Week 1: Our Worldschooling Adventure - Learning on the Road with a Neurodivergent Child.
What is Worldschooling?
At its heart, worldschooling is learning through travel—using the world as a classroom. For some families, it means exploring new countries while following a structured curriculum. For others, it’s about letting experiences guide the learning. For us, it’s a mix of both.
How I Approach It
I’m still old school when it comes to education. I believe in the power of pen and paper. There’s something about writing things down that helps imprint information—it anchors the lesson. Technology has its place, but I’m very much a notebook-and-pencil kind of learner, and I try to pass that along.
I also believe in structure and repetition. That’s how I learned growing up in Singapore, where the pace and depth of learning always felt just right—until high school, when it sped up too much and I began to struggle. I eventually took night classes to get to college, and I saw first-hand the difference in workload, discipline, and support. That experience shaped how I now support my son.
So when I decided to homeschool—and now worldschool—my youngest son, who has Autism, I wanted to keep these foundational elements: structure, consistency, and time to process.
What I love about worldschooling is being able to tie textbook knowledge to real-life experiences. Concepts like peace, tranquility, or symmetry suddenly click when you’re surrounded by it. My son, like many autistic children, is a visual and kinesthetic learner. He learns best through what he sees and feels, not just through spoken or written words. Being in the environment makes the abstract concrete.
The Real-Life Hiccups
One major challenge happened right at the start. We missed our connecting flight to Paris, and our luggage didn’t arrive for over a week. That meant no clothes, no familiar items, and—most critically—none of our school materials.
That delay completely threw off our rhythm. Jet lag was already hard on my son, and this added layer of unpredictability made it even harder to regulate emotions and re-establish structure. It reminded me how much we depend on predictability—not just for learning, but for comfort and stability.
It also made me realize: worldschooling isn’t just about location. It’s about mental space. And when you’re constantly reacting to the unexpected, there’s very little room for focused learning.
Early Challenges of Worldschooling
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Creating Structure
Travel, jet lag, and the ever-changing environment can disrupt basic routines—meals, sleep, emotional regulation. For neurodivergent kids especially, a predictable routine is essential. We also found that not having easy access to learning tools made it harder to stay on track. -
Making Time to Work
I’m fortunate to work remotely with flexible hours, but without childcare or another adult to step in, juggling work and teaching is draining. There were days when I felt like I was failing at both. -
Establishing Friendships
Enrolling in classes is easy; making real friendships is not. Worldschooling can be isolating, especially if you’re moving often. It takes time to find community, and that’s not something you can rush.
Rethinking the Approach
Despite the bumps, I’m not giving up on worldschooling. But I’m adjusting.
Instead of trying to worldschool full-time, I’ve realized that part-time might be more sustainable for us. That means having a stable home base where we can dig into lessons deeply, and traveling occasionally to enrich what we’ve learned.
In other words, instead of traveling to learn, we’ll learn so we can travel—using the excitement of an upcoming trip as a reason to explore history, geography, science, and culture in advance.
After this trip, we’ll take a break and then carve out intentional worldschooling periods during the year. I think that rhythm will be more fulfilling—for both of us.
Final Thoughts
Worldschooling holds incredible promise, especially for children who learn best through visual experiences and hands-on exploration. However, like any adventure, it brings its own set of challenges—particularly when juggling parenting, neurodivergent needs, and remote work. If you’re walking a similar path, I’d love to hear your thoughts and experiences.
As for us, we’re continuing on our worldschooling journey, staying flexible and open to the unexpected. Every day, we’re learning just as much from the process itself as we are from the places we visit.
For families like ours—neurodivergent, and constantly looking for inspiration to learn and grow—worldschooling can be a beautiful fit. It just takes a good deal of patience, flexibility, and a whole lot of grace.
We’re still finding our rhythm, and that's okay. Every step, every challenge, and every new day is part of this amazing journey.
Until next time.
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