Travel-schooling ~ Life Lessons

After the last 2 posts about Homeschooling,  Erik and I have started calling our school...."travel-schooling".  We figured, "Why not?"  There are thousands of books on home-schooling,  car-schooling,  why not "travel-schooling"? Our kids have learned so much more while traveling than only their academics.  They are learning life lessons that can not be taught in a book or at school.  Two of which I was reminded of while we were on our trip recently to Jordan.

Best Buds :)

The first one is about family friendships.  While we have been traveling our kids have learned to be close friends with each other.  Although we tried to be a close family before we left the US, traveling has encouraged closer relationships among our children. If they don't get along....they don't have a friend.  Our family "motto" has always been:  Friends come and go, but family is forever. (Thanks Rosie:)  Lily(6) and Zoe(4) are very close and are now joined at the hip. Zoe informed me the other day that she never wanted to get married,  because then she would be lonely without Lily.  Even doing school with Lily,  Zoe sits patiently by her side until she is done.  I have even found them many times holding hands while they are sleeping! Too precious!  Maggie(16) and Levi(15) are similar.  They are both well into the teen years and have a developed a close friendship.  As they experience "teen issues", they are able to talk to each other about it from the opposite perspective...boy/girl.  I can only imagine how having a "boy perspective" in my teen-age years could have helped me.  Some people have told us.....traveling will either test any relationship, strengthen or weaken it.  This is true!  It has done both in our family at different times.

Mags & Levi waiting at a 
museum for us to be done :)

The next thing I was reminded of is how we have learned to WAIT.  Yes, wait.  I am not sure in America I ever truly knew how to wait....or my kids for that matter.  While you travel you must learn to wait.  You are waiting for visas, in lines, crossing boarders, while driving, on trains, on buses, for buses, help in a store, for the wind, for the right weather, for your anchor to hold....and the list goes on.  I must say when we first started this adventure we were all very impatient and did not know how to wait. But eventually learned and are still learning, (by the grace of God) to wait and wait patiently.  

I could go on more but you will just have to "wait" for the next blog......Rachel :)