One of my favorite perks of homeschooling is the ability to up and go as we please. No school administration dictating our schedule. No office to determine whether or not we’re allowed to take a vacation during an off-season. We decide when and where our family can travel without the permission of someone else.
Vacations are fun, but sometimes our trips have reasons outside of leisure, or we don’t fully intend to disconnect from responsibilities while out of town (digital nomading has been a topic of conversation recently…).
Homeschooling allows us the ability to take education with us. While we’re not necessarily making the kids do schoolwork at Disney World or while on a cruise, I have in the past loaded up our books and dragged them across many states to visit family.
On a regular school day in the comfort of our home, we have a school room organized with supplies and materials we use on both a regular and not-so-regular basis. Everything we need is right there! Taking our school work on the road, however, requires preparation beyond the planning I normally do on Sunday nights. I inventory all our workbooks, I print out any worksheets we may need while away, and I have to pay extra attention to any lessons or activities that might require materials we need to pack. It’s frustrating when I forget common materials after stressing over the packing list!
In the past, I’ve shoved books into tote bags that barely held everything we needed. It was messy, I felt frazzled, and schoolwork took extra long as we sorted through papers and books trying to make do with what we remembered to bring. I’ve worked hard to create an efficient system in our home, and as I look forward to the many adventures ahead of our family I want the same sense of ease while taking our schoolwork elsewhere.
I wanted to make a portable classroom!
The idea is a simple and easy investment. We needed a large sturdy bag to hold our books, and a stash of school supplies packed away specifically for the situations where our homeschooling takes place outside of the house. We keep these supplies in the bag so pre-trip organizing is as simple as grab and go! This works for those long-distance trips across the country (or world!) as well as the occasional excursion down the street to a park when we want to take homeschooling outside for a different change of pace.
It is an incredibly easy setup:
Sewing Machine Bag: Going to homeschool conferences you see many mommas pulling along those
foldable crates on wheels that carry a bunch of books and supplies. I considered those, as well as small suitcases or wheely backpacks. In the end, I decided a sewing machine case worked the best for us. It’s large and sturdy enough to hold sewing supplies, which means it should have no problem carrying my classroom. It has wheels, making it easy to transport, and many pockets for organized efficiency.
White Board: We use the whiteboard a lot. At home, we have a large one hanging on our wall, but for the purpose of travel, we have a small 11X14 inch board that easily fits in the front pocket of our bag.
Dry Erase Markers and eraser
Clip Boards: One for each child. More often than not we have a table open for our workspace. However, that is not always the case so the kiddos each have a clipboard as a surface to write on.
Notebooks: We keep both a primary journal in there to assist with handwriting, as well as a general spiral notebook for extra paper.
Crayons and Colored Pencils
Pencils
Pencil Sharpener
Ruler
Glue Stick
School Scissors
Activities Books: Activity and coloring books are great to hold one child over while I’m working with the other one.
Folder or Large Envelope: At home, my kids have portfolios for some of their work (creative writing for my son, for example). Rather than haul all of those binders along, I keep one large envelope or folder on hand to hold loose sheets of paper that I will sort when we arrive back home.
Pad, Headphones, and Charger: Not only do we use computer programs such as ABC Mouse and digital lessons offered through our curriculums, but I’ve also found that many manipulative materials we play with on a regular basis have free apps. Rather than lugging the box of math blocks along with us, or the letter tiles we use for our reading and spelling programs, I use the digital alternative for when we are not physically in our normal “classroom”. To spare us the headache, I also keep headphones and a charger in there.
Stickers: My kids are highly motivated by stickers. Scented stickers are our favorites! Whatever small reward motivates the kids, keep a small stash in a side pocket.
My portable classroom may not completely eliminate the need for pre-planning. Before heading out I still need to round up the work and textbooks, as well as print any worksheets we will need. However, having a decent bag pre-packed with basic supplies ensures I have the essentials all ready to go when it’s time to head out.
When you homeschool, the world is a classroom. This is my way of making sure I take advantage of that.
Originally posted January 2021
