Travel is indeed very educational, cheers.

We haven’t had the chance for overseas travel. My daughter wants to travel. I hope she gets to cross travel off of her bucket list

this is just great

My daughter had a pretty rough year in grade 1 – we changed schools after term 1. After settling into the new school, we went to Japan for three weeks in August. This was because my daughter turned 7 on 7 August and her cousin who lives in Japan turned 8 on 8 August. The trip to Japan taught her so much and also let her grow. She returned to school with renewed enthusiasm and literally sailed through the rest of the year.

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  • • mom94125 replied
    • 18 Oct 2015 , 5:38 pm

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  yes that is so cool and japan seems awesome for sure.

I would love my children to experience other cultures etc but not really in our budget hopefully one day.

its important for people to understand other cultures

I have been lucky enough to have done a little travelling. Not only did I learn a lot, I matured a lot also.

We’ve wanted to pack up the children, and experience Australia, the entire country wherever we can travel to… One day we will… Outside of Australia, well that will happen once we get our country tour done first! Travelling is something the children are excited about, they love our road trips to different towns and cities, they learn so much from their travel experiences.

We don’t do much during the normal ‘school holidays’ because places are always jam packed, so we make our holidaying plans after or before the school holidays, we get things cheaper at times too due to this. And we can relax & take our time, exploring everything, without having millions or tourists, children & their parents flocking to the said places rushing around trying to get in as much as they can before they head off back home.

Travel – either domestic or international – is an amazing way for children to experience other places, people and cultures. It is amazing to see children discover a world beyond their own and broaden their horizons. Children are like sponges, and find wonder in all that they encounter so to watch them experience new things and to take these in, does amazing things for their confidence and self-esteem … and to their education of a world not found between the pages of a book. Travel also is a great way to teach children about how very fortunate life here is in Australia and that so many other children around the world can only dream of the life our children have.

We used to go during school holidays. There were other staff with school children who worked in the same section so the men worked out amongst themselves who wanted the school holidays off and shared the times accordingly. On the odd weekend we went away but that was usually for a special event or to a relative’s farm. That in itself was educational. Sometimes the farmers would show us things they had found in the area that wse would never have found. How many know that bush turkeys built mounds to lay their eggs in and according to the heat of the soil they would either scratch more soil onto the mound or scratch some off. We saw sheep giving birth to and caring for lambs, a cow give birth to a calf, sheep being shorn, cows being milked when the calves had been weaned by them. We took feed out to sheep on an open trailer towed by a tractor when they had eaten all the grass and stubble from harvested wheat etc. One family had recued joeys (baby kangaroos) and emu chicks and were feeding them because mums had been killed by foxes or run over by cars when they attempted to cross roads. The farms were close to highways so there was more risk of them being hit by cars or trucks. The joeys were given a special formula because cow’s milk was not suitable for them. There weren’t many kangaroos down there so they didn’t cull them at all. Rabbits were a major problem because they ate large areas of crop when it was small. They also dug burrows in some open areas where sheep and cows could be injured if they trod in the holes they made. They also bred rapidly. They killed some of them to reduce numbers and either ate them themselves or gave them to their dogs. Some holidays or day trips we visited places we were learning about at school. Some things were historical, mines,( where minerals came from that we learnt about the uses of them), reservoirs where our water came from which we had to do assignments at school (not because we went there they were a project we were either doing then or would be later in the year). We visited processing plants, one where sultanas were dried (they used to spray them with alcohol to prevent insects getting in the when they were packaged), oranges made into juice,…… apples picked, washed, graded and packed. Back then some of picked in the Adelaide Hills went to Sydney by road transport, then shipped to England. In the South East area of SA we also saw timber being prepared to manufacture paper. In SA, Vic and NSW we visited and had guided tours around electricity generation plants – including hydro-electricity in the Snowy Mountains region of NSW where it snowed in winter. We learnt a lot during our holidays.

I don’t understand home schooling… Can you really teach your kids everything they learn at school while staying at home?

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  • • mom102844 replied
    • 28 Nov 2014 , 4:46 pm

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  Hi Christial, i understand your comment. Home schooling is not for everyone. Our curriculum was not as broad as a schools curriculum. Our goal was to teach all the basics VERY well and while doing this look for our children’s talents and develop those. During all of this we had the opportunity to grow a wonderful relationship with them both. My children are grown now and successful in their chosen careers. I will say again though it is not for everyone.

We love travelling as a family. My 8 year old son has been to Thailand twice and both of my kids (8 and 5) them have been to Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and New Zealand – not to mention lots of Australian holidays. They learn so much.

I so absolutely agree. There’s so many things that travel can teach children. And I can’t wait till I can take them oversea’s to let them see how fortunate they are and we are as a Nation.

I would so love to do this. Excellent way for children to see & experience the world firsthand.

As a child we never went on holidays only day trips to a farm, boring but as I grew up and worked I travelled the world by myself exploring the different countries and their amazing cultures. Things you can’t learn or appreciate by reading a book or looking through a travel magazine. Now with a young family we try to do day trips at least once a month going to another town, or city or state, for the day or if need be, an overnight trip. Nothing like exploring your own country!

We do love to travel as a family, and make sure we go