The World of World Schooling

I’d like to tell you about what we’ve learned to date on the world of world schooling. My hope is that it can function as an introduction for someone that is interested in this type of traveling and lifestyle.

Willa and I came to the idea of doing a world school year over the course of a few months. We traveled to Kenya in July of 2024. The kids traveled well. No issues with long flights, new places, uncertainty, etc. Moreover, we all loved it. We liked having our worlds and minds expanded. A seed was planted on that trip. “Just how might we do more of this…like, a lot more?”  We asked ourselves.

Over the course of 2025 we entertained the idea of a long summer road trip. We met a few people that traveled more extensively with kids and our idea quickly grew to traveling for the whole year. We were giddy with excitement at the idea. We thought it was soooo original. We soon learned that, while it is certainly a non-traditional idea, it was not entirely original. There is a whole world and community of families doing the same thing. As we told our friends and family about our plans, many folks mentioned, “I know a family that did that.” We were lucky to be connected with Tiphani Axtell. She is a local Santa Fean that had just returned from 15 months of world schooling with her family of 5. Willa met for coffee and Tiphini sent an invaluable lists of contacts, communities, and hubs. It felt like we leap frogged a full year in our understanding of world schooling communities and resources.

We’ve seen this type of travel and home schooling called world schooling, slow travel, and digital nomading to name a few. Families that are traveling full time can begin to feel a bit isolated. So we’ve noticed that they tend to prioritize activities that allow their kids to spend time with other kids. There are all types of activities and meetups. It’s a bit of a spectrum from very loosely structured to very structured. There are a number of, “hubs”. These are typically programs that are offered for a few weeks in a set location. They invite families to be in that area and may provide some itinerary or programing for kids. Some examples are Deliberate Detour and Mireleft Cultural Cove. There are pop-up hubs. Which are similar to a hub but is located in a new location each time. It brings together families in a new spot with a simple itinerary. An example is World School Pop-Up Hub. There are schools that offer semester long programs such as Boundless Life. Where you can hop between global locations and experience a more structured educational experience. Or more camp style like The Field School of Hvar, where you can immerse deeply into the local culture with a group of international peers. There are traveling pods such as Roam Base, or ArcticTerns. These are groups of families that like to travel together and pick a new location to all meet up. This is also sometimes called villaging. Some of the pods are more structured and the organizer offers programing for kids. And I should mention there are heaps of world schooling Facebook groups like Wordschoolers.

As we become more familiar with all the opportunities, we can see that there really is a range.  Likewise, it’s a range in how long families are on the move for. We’ve met some that are participating in an activity for their families’ two-week summer vacation. Or, families that have been on the road, or “have no permanent address” as they like to say, for 4-6 years. It’s incredibly eye-opening and inspiring to see what is possible. Many families seem to be on a similar timeline as us. Taking a year or so to slow travel around the world.

We picked A World School Pop-up Hub in Sarajevo to start our trip. We wanted to see how we liked it and to meet similar families. Our hope was to learn more about the landscape of opportunities for world schooling and get word of mouth recommendations to inform the rest of our year. We couldn’t have been happier with the hub. Our boys played with 30 other kids the whole week. We met inspiring peers that emboldened us to think a little bigger about our plans. It's amazing how a few word-of-mouth accounts from people you trust can quickly reframe your perspective on a place you have not been before. While there, we signed up for a few more pop-ups in locations we were already planning on going to or were curious about. We found that these pop-up hubs function as a great entry point into a country or region. When you’re independent traveling vs. traveling with a travel agency or tour company, travel planning to a new area can be a bit daunting and time consuming. The hubs simplify it and focus you on a place and time with a community of fellow travelers. From there you can fill out the rest of your itinerary. The kids made such good friends at the pop-up that we made a point to meet up with a family in a new city. The kids had a sleepover together. 6 months ago, before we set out, had you told me that my kids would meet friends from other countries and do a sleepover in the city of Zagreb, Croatia. I wouldn’t have thought it possible. But it felt entirely normal.

World School Pop-Up Hub Sarajevo July 2025

We also participated in the Field School of Hvar. We wanted our kids to experience a more structured program. And let’s be honest we wanted to spend a month on a Croatian island! It’s been nice to slow down into a place. You see the same beach dozens of times.  It’s your beach. Things become familiar in a different way than just blazing through in a few days and hitting the hot spots. The kids have been able to immerse into the local Croatian island culture. Spending time with locals, cooking food, taking island taxis to secret beaches. All the while building comradery with a group of international peers. There are families from Spain, Mexico, Ecuador, Israel, USA, UK, and Croatia. Many of the families had done other programs together and made plans to all do this program at the same time. A form of villaging around a structured program.  

I often see the question from someone in the beginning stages of their world school planning, “is there a list of all the programs out there? The answer, there is no list. There are people offering how-to workshops and resources you can pay for like Trail Blazing Families. There is also the World School Atlas site that is a searchable list of opportunities but by no means is exhaustive. The point is, a world schooling itinerary is a bit organic. It’s not a product to buy off the shelf. What will make you confident in your choices is your own experience and network of people you trust and resonate with. For anyone curious I’d recommend just starting. Find a program or activity and begin to meet people and network. At the end of the day you will create the experience that is right for your family.