How to Get Started with Homeschool (or Roadschooling in an RV!)

Deciding to homeschool your kids can feel overwhelming at first—where do you even begin?

Between the different teaching philosophies, curriculum options, and the logistics of daily learning (especially if you live in an RV or travel often), it’s easy to feel like you’re in over your head before you ever start.

But here’s the good news: homeschool is flexible, customizable, and designed to meet your family where you are! Whether you’re rooted in one place or rolling down the highway in an RV, there’s a style of homeschool that can fit your lifestyle and values.

In this guide, we’ll break down the most common homeschool terms and styles, share a bit about how our family homeschools while living full-time in our RV, and point you toward resources for staying organized on the road.

Homeschool Terms You’ll Hear (and What They Mean)

When you first dive into homeschooling, you’ll run into a lot of buzzwords. Here’s a quick breakdown of the most popular homeschool approaches:

✨ Traditional Homeschool

This style looks the most like public or private school—structured lessons, textbooks, workbooks, and a set schedule. Many families choose this route when they want clear expectations and accountability.

🌱 Charlotte Mason

A gentle, literature-based method that focuses on living books, nature study, narration, and cultivating good habits. It emphasizes a love of learning and an appreciation for beauty, art, and creation.

📚 Classical Education

Rooted in the “trivium” (grammar, logic, rhetoric stages), classical education builds critical thinking and communication skills. It often includes Latin, logic, and history studied chronologically.

🚐 Roadschool

When your family lives or travels in an RV, your classroom goes wherever the road takes you. Roadschooling combines core curriculum with experiential learning—national parks, museums, and real-world experiences become part of the school day.

🌍 Worldschool

A global twist on homeschooling (and roadschool) — families use travel and cultural immersion as the foundation for their children’s education. From learning history on the ground in ancient cities to studying ecosystems in the rainforest, the world itself becomes the curriculum.

🌻 Unschooling

At the opposite end of traditional structure, unschooling is child-led learning. Kids pursue their interests at their own pace, with parents providing resources and guidance as needed.

Children exploring tide pools in Olympic National Park.

Our Family’s Homeschool Style

Every family’s homeschool journey is unique. For us, we’ve chosen a hybrid approach—a mix of roadschool & worldschool (using our RV travels & international experiences as hands-on socio-cultural learning opportunities) combined with a traditional Christian curriculum for core subjects like math, Science, ELAR, and Bible study.

This balance allows our kids to stay grounded in foundational academics while also experiencing the incredible educational opportunities that come with full-time RV life.

For example:

• Learning geology while standing beneath arches in Utah

• Experiencing history first hand by throwing tea in the Boston Harbor

• Practicing fractions by splitting campfire s’mores into equal parts

• Writing journal entries about wildlife encounters in Yellowstone

• Completing Junior Ranger Programs at National Parks and Monuments (I have an entire blog post on my favorite Jr Ranger Programs and links to the materials the National Park Service provides.)

We’ve found that blending structured lessons with travel-based, real-world education keeps our kids both academically strong, culturally adept, and endlessly curious.

Steps to Get Started with Homeschool

1. Know Your State Laws – Every U.S. state has its own homeschool requirements. Some are hands-off, while others require testing or portfolio reviews. Always start by checking your state’s homeschool laws. (For example, Texas homeschoolers simply write a letter to the school their child would attend stating their intention to homeschool and that's it. You're done forever. The drawbacks though are that there are no state documents to provide to colleges later on (we will get into that later...) **If you are a full time travel family, your child will be held to the state regulations where you, as their parents/guardians, have your permanent residence filed, ie. where you are domiciled. Click here for: Homeschool Laws By State

2. Choose a Homeschool Method – Decide what feels right for your family: structured (traditional, classical, Charlotte Mason), flexible (unschool, worldschool, roadschool), or a mix.

3. Pick Your Curriculum – From boxed curriculum sets to online platforms and DIY lesson plans, the options are endless. If you’re roadschooling in an RV, consider lightweight, digital, or subscription-based resources. (See my blog post on Good & Beautiful and how to grab your FREE Homeschool Curriculum)

4. Set Realistic Goals – You don’t need to replicate public school at home. Focus on progress and consistency, not perfection.

5. Build in Flexibility – RV life comes with breakdowns, travel days, and unexpected detours. Flexibility is the secret to keeping homeschool sustainable and enjoyable. This took me YEARS to grasp. I would write an ambitious curriculum schedule for the year and FREAK OUT when we got behind because of travels or illness or whatever else life threw at us. That is so silly though. The reason you do this is to give your child a better experience than public institutions. So make it awesome for you BOTH!

Homeschool in an RV: Why It Works

Homeschooling and RV life actually complement each other beautifully. You’re not tied to a rigid school calendar, you can follow your family’s rhythms, and the world outside your camper or motorcoach door becomes an extension of the classroom! We love finding beautiful places to complete our curriculum. My kids did school on the campus at Harvard University last fall and we ended our day by touring the Harvard Museum of Natural History. The kids did their art assignment on the floor of one of the gigantic prehistoric marine life displays and loved it so much, I had to pry them out at closing time.

National Parks become science labs. Road trips double as geography lessons. Campfire stories become writing prompts. And no matter where you travel, learning never stops.

What’s Next: Creating an Organized Roadschool Environment

If you’re wondering how to take the next step—organizing your RV space for homeschool, keeping track of curriculum, and balancing schoolwork with travel—don’t worry, I’ve got you covered!

➡️ Be sure to check out my upcoming blog post: “How to Create an Organized Roadschool Environment and Curriculum Plan Around Travel” for practical tips on storage, scheduling, and making homeschool work seamlessly in a tiny space.

Final Thoughts

Homeschool shouldn't look like traditional public school. Whether you’re drawn to the Charlotte Mason method, curious about unschooling, or diving into roadschool in your RV, the best part is that you can design an education that fits your kids and your family’s lifestyle.

For us, combining a little bit of everything has been the perfect fit. And the beauty of homeschooling is—you get to choose what works for you. My son is into computers so he's taking a coding class online for his extracurricular, my daughter is learning violin, while my youngest still love to play babies and playdough, which are amazing learning opportunites also.

So grab your curriculum (or your hiking boots), and get ready for the most rewarding family adventure yet—homeschooling on the road.