Ways to make money so we can travel fulltime

How we can afford to fulltime rv travel is one of the #1 questions we get asked.

When we first launched in 2019, we didn’t know that there was an upcoming pandemic. Joseph is an aircraft mechanic by trade and I had a photography studio prior to selling it all to travel fulltime. In order to travel, Joseph quit his job and I had a photography studio in our hometown that I planned to return to each busy season but it took a hit in 2020. We had to find other sources of income.

It was confusing but we are hustled! In 3 years, we’ve tried a lot of different ways to earn income. I’d like to go through and tell you what we’ve tried and the outcome. Hopefully this helps!

  • Workamping - we’ve done this twice and both times it didn’t work out that great. If you choose this option, which can be a great option, ensure that you know the exact hours that you are working and what they expect. We’ve done this in Colorado and in Florida. We’d happily try it again.

  • Affiliate programs - I’ve made a little here and there but not enough to pay a grocery bill. If there’s a product that I love then I will recommend it to others and give them my link. I also post Amazon codes to a fb group I have and earn a small portion of sales. Again, it doesn’t pay the bills. Here’s my group if you’re interested!

  • Scuba Diving Instruction - Joseph used his GI Bill to go back to school and become a scuba diving instructor. This is a great option if you have a GI Bill to use but is pricey if you don’t! He works as an independent contractor right now in The Florida Keys. However, this is more of seasonal work unless you’re willing to clean yachts, do search and rescue missions or something undesireable.

  • Photography - I still offer photography services to our family and friends back home. I thought this would be a great option for traveling on the road but it turns out that locals want to support local businesses so it’s hard to gain their trust if I’m only in the area for a couple of weeks. In addition, fulltimers are typically on budgets so it’s hard to advertise for anything that will pay the bills. I haven’t dipped into landscape photography, just portraits. Realtors need consistency so it’s hard to get work with a realtor that’s looking.

  • Remote/virtual work - being a virtual assistant is great. It’s not a get rich quick and you tend to start out small and work your way up to making more with experience (like any other job). Upworks is a great option but be prepared to start at $5-$10 an hour to get started.

  • Joseph has also picked up random jobs for friends here and there while we are in our hometown. Everything from landscaping to greenhouse work.

  • Finally, I’m in the process of making money by being an influencer on tiktok and facebook. I’ve been creating videos on our nomadic lifestyle, which is more than likely how you found this blog post. Tiktok pay pennies per day, facebook is capping me at $500 a month currently with my personal reels (not my Our Journey To Happiness page) and I am waiting to be approved on this website by google adsense to earn a few bucks a day by google places ads on my website. I also use “buy me a cup of coffee” website for people to buy me a cup to help supplement my coffee addiction as I write these posts! You can get your own link here if you’re an influencer or have a blog page.

You may wonder about the jobs that I am posting in my blogs each week and why I haven’t just focused on something that’s 9-5, M-F. That type of work is great for some people, just not us. I don’t want to cap myself at only making a certain amount. I like the freedom of being creative, working my own hours and being my own boss. It works well with our lifestyle.

There’s a TON of ways to make money. Some find success in MLM's or multi level marketing. Some find success in a 9-5 virtually, others workamp but there’s LOADS of opportunites if you’re willing to start small in order to grow big! I hope this helps you and as always, if you feel inclined to buy me a cup of coffee I would appreciate it SO VERY MUCH!

Have a great day!

-Amanda

10 Jobs you can do remotely - part infinity

It’s a new week which means new jobs to apply for! If you need help with checking or building your resume then contact me here so we can get you started.

These jobs are beginner jobs, somewhere to gain more experience and start at the bottom. These are not get rich quick jobs.

If you’re looking to do freelance work then I partnered with this beautiful lady who shows you how to become a virtual assistant and where to go to get work. The course is done in 1 day so you can get started ASAP. She’s given me a $50 discount code to pass onto you using this link here.

