Samantha Peterson is determined to Raise a Little Wonder. She is a mom of three and a former teacher turned travel-schooler. Samantha’s family is also part of the 0.9% of the American population that serves in the military. Their travel-schooling nomadic lifestyle is both by default as a military family, but also by choice. “When we were faced with all the challenges that come with uprooting every 2 years, we decided to fully embrace it.”
In this episode Samantha shares some wonderful insight on travel with young kids, military life, family culture, authentic learning and how to embrace instead of escape.
Travel Schooling~Experiences Over Things
Samantha is no stranger to going against the grain. Living a life in the military really challenged her to step up and live like no one else. Being a military family already puts them in 0.9% of the US population. Her family has also chosen to homeschool and travel school. On top of that, in order to do this on a single income, they live simply. Their family focus is on making memories, not on accumulating material things.
They travel often, almost every weekend, but they keep it local to their area. As Samantha says, “you don’t have to travel to far, expensive destinations to be a travel family”. Keeping it local can be just as rewarding, fun and even more flexible.
I loved how Samantha explained how travel schooling impacts their learning life and why this can look different from the formal classroom environment. In a world of comparison it can be hard not to question our education choice when it can look so different from the norm of school. Using her experience, Samantha lays out why it looks different, and why it is just as valuable, if not more so. She lays out why it’s important to encourage our kids to explore, how we can cultivate curiosity and why it’s all about experiencing things together in real time.
Samantha asks what I feel is one of the most simple, yet foundational questions in learning and parenting. A question that gets lost in all of the talk of grades, scores and success. The real question she asks is this; How do we raise good humans?
If you would like to learn more about
- Travel Schooling and Cultivating Curiosity
- Tips For Traveling With Young Children
- Choosing To Shift Your Perspective
- Living With Less So You Can Live With More
- and Raising Good Humans
Listen to this episode.
