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Road Scholars: Teach Your Kids While You’re Driving

What kind of a difference did you see in your children as you began implementing carschooling techniques? 

“It virtually eliminated the complaints and squabbles kids have in the car. Most parents have been driven crazy in zero to sixty seconds by backseat commotion and whining from, "Mom, his foot is touching my foot," to "Are we there, yet?"  The kids were engaged in watching, listening, and hands-on activities that kept them happily occupied.”

Were there certain things you tried that just didn't work?  If so, what and why not?

“I learned very quickly that insisting the children do a particular activity because of some misguided need of mine to satisfy government curriculum standards was almost always ineffective. If I tried to drill them on their times tables it would often be met with resistance. On the other hand, if I put on a CD of multiplication tables set to rock music (which they enjoyed) they learned the math facts effortlessly. I made a concerted effort to follow my kids' interests whenever I introduced a topic or subject that I thought was worthwhile. It engaged them and led to some remarkable learning moments in the car.”

Some homeschooling parents might say that drive time should be their time to listen to the radio or an adult audio book or have a conversation with another passenger - and that the children would need to keep themselves occupied. How do you respond to that?

“These parents sound delusional to me! You can't ignore kids - they won't allow it. If you try to turn family time in the car into "me time" you'll lose.  Oh, you can threaten the kids with authoritarian dictums, or plug them in to an entertainment system to keep them passive and compliant – but at what cost to your relationship with them?  When you are in the car with your kids you have a "captive audience."  It's one of the few places where you can turn off the noise of the culture, and really have meaningful conversations with your children that will bond you together in the most profound and heartfelt ways. Instead of resisting uninterrupted time together - embrace it!”

What was one of the most successful things you did with your boys as you carschooled them?

“I think everything we did was successful because it generated conversation. Whether we were listening to books on tape, talking about the red-tailed hawks we saw on telephone poles, looking for nouns or verbs in billboard advertisements, estimating the mileage from one point to another on the horizon - it all led to discussion. Those discussions gave me insight into what they were thinking, what they were interested in, how they processed information, what their strengths and weaknesses were, and how they learned best. Because I listened to what they had to say, it built a foundation of trust and good will that continues to this day.”

Of some of those early experiences, have any of them stayed with them today?

“Yes. They are both very inquisitive and curious and aware of what's in their environment at any given time. They continue to ask questions and find answers to whatever sparks their interest.”

Should carschooling become more of a movement, more of a habit among homeschooling familes?

“I don't believe in adhering to any one way of learning. You have to custom-tailor educational pursuits to the interests, needs, and abilities of your unique children. That said, when you homeschool you typically do spend inordinate amounts of time in the car schlepping the kids to park days, co-op classes, field trips, music lessons, and all of the "normal" activities like 4-H, scouting, AYSO soccer, etc.  Why not take advantage of that unconditional time in the car to engage in some fun educational moments that can spark a life-long love of learning? And that, after all, is the goal of homeschooling.”

And what are some of the key mistakes that parents make as they drive their children around?  Should they be talking to them more? Engaging them?  Do you find that a lot of them just don't use that time effectively?

“I think establishing boundaries for appropriate behavior in the car is key. That's more of a parenting skill than a "carschooling" skill, but it's critical to everyone's sanity and happiness. My book offers all kinds of suggestions and tips for how to do that - compiled from advice offered by parents who are frequently in the car, on the road with their kids.”

It took me a little time to get past the confines of ‘I Spy’ and to try and do more interesting things with my kids in the car. We’ve started playing ‘Alphabet Jump Rope’, encouraging kids to think up words that start with a particular letter to fill in blanks in a jingle like:

‘My name is...
My best friend’s name is…
We live in …
And we sell ….’ 

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