Last but not least, I do NOT get paid or am affiliated with any of these companies. If this helps you at all, please consider buying me a cup of coffee here so I can continue to work for you. I would appreciate it so much!!

10 remote jobs so you can travel fulltime! Pt 6

It’s time again for YOU to apply for some online jobs. Woohoo!

I’ve been in Ohio visiting family this weeks so I’m a little behind schedule but I wanted to get this out to you, even if it was later in the evening.

If this helps you in anyway, I would love a cup of coffee! I do not get promoted or paid by any of the companies I list so the cup of coffee is what helps keep me posting these each week. I appreciate you SO much!

Remember, these are not get rich quick jobs; they’re work your way up jobs. They will help you get experience and foot in the door.

Each week I get messages about people who have kiddos at home so they cannot do call centers or meetings because of the background noise. If you’re interested in freelance virtual assistance work then here’s a great course that I took myself that teaches you EVERYTHING you need to know to get you started with freelance work. It only took me a day to get through. Click here for the link + you get an extra $50 off!

I wish you the best of luck and would love to know if you got hired so I can celebrate with you! Good luck!

Keep in mind that you should still apply even if you don’t have all of the experience “preferred”. Good luck!

10 Remote Jobs For Beginners

I’m a little late for my post this week due to flying home and visiting family for the 4th of July. I tried to do it on Thursday but the internet service gave me a middle finger and left me high and dry!

So now I have internet and wanted to share some more opportunities for you all so you can land a job asap!

As always, these are legit jobs, no MLM’s or scams! Remember that they’re not get rich quick scams, they’re “I need to start somewhere to move up” kinda jobs. When you gain experience then you can apply for better paying jobs.

I’m not endorsed by ANY of them, I do this on my own free time so if you want to hook me up with a free cup of coffee then I’d appreciate it so much! Happy hunting!

My personal favorite way to work online is by being a virtual assistant. I partnered up with a woman who teaches a course on how to do this, step by step + she’s gave me a $50 off link to get you started. You can see her course here. I’ve personally taken the course so I could ensure it was amazing before recommending and it is!

10 Remote Jobs So You Can Travel - Part 4

Fulltime RV challenges you don't think about

Sometimes it’s the little things that count. It’s going to the same hair stylist, walking into the same bank, urgently calling the pediatrician, snagging an available dentist appointment, and the list goes on.

It’s the simple things that can be a challenge while traveling fulltime in your rv. Sure, if you’re stationary then you don’t have anything to worry about. We sold the white picket fence dream to travel.

Here’s some of the ways that we combat those challenges:

-Get health insurance that allows for online doc visits. Our private health insurance allows for phone call visits but it doesn’t replace checkups. It’s more for strep throat, out of control poison ivy, ear infections and such. Things that are quick and easy to treat so keep your PCP so that you have someone to go back to for big time visits if needed. If you need an insurance agent to go through just let me know and I’ll refer you to our guy we’ve used for almost 3 years now.

Adapt to circumstances. Maybe you hated the way the lady cut your hair, know that it grows back! You won’t be visiting the same hairdresser, nail artist and such anymore. Just read google reviews and ask around before heading to the beauty artists.

DIY’s - you won’t have all of your typical tools, space and resources available on the road so ask around or bite the bullet and pay someone to fix a problem that you can’t do yourself. If you know me at all, you know that I say to have a savings because this lifestyle is NOT cheap!

Banks - find a bank that is easily done online. Ensure that you can deposit checks on an app, check your account, approve potential scams and such. We have a few banks and one is amazing in person but THE WORST online! Our main bank is amazing online, user friendly!

Internet - I’m sure you’ve thought of this one but it is one of the #1 things that people think of but don’t find a good solution. That’s because there isn’t a good solution. We’ve used OTR in the past and have rvITguy now; both of which started off great with unlimited high speeds but then changed their policies and now are only high speed sometimes (but still unlimited)… that means they “throttle”. Starlink is our upcoming purchase (just have to find an extra $700 laying around). This is what I recommend because it seems to be the most current reliable internet…. for now!

