What kids really think about homeschooling while travelling

Emma Nance is sailing around the world with her family. She explains the pros and cons of learning on the high seas.

8 mins

The best thing about homeschooling is that you can learn at  your own speed. Like math: I can go faster on math and then spend more time on language and arts.

You can also get more school done in less hours and have more time to hang out with your family. It only takes me about three to four hours a day to do math, language, arts, sciences or history.

You get more time with your parents because your parents are your teachers. That means more family time. If you were at your regular school you would not see your parents every day as your teacher.

The only thing I miss about regular school is hanging out with my two best friends Kaylan and Adriana. I still hang out with kids we meet on our travels but not my best friends.

One of the best part about home schooling is the unusual ways you can learn things. Like the time we used a fish to learn about science.

Fish drawing (Aimee Nance)

My mum often makes loaves of bread on the boat. One time the yeast was dead and the bread didn't turn out. My dad asked if he could use the bread as bait. With his fishing line and mum's bread he was able to catch a small fish. 

That fish became our science lesson.

First my dad pointed out the different parts of the fish had us sketch the fish.

Then my dad cut open the fish so we could see the inside.

We took out the gallbladder, intestines, liver, heart, and eyeball.

Then we looked at the different parts of the fish under our microscope.

I thought seeing all the different parts of a fish was educational and cool. Science on the boat is fun, especially when my dad is a scientist. 

That's what I love most about home schooling.


Emma and Jessica Nance are currently 'cruising' around the world with their family. You can follow their adventures on Sailing with Terrapin.

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