Homeschooling While Travelling: What Our Days Really Look Like

We started homeschooling Louie in September, a few weeks after arriving in Vietnam. Honestly? We’re still finding our rhythm.

Louie is 9 and Leo is 2. Marty works remotely and takes on the Dutch schoolwork, while I run our worldschooling days with Leo in tow. Some days it flows. Other days I’m overstimulated by mid-morning and quietly wondering if any of it is enough.

This guide covers what we’ve learnt so far about homeschooling while travelling: the legal steps, what our days actually look like, what it costs and the parts nobody warns you about. We’re new at this, and we’ll keep updating it as we go. 🌏

What Homeschooling on the Move Actually Means

Homeschooling on the move means your children’s education happens outside a traditional school while your family travels or lives abroad. It isn’t one method. It’s a spectrum.

At one end, families follow a full curriculum or enrol in an online or distance school. At the other end, unschooling families let learning grow from their children’s interests. Worldschooling sits in the middle, using travel itself as a big part of the lesson plan.

We use blended learning: a mix of structured schoolwork, worldschooling activities and apps. Louie still works through books from his Dutch school, so he keeps up with the core skills he’d need if he ever went back. Everything else comes from where we are.

Not sure which approach suits your family? Our guide to worldschooling styles compared walks through the options.

The Legal Side: Start with Your Home Country

This is the question most families get stuck on first. The rules depend on two things: the country you’re leaving and the country you’re living in.

Leaving your home country: our experience

Louie was enrolled in a Dutch school before we left. We deregistered him officially online, from Vietnam, just before the new school year began. We’d arrived during the summer holidays, and the whole process was straightforward. The full story is in our unschooling guide.

For Dutch families, the key detail is the municipal register (BRP). Once your child is deregistered from the BRP, the Dutch compulsory education law (Leerplichtwet) no longer applies. The rules of the country you’re living in apply instead. If your family will be abroad for a long stretch, you may be required to deregister anyway. Check current details with your municipality and talk to the school early.

Australian families

Home education is regulated state by state, and registration is generally tied to where your child usually lives. That’s why families travelling around Australia usually stay registered with their home state.

Families living overseas are a different situation. Queensland’s own data lists moving overseas as a reason home education registrations end. Check current details with your state or territory’s home education unit before you go.

The country you’re living in

This is the part that surprises people. Homeschooling rules usually apply to residents, not tourists passing through. So if you apply for residency or a long-stay visa, local education law may apply to your children.

Two examples from Europe show how different it can be:

• Portugal allows home education, but it’s regulated. Resident children must be enrolled with a local school, keep a portfolio and sit exams at the end of each school cycle.
• Spain is a legal grey area. School is compulsory from 6 to 16, and resident families who homeschool can face truancy procedures.

Our worldschooling legal requirements guide covers more countries in detail. Rules change, so always check current details with the relevant education authority.

Our Farm Day in Ninh Binh 🌾

Some of Louie’s best lessons don’t look like lessons at all. One morning near Tam Coc in Ninh Binh, we spent a few hours at I Am a Farmer, a hands-on farm experience in the rice fields.

It started with a costume change. We all dressed up in traditional farmer’s clothes and conical hats. Then someone placed a two-day-old chick in Louie’s hands. It was so yellow and fluffy that I think he’d have happily stayed right there all morning. 🐣

The rest of the morning kept us moving. We fed the ducks, then climbed into a traditional tree house, the kind of home people in rural Vietnam once lived in. In the vegetable garden, Louie planted greens, worked the soil with a hoe and watered his rows.

Frog fishing was his favourite part. He also tried fishing the traditional way, with a woven basket, and ended up catching a fish with his bare hands. 🐟

Then came the rice. Louie waded into the paddy to plant seedlings and got gloriously muddy. Afterwards he learnt how rice is processed using traditional machinery. He’s eaten rice almost every day since we arrived in Vietnam. Now he’s seen how much work goes into every bowl.

Most visits end with a cooking class and lunch. We needed to get home for lunch this time, so that’s still on our list for next time.