Grocery stores - you know when the sales are good at your hometown store. You know how to make the most bang for your buck and which shops to go to for what items, when you live in the same spot. On the road, you don’t have time to invest into each town to find deals so unless there’s an Aldi’s nearby then you have to pay attention to sale items as you go through the store. Try to download that stores app to click coupons too!

I know there’s a ton more things but this was just a quick list to get your wheels turning. If this helps, I’d love support with a cup of coffee! See ya on the road!

10 remote jobs you can apply for today part 3

I added an extra 4 links this week to make it 14 jobs that you can apply for TODAY!

Before you go clicking away, I’ve said it before and feel like I should say it again… remember, these are NOT get rich quick jobs. They are entry level jobs to get you going! If one remote job says that they’d prefer previous experience, that doesn’t mean you need it. Apply even if you don’t have the experience or think outside of the box. If you’ve ever work as a server, front desk or such then that can carry over to different terminology such as customer service.

Keep in mind that one job can open doors for other jobs and give you more experience in other fields.

This week I’ve included a few extra jobs to apply for. Good luck! If this is helpful for you and your family then I’d love support with a cup of coffee by clicking here. Thank you SO much, see ya next week for more links!

In a few weeks, I’ll be rolling out a newsletter that allows for an additional 24 hour access to weekly jobs. Sign up here to be apart of it!

Remote jobs so you can travel, part 2

Last week I started a new blog series to help YOU find a job. As promised, here are 10 more jobs that you can apply for TODAY! Remember, this isn’t a get rich quick thing, it’s a work and live within your means.

Real quick, before you start clicking, I just took a virtual assistant course last week so I could review it for ya. It was UH-MAZING! I wanted to showcase it to you all this week because the course is done in one day and you can start working the same week! Here’s the link and I was able to score $50 off of the course with this link from Cynthia, access the course here.

Now in my super hero voice “TO THE JOBS!!!!!!”…

Tips to renovating your rv!

Thankfully, the newer rv’s come with lighter wood colors and walls but if you’re like us and have an rv that’s even just a couple of years old then you know how dark and gloomy they can look on the inside.

When we bought our bunkhouse we painted before moving in and then did the same with our second rv, a toyhauler.

There’s no certain “trick” that works better than others but I will say to sand whatever is shiny, wipe the walls with alcohol and prime before painting. Also, keep extra paint on hand for touchups that you’ll need for doors and cabinets.

Another thing we did was ditched the pleather couch and switched to a Home Reserve couch that was lighter in weight and has storage underneath and behind each cushion. This was huge for us but it is shorter in depth so if you’re over 6’ then I wouldn’t recommend it without getting an ottoman to go with it.

We made everything light gray and white with just a tiny pop of color. It helps reflect the lighting so it feels brighter and bigger inside. However, that doesn’t come with out the disadvantage of being able to see dust and dirt VERY easily!

Remove those window treatments! Throw up some curtain rods with your own curtains! You can keep the sun blockers but ditch the 1900’s vibe and it’ll feel more like a house than a stuffy rv.

Throw down a couple of rugs, at least one to keep the dirt at bay by the front door. Make it cute, remember that you don’t have a huge house to decorate so it’s okay to splurge on the little things!

Use command hooks! They are SOOOO useful! Just clean the wall with alcohol to remove any oil, wait for it to dry and then throw those bad boys up! You can use them for hats, towels, decorations and more! We even use them for curtain rods in our living area!

Add a couple of plants (even if they’re fake) to give the place “life”.

Want to see our reno? Here’s a quick tour of our living area and our toyhauler that we made our master. They’re pinned to the top of the page: Tiktok page

Remote work so you can travel!

I’m starting a new series to see if it helps some of you that have been reaching out to me about finding remote work. You want to travel but can’t figure out how to pay the bills at the same time.

