homeschool family, I'd love to hear your favorite curriculum, tips, or must-visit educational stops around the country. We're just getting started on this adventure, and I have a feeling we're going to learn just as much as the girls do.
