Carschooling: How to Homeschool on the Go

I don’t know about you, but for homeschoolers we are rarely found actually at home. So, how do we homeschool when you we are never home and always on the go? We carschool!

Carschooling is a fantastic way to learn on while you’re on the go. If you are anything like us and find yourself in the car more than at home it might be the perfect way to sneak in some extra lessons.

Do you spend a lot of time on the go? Feel like you are always in the car? Carschooling is a great thing to implement to facilitate learning on go! #carschool #carschooling #homeschoolonthego #roadtripactitivies

Why We Use Carschooling for Homeschool on the Go

We live an hour from civilization. That means anytime we need to go to the library, grocery store, doctor, etc. it is a two hour round trip. Even though we try to consolidate the majority of our errands in to one day a week, it still adds up to quite a bit of time in the car.

The thought of “losing” that many instructional hours a day made me crazy. That’s when I decided to find a way to start carschooling. That way I could make use of those hours I felt like we were losing each week.

The first thing I did was buy this very large, very sturdy seat organizer.  It is perfect for housing all of the things for our carschooling. I often change it out and fill it up with new fun “sneaky” learning things. This way she has easy access to fun educational items that will keep her busy and happy while we drive.

Do you spend a lot of time on the go? Feel like you are always in the car? Carschooling is a great thing to implement to facilitate learning on go! #carschool #carschooling #homeschoolonthego #roadtripactitivies

Some of Our Favorite Carschooling Resources

One of our most utilized carschooling resources are audio books. We love listening to audio books in the car as a family while we drive. Normally, we have a specific in the car audio book going at any given time. We use apps such as Hoopla, Libby, and Audible for listening.

Audio Books the Whole Family Will Enjoy:

                

 

Some of our carshool essentials include activity books, sticker books, drawing, paint with water (using a brush with a water reservoir), small building materials, and single player games. She also enjoys having trivia decks to quiz Kevin and I while we drive.

Items We Love for Carschooling:

            

 

Podcasts are also an awesome resource for homeschooling on the go. There are so many podcasts to choose from. It makes it easy to cover any and all subjects and find something your child will love. Be sure to check out Our Ultimate Guide to Children’s Podcasts for an extensive list.

Answers to Commonly Asked Carschooling Questions

Below you can find answers to the most frequently asked questions we get about carschooling. If you have a question I didn’t answer feel free to ask in the comments, I’d be happy to answer it for you.

Do you use screens in the car?

Yes! We have a tablet that has educational apps on it and I almost always have it in my purse as a backup just in case. I do try to encourage her to use the other item provided first, but I am not affraid to use screens in our homeschool so I totally okay with that being one of her options.

If you looking to do some homeschool lessons in the car while you are in the go you could utilize a tablet to take online classes or complete math and language arts lessons using fun programs like Teaching Textbooks and Night Zookeeper.

Emily also recently got a Kindle Paperwhite so she can read for longer periods of time without it hurting her eyes. I find it so much more convenient to load books on it for her rather than trying to pack them all. It is especially handy for long trips when we would need/want a lot of books.

Do you have carschool requirements?

I don’t! I don’t require that she do anything while we are in the car. In fact, sometimes we just sing and dance or she enjoys just looking out the window. She is free to do the items as little or as much as she would like. I just like having them on hand so that we have the option of doing educational things while we are on the go.

How often do you swap things out?

I change everything out about once a month. The organizer has handles which is very convenient, so once a month, or whenever I find she is growing tired of the items I grab the whole thing and bring it inside. It usually takes me 15 to 20 minutes to clean it out and load it back up with new fresh fun things. I figure that is a small price to pay for mostly peaceful car rides.

I sometimes change it out more frequently than that if we are going on a specific trip. For instance if we have a field trip, I like to include relevant items. That might mean I am adding a few fun extras more often.

What about car or motion sickness?

We are very fortunate that none of us get car sick. I am aware that many kids (and their parents) do get carsick so carschooling in this manner is not an option for everyone. If this were the case for us I would definitely still do audio books and podcasts because those still add a ton of value to car rides.

Do you spend a lot of time on the go? Feel like you are always in the car? Carschooling is a great thing to implement to facilitate learning on go! #carschool #carschooling #homeschoolonthego #roadtripactitivies

Do you find that you are always on the go? If so, give carschooling a try! It might help you accomplish more homeschool lessons and enjoy your time in the car together more.

If you would like more carschooling ideas for homeschooling on the go make sure you check out our Carschool Youtube Playlist.