Please comment and let me know if this has helped and if you applied! I’m not sponsored or endorsed by any of these companies so there’s no bias.

If any of my travel tips/tricks/job seeking solutions helps, I’d love to be supported with a cup of coffee! You can do so by clicking here.

So let’s skip and get to the good part…

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Traveling with dogs pt 1

One of the many questions we get asked about traveling around with a German Shepherd in an rv is, “would you recommend getting a dog while on the road?” Our answer, no!

We love our Lola girl, we surely do but when we hit the road she was already 7 years old. She didn’t have as much energy to run out compared to a puppy, or even a 3-4 year old GS.

Even the tiny dogs can be tricky, size doesn’t matter in this case. Dogs require attention, playtime and to follow their natural instincts. So… you want a pup anyway, I get it! Here’s some tips to keep in mind.

  • Get a device that alerts your phone if the inside temperature goes above or below a certain degree. If you’re out all day and your electric goes out then you MUST know ASAP because these rigs will change temps extremely quick! We bought the temp stick but it only works with the internet so if the internet goes out (because it’s electric) then we won’t know. I’m researching devices now to find a better solution without breaking the bank.

  • Exercise, exercise, exercise! Find a local dog park, dog friendly beach, or somewhere that your pup can run around off leash. The rv parks might have a dog park but they’re usually pretty small. You need to go out once a week and find somewhere your dog can truly run out and explore! Otherwise, they’ll begin to act out because they have pent up energy and will misbehave.

  • Finding the right dog food in the stores as you travel is hard. Make sure that you pick a brand your dog likes that is highly commercialized and is carried across the country. Finding the same dog food can be tricky.

  • Don’t leave your pup in the rv while traveling unless you’re driving a motorhome. If you’re in a travel trailer or fifthwheel then your dog needs to be in the truck with you. It’s not safe, it gets too hot and things bounce around in the rv. It’s easy for something to fall onto your pup while hitting a pothole.

  • I believe that all breeds are good dogs, it’s up the owners if dogs misbehave. With that said, a lot of campgrounds have breed restrictions so research the breeds and campgrounds prior to snagging your new furry family member.

While this is a short list, if you have any advice for others then please leave them in the comments below. Be sure to check out our social media pages for our latest journeys and tips!

Florida Keys Aquarium Encounters

While we’re down in the Florida Keys we want to experience everything there is to offer for families! We stopped by the Florida Keys Aquarium Encounters and did the coral reef encounter.

The coral reef tour gave us an opportunity to get into the tanks with the exotic fish without disrupting their habitat. We had to take a quick shower before to rinse off all chemicals from our bodies so that we didn’t interfere with the habitat of the fish and reef in the tank.

Once we were all suited up in our wetsuits and gear, we were able to get into the tank with an amazing guide and feed the fish with a squeeze bottle and hand feed the sting rays with fish. We tried to feed the sharks through a whole by putting a fish through a hole connecting one tank to another but the sharks were already fed so only one of us was successful, but it wasn’t a big deal at all! Once we were finished with the tour, about a half hour to 45 minutes long, we were able to snorkel around for a few minutes to really check things out.

The aquarium supplies everything from wetsuits, masks, fins, snorkels and showers before/after the encounter.

After the tour, we explored the rest of the aquarium and learned a lot from the workers who were happy to answer any questions. There were so many hands on opportunites to touch the wildlife including turtles, fish, shrimp, crabs, sting rays (our favorite), horseshoe crabs and more!

All and all it took us about 3 hours to complete and that was plenty of time to revisit anything that we wanted to see for a second time. It costs about $500 for the 5 of us and that included the tour. I would HIGHLY recommend this for kids young or old!

Cheap/Free ways to educate your child on break!