What the morning covered, without a worksheet in sight

• Science: animals up close, from a two-day-old chick to ducks, frogs and fish
• Food: how rice goes from a flooded field to the table
• History and culture: traditional clothes, tools and homes
• Practical skills: planting, hoeing and watering a garden bed
• Getting physical: mud, water and a lot of climbing

💡 Worth knowing before you book

• Where: Tam Coc, in Ninh Binh province, about two hours south of Hanoi by road.
• Sessions: the farm lists morning and afternoon farming sessions, plus cooking classes as a separate booking. Check current times on their website.
• Price: on 28-09-2026, the website listed the farming experience at US$45 per person, with children under 9 paying half the adult price. Check current prices before you book.
• What to bring: clothes that can get properly muddy, a full change of clothes for each child, sunscreen and water.

Choosing a Curriculum, Program or App

There’s no single right answer here, and that’s freeing once you accept it. Most travelling families land somewhere between three options.

• Your home country’s school materials. This is what we do. Louie’s Dutch school gave us his books, so he stays in step with the curriculum he’d return to.
• An online or distance school. These give more structure and sometimes formal reports or accreditation, but they cost more and often come with fixed class times across time zones. Our guide to online programs compares the main options.
• Free and low-cost tools. Khan Academy is free and covers maths and much more. Duolingo and Scratch are working well for Louie so far.

Whatever you choose, start small. Try one thing for a few weeks before adding the next. Our homeschooling resources list covers what other parents are actually using, and our list of the best documentaries for worldschooling kids is great for slower days.

Homeschooling a 9-Year-Old with a Toddler Around

Nobody really talks about this part. Most homeschooling advice assumes you’re teaching one child, or several of a similar age. Our reality is a 9-year-old doing maths while a 2-year-old wants the pencil, the snack and your full attention. 😅

Leo comes along to everything, including our worldschooling outings. Seeing both boys learning side by side, and learning from each other, is honestly the best part of all of this.

A few things are helping us:

• Structured work happens when Leo’s busy or with the other parent. Marty’s lunch-break sessions mean Louie gets focused time.
• Worldschooling activities work for both ages. A farm, a boat ride or a market can hold a toddler and a 9-year-old at the same time, just at different levels.
• We keep expectations realistic. Some days the toddler wins. That’s fine.

If you’re flying long-haul with little ones, our story of flying to the other side of the world with a toddler might make you feel less alone.

Finding Support and Friends on the Road

The homeschooling community online has been one of the biggest surprises for us. I follow a lot of Facebook groups, and I feel genuinely supported there. Parents answer questions, share what’s working and talk honestly about the hard bits.

There’s also an amazing amount of free material created by other parents: printables, unit studies, reading lists and activity ideas. You really don’t need to buy an expensive program to get started.

Some places to look:

• Facebook groups for worldschooling and homeschooling families, including our own Worldly Tribe community
• Our directory of 430+ worldschooling hubs and communities for meeting families in person
• The Home Education Association for Australian families
• Our guides on worldschooling and socialisation and helping travelling kids make friends

The Hard Days: Guilt, Overwhelm and “Is It Enough?”

I’ll be honest. I love this, but it isn’t easy.

Some days I’m overstimulated by it all. Two kids, new surroundings, work and lessons all compete for the same hours. And there’s a question that keeps creeping in: is this enough? Is it ever enough?

I’ve found that most homeschooling parents ask themselves this, especially at the start. A few things help me when that guilt shows up:

• Remember what school actually looks like. A school day includes a lot of waiting, transitions and admin. Two focused hours at home covers more ground than it sounds.
• Keep a simple record. Photos, notes and finished workbook pages show real progress on the days it doesn’t feel like it.
• Talk to other parents. Hearing that others feel the same takes the edge off.

The practical load is real too. Screen time creeps up with apps. Kids miss friends. Parents get tired. Building in rest days and travelling slowly makes a genuine difference.

Tech and Internet for Learning Anywhere

If any of your child’s learning happens online, internet quality decides a lot. A shaky connection is annoying for a Duolingo lesson and a real problem for a live online class.

• Check speeds before you book. Ask hosts for a speed test screenshot. Our internet speed guide compares 50 cities.
• Have a backup. A local SIM or eSIM with a hotspot covers most outages. Our guide to internet for nomad families explains the options.
• Download before travel days. Worksheets, e-books and videos saved offline keep things going on buses and planes.
• Keep screens in shared spaces. Parental controls help, but so does simply being in the same room.