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As you all know, the COVID19 is here and many of you are forced inside of your homes. Pretty soon you’re going to feel overwhelmed along with your children. Honestly, unless you homeschool as our family does then you do not need to buy every product out there and sign up for every possible online system. You’ll feel overwhelmed and just throw in the towel.
Let’s be honest, the first couple of days you all are going to take a break and might not do anything else (that’s okay!). You need to remember that homeschoolers have a routine and system in place year round and routines are vital! Even on the road we have a routine and thrive off of it.

However, you also don’t want your kids on their iPads all day, am I right? I know ours get grumpy and angry if they are on electronics too much.

So… here are a few ideas to help them learn but also have fun and occupy their time.

1 - Our favorite lazy day pass time is watching Horrible Histories. It’s free for any Amazon Prime member and you can check it out here.
It’s not horrible, it’s hilarious! The show provides history that include super gross facts about history and your kids will remember loads of information from this show! Farts, burps… that’s the kind of gross stuff it talks about so don’t be afraid! It’s VERY informational and VERY far from scary! The kids just giggle the whole time.

Snag Horrible Histories here if you have Amazon Prime, snag it here if you don’t have Amazon Prime and simply want the books.
If you love this then you’ll also notice that they have a Horrible Science too! Our kids LOVE this!

2 - Games! Who doesn’t love games? I’ve already listed our favorite games on this page, click here. Feel free to check it out and ask me any questions over the list if you’re unsure.

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3 - Khan Academy has a lot of great resources that are FREE! They have everything from math to coding. It’s a great resource if your child is into a particular subject so they can dive in and learn what peaks their interest.

4 - Adventure Academy app. This is like a game but the kids have to learn along the way to build their characters and such. Best of all, they can add their friends and play together virtually! This is a paid app but we LOVE it! Our kids will ask for extra time on this because it’s so fun.

5 - COOK! This is a great time to try new recipes and have the kids learn how to measure, use kitchen tools and understand the basics. This is a life skill that I believe lacks in any public school so help your kiddo out by baking a couple desserts or have them join you cooking dinner. Maybe they’ll cook for you! This is messy but necessary so they can understand how to cook for themselves one day with confidence.

6 - Duolingo is a great app that is free and teaches different languages.

7 - Have them budget and plan out a vacation. This could be something as simple as a day at the park with ice cream, packed lunches and games or it can be as elaborate as a huge trip that requires overnight stays, meals, gas money or air fare. Give them a budget, let them research and plan. You might be surprised!

This is another life skill that is important because it makes them budget finances and time! They’ll understand and appreciate how much effort you’ve put into your upcoming trip because they’ll understand what it takes to make that trip worth it.

8 - Write a book. Let their creativity roll out with a pencil and paper. Have them draw out the characters and you can actually publish them online or produce the physical product if you’d like. Try not to be too judgmental as this is a creative process so let them just explore their imagination and go wild!

9 - Read, read, read! If you have access to the local library then go snag a ton of books! If not, look at those books that no ones cracked open since you bought them at the book fair. This is a perfect time to catch up! You could also have them write a prelude or a different ending to their favorite book.

Tip - many second hand stores have books for as low as 25 cents and a lot of choices!

10 - Ask what your kids are interested in and youtube facts about them. Example: what’s your favorite animal? I bet you can find loads of videos on them packed with information you both didn’t know. Research what they want to be when they grow up, want to be an astronaut? What’s that training look like? How do germs spread for kids? Watch science experiments and then try them yourself! The possibilities are endless.

BONUS TIP: - Outschool.com has a lot of classes that are amazing! It’s other parents teaching the kids and typically include things that can peak a child’s interest…. Harry Potter, Roblox and more combined with writing and other educational benefits. Just check it out, it’s worth it!

I’ll admit, I did throw this list together fairly quickly but as a homeschool mom all year round this was just some of the things that we do.

Take a break and enjoy them being home but if you want to keep them busy without starring at Minecraft or Roblox here were some ideas for you. The time will come and you will all feel cooped up so refer back to this list when you need some inspiration.

Talk to you soon,

Amanda

5 favorite RV hacks for moms - fulltime living

It’s been 6 months since we started full-time rv living and 4.5 months of that have been since we launched full-time to travel the country with our family of 5. Before we started I spent hours upon hours of research trying to find ways to make living in a rv easier, especially coming from a large home. I knew it would be challenging but do-able.
Now, this is not a list of “must-have” (you can check that out here). This is a list of my favorite non essential things that have made life easier, because who doesn’t want easy, right?

#1 on my list is the Ninja Foodi. This bad boy gets used more than anything else that we’ve bought! RV kitchens are small and this allows me to just keep a couple other pots/pans since it pretty much does it all…. air fry, dehydrate, pressure cook, saute, you name it and it does it! We’ve cooked bacon, hard boiled eggs, cakes, soups, fried chicken, biscuits and more! It’s amazing!


#2 on my list is a dehumidifier. In my opinion, it’s a must because RV’s have condensation almost all year round. I remember waking up several morning to water dripping down the windows like it was raining inside! When the humidity is high it can causes a lot of problems including mold. Mold can happen quickly and in areas you may not look. We tried a small dehumidifier and it didn’t work, it pulled out maybe a cup every 2 days (roughly). This handy dandy guy pulls out well over a gallon everyday. It’s amazing! With some research we’ve found that your humidity levels should be somewhere around 30-50%.

#3 Command hooks. Okay, this one seems simple but any RVer knows that it can be a little nerve wracking to put holes in the walls since there are electrical cords everywhere! You never know what’s behind the wall. Some RVers will just chance it but I haven’t been able to get over that fear. We use command hooks for EVERYTHING!! Don’t forget that you can buy the command frame strips too if you want to hang photos or decor. These are great! The only thing is that it’s a little deceiving because it’s not easy to take off and put back on since you have to push hard to get the velcro to stick back together. My rule is that once it’s up, it’s not coming back down!
**TIP** Use rubbing alcohol to wipe the area you’re going to place the command hook first so it’ll stick better.

#4 A quality mattress! We humans tend to get a little grumpy if we’re lacking good sleep, it’s nature. We’ve found that this mattress is amazing, can be shipped easily and is priced just right. We’ve recommended it to so many friends and they all love it as well. I highly suggest this particular one as it’s served us well.

#5 An outdoor rug. I really didn’t think this was going to be incredibly necessary and almost skipped it before full timing. I’m so thankful so many people recommended this because the amount of dirt that can get into an RV is incredible! The rug allows people to keep a lot of sand/dirt outside because it kind of scrubs their feet as they’re walking to the door. When you live in a small space it’s important to keep it clean because it gets dirty so fast, especially with 3 kiddos and a german shepherd! Staying anywhere with sand has proven to be a challenge. I should also note that we take off our shoes at the door as an overall rule and we still get dirt/sand everywhere!

These were just my top 5 favorite items in no particular order. We have done some remodeling and I’ll be blogging about that soon. It’s crucial that if you’re just starting out to remember that this RV is your home. This is where you and your family come to relax, it’s nice to have comforts and things that make cooking/cleaning easier just as with any home.

Honestly, traveling the country has been amazing and I can’t wait to share more tips/tricks as we learn along the way. Let me know what your favorite hacks are as you travel!

Talk to you soon,

Amanda

***Please note: We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com . These are all products that we personally use and love which is why we are recommending them.

How we homeschool on the road (roadschool) and how it's different than a "sticks and bricks"

Homeschooling can be a touchy subject but it doesn’t have to be that way. Our kids went to a nice public school and we pulled them out to homeschool a year before we decided to go full-time. The first year of homeschool we were in a sticks and bricks (aka house) and the second year is this year and on the road.

There are hard days but that’s with any school your kids attend. 