Records, Reporting and Going Back to School

Even if nobody asks to see it, a simple record of your child’s learning is worth keeping. It helps on the doubtful days, and it helps a future school understand where your child is.

• Keep a light portfolio. Photos of projects, a few writing samples, finished workbook pages and a list of books read.
• Know if you need to report. Families still registered in a home system may have to submit reports. If you’ve deregistered, there may be no formal reporting at all. Check your own situation.
• Keep core skills on track. Loosely following your home curriculum makes a return to school smoother. That’s a big reason we use Louie’s Dutch books.

If a local or international school might be part of your plans, our international schooling options guide explains the main choices.

Teens, Exams and University

Louie is 9, so we’re not there yet. For families with teenagers, though, the planning changes. Exams, qualifications and university entry need thinking about earlier.

Common routes include online high schools, sitting international exams such as IGCSEs as a private candidate, or building a portfolio for universities that accept one. What works depends on where your teen might study later.

Our guides to worldschooling with teenagers and Can Worldschooled Kids Go to University? go into the detail.

Quick-Start Checklist for New Travelling Homeschoolers

Starting out can feel like a lot. This is roughly the order we’d do it in again.

• ✅ Talk to your child’s current school early and ask what materials they can give you
• ✅ Check the rules for leaving your home system (for Dutch families, the BRP and your municipality)
• ✅ Check the education rules where you’ll live, especially if you’ll become a resident
• ✅ Choose a starting approach: home curriculum, online school, worldschooling or a blend
• ✅ Start with free tools and add paid ones only when they stick
• ✅ Agree who does what between parents
• ✅ Plan a simple weekly rhythm, then let it change
• ✅ Start a light portfolio from week one
• ✅ Join a few online groups and look for families nearby
• ✅ Book one hands-on outing early, so the fun part starts straight away

Our guide on How to Start Worldschooling covers the bigger decision and the first weeks.

FAQs About Homeschooling While Travelling

Is it legal to homeschool while travelling?

It depends on your home country and the country you live in. Many families deregister from their home system when they move abroad, and local rules then apply. Always check current details with the official education authority.

Do Australian families need to register if they live overseas?

Registration is state-based and generally tied to where your child usually lives. It matters most for families travelling within Australia. If you’re moving overseas, check current details with your state or territory’s home education unit.

What happens with Dutch compulsory education when you move abroad?

Once your child is deregistered from the municipal register (BRP), the Dutch Leerplichtwet no longer applies. The education rules of your new country apply instead. Speak to your municipality and school before you leave.

How many hours a day should homeschooling take?

There’s no fixed number. Our structured work takes 1.5 to 2 hours a day, with worldschooling activities on top. Much depends on your child’s age and the approach you choose.

Can you homeschool with a toddler around?

Yes, though it takes planning. We schedule focused work when our 2-year-old is occupied or with the other parent. We also choose outings that work for both ages.

Do I need to be a qualified teacher?

Not in Australia, where parents can home educate their own children. Requirements vary elsewhere, so check the rules where you’ll be living.

How much does homeschooling while travelling cost?

It can cost very little. Many strong resources are free, including Duolingo’s basic version, Scratch and Khan Academy. Our own spend is around €100 a month, mostly on outings. Costs rise with paid programs, online classes and entry fees.

What are good hands-on learning activities while travelling?

Farms, markets, museums, nature walks and cooking classes all work well. Our farm morning in Ninh Binh covered animals, food, history and practical skills in a few hours.

How do homeschooled travelling kids make friends?

Through worldschooling hubs, meetups, activities and online groups. It takes more effort than school, but it’s very possible.

Can my child go back to school later?

Yes. Keeping up core skills and a simple record of their work makes the transition easier. We use Louie’s Dutch school books partly for this reason.

Still Finding Our Rhythm

A few months in, we don’t have it all figured out. Our routine changes week to week, and I still question whether we’re doing enough.

But when I watch Louie come home from a Ninh Binh rice paddy covered in mud and full of stories, or see both boys learning side by side, I know something good is happening. The learning doesn’t always look like school. Some of it looks like a boat drifting through the limestone caves of Ninh Binh.

If you’re thinking about homeschooling on the move, start small, share the load and give yourself time to find your rhythm. We’re right there with you. 💛