We use a HUGE variety of resources. Our unit study is a great tool. It allows me to read a chapter about whatever topic is going on that month (Asia, astronomy and such). Once I read the chapter, each child has their own worksheets to complete according to their grade level. It teaches them everything except math. It’s fairly quick to accomplish but we can dive deeper into the content with videos and activities. Most of the stuff they learn applies to things that we come across in everyday life so it’s actually useful for them. In our sticks and bricks we did the unit study 4 days a week. Since we’ve been on the road, we’ve only done it maybe 1-2 times a week.

Math: our math has stayed the same both years because it works for us. It’s with Math-U-See and includes an instructional dvd, hands on counting blocks, a workbook and a testing book (used to help ensure they’ve comprehended each skill). This works great for us so I do not anticipate changing math. We do anywhere from 2-4 pages each school day depending on how long it will take each child to accomplish. My goal for them is not to “time” how much they’ve done but to understand the concepts of each skill without overwhelming them. Math is a hard subject so if it’s really hard that day or they’re having an “off” day then they do 2 pages. If it comes easy to them that day or they are just getting the hang of a new skill then it’s 4 pages. We predetermine it before they start each school day.

The MAJOR difference:

In our sticks and bricks we would go on field trips with our homeschool group or head to the museum every once in a while. This is MUCH different on the road and here’s why. Our days are full of adventure and taking advantage of what’s around us. Our kids are slowly CHOOSING to learn and no, I’m not kidding! This past Saturday night they were in the living room giving each other math problems complete and testing each other (for real!), something like this is not uncommon. They will ask to research different things they’ve seen and such.

Their minds are curious so when we see new animals we research them. Once we see something in person and know what it is, where it comes from, what it eats and such.

We watch Horrible Histories and Horrible Science (our favorite and used as a “treat”). If you haven’t taken advantage of these, I highly recommend it and it’s free if you have amazon prime!

State parks are our favorite because they usually have a Junior Ranger Program. Each of the kids get workbook packets (sometimes 1-4 packets per park) and it’s FREE! When the kids complete the workbooks they get recognition from the park rangers and a badge to show off. The kids get so excited about it that they will work until bedtime to complete it. It’s packed full of information from each park so it’s always different and relevant information that we can use while hiking and being in the area. The state parks usually have a little exhibit area too! Hands down, our favorite homeschool tool!

Our second favorite is going to every ASTC we can find around us! If you don’t know what that is, it’s science centers that are linked in with each other so you can buy one membership and then visit the others free with your pass (some restrictions). For example: our Cincinnati Museum pass allowed us to get into the NASA museum and Children’s Museum in Houston, Science Center in Orlando and more. We try to go to everyone and spend the whole day there. It’s fun for everyone and they usually have classes and hands on activities to teach the kids. It’s truly amazing! Okay, maybe this one is my favorite resource!

When our kids are interested in something we research it like crazy. The best tool to use is what they’re naturally curious about because they just soak up the information like sponges. 

Geography has been huge for us. I made our dining table into a big map of the US. The kids look almost everyday at where we’ve been, where we’re going and have started to learn each state and KNOW what that state looked like and feels like. They remember what kind of sand it had, what the rocks looked like, if the roads were flat, what animals we commonly saw, different foods, the people and how the trees varied. It’s amazing!

Some days we use games, building concepts and science experiments for the whole school day. If we’re in a place for a while or it’s raining and we’ve decided to stay home all day then we break these out. They’re fun to do and they’re learning at the same time. Our games include math games, geography games, history games and more. We actually have a whole cabinet dedicated to them which says a lot considering how little space we have. If you want to see some of the games we use click here.

We also include a lot of reading. The kids are required to read for certain amounts of time each day and it must be educational. We’ve brought a TON of books with us so they have plenty to choose from depending on what they want to learn; sharks, polar bears, astronomy, you name it and we probably have it. They also get free reading time in which they can read whatever they want to read about.

Our kids have also met other kids from different cultures and the kids will learn from each other. For example, in 4 months on the road they have met kids from Israel, Canada , Sweden and more. The kids play and sometimes random questions come up about their cultures. They’ll compare foods they eat, we will look up their countries on a map and dive into their cultures. It’s fun, they remember things about their friends! We even keep in contact with a lot of them still. It’s amazing!

Guess what, some days we do nothing! That’s right, some days everyone is cranky or we’ve had too much stimulation from busy days that we just “veg out” and just “are”. These are the days that we watch Horrible Histories, Horrible Science and such. It allows our brains to catch up before the next adventure and that’s okay! We’re learning so much that we NEED a break! I should also note that we have decided to homeschool all year round. It’s what’s best for us and our kids get plenty of breaks when we visit family, are spending time with new or old friends, want to just go to the beach, do touristy stuff or for a hike and other things. Typically though, we always learn SOMETHING everyday. As parents that homeschool, we have rewired our brains to teach them little things here and there at all times without realizing it sometimes.

Our days vary since we don’t have a regular schedule. Before traveling full-time I assumed that travel days would mean we would get a lot of schooling done, that’s not the case. In the truck it’s hard to do anything with a pencil due to the shaking of the truck, turns, space and such. So, we do a couple of apps like Duolingo and Adventure Academy or watch a couple videos and have discussions about what we see on the road (random statues, signs, nature, animals and such), recap what we just left and begin planning what’s next.

No, our school is far from traditional and we LOVE it! 

You can click here for some of our homeschooling games! Join us at www.instagram/our.journey.to.happiness to follow our journey!

What I learned my first week of homeschool

Let me start off by stating that my intention is to help others who want to homeschool. I am telling my story from the beginning because I think it’s important to hear about homeschooling from more than just those that have been doing it for years (although I’m VERY grateful for those who share their stories).

My kiddos are in grades 2nd, 3rd and 5th grade this year and have always been to an amazing public school all prior years. Yes, I do think the school they went to is wonderful and I’ll share why we decided to pull them out at another time.

This summer we began some homeschooling here and there but nothing too intense or scheduled. Just a little history and science every once in a while so I could figure out how everything was going to go down once we started. Are my kids going to listen to me as a teacher or try and prove me wrong? Are they going to actually learn anything? How do they learn best? These were some of the questions that went through my head.

I felt like that was a good stepping stone and would do it again if I had to start all over. It gave me a chance to prove that they needed to respect me as a teacher when learning instead of just “mom”. After all, my 2nd grader son likes to try and tell me I’m wrong on EVERYTHING.

Now… fast forward; summer ends and we need to start our academic year. We began this past Monday (a week after the public schools near us) and it went pretty well. I figured out pretty quickly that I had forgotten a lot of grammar terminology and a lot of grammar rules have changed. Whew! Thankfully, my husband was able to help explain things to the kids when the kids didn’t catch what I was throwing at them. So we worked as a team, I taught during the day and he helped answer or reexplain questions if they didn’t understand the way I explained it in the evening.

One of our many reasons for homeschooling was to teach them so that they actually remember instead of brain dumping after testing so this was great team work between us.

The kids loved it and I found it more relaxing that we weren't rushing our day away since we had all day to complete things. Did homeschool take as long as public school? Nope! Because we can focus on each of the kiddos, school is taking us about 2-4 hours each day which includes lunch. That includes all english, science, social studies and history and handwriting. This week we will include math so that will take a little more time but overall we have been able to go to the park and do things we normally wouldn’t have time for after the kids came home, unpacked their lunch boxes, did homework, ate dinner and showered for the following day.

The biggest worry for me was that I run 2 businesses so how in the heck will I do all this PLUS homeschool? Well, I found it went smooth this week and this week was busy for both businesses! Also, before you assume…. my kids DON’T stay on electronics such as iPads all day. They play with each other, go outside, play games, listen to things like “ Fifty Nifty United States” (best song ever, haha!), watch documentaries that go along with our history and such.

I’ll keep you posted on how week 2 goes after we add in some math! Wish me good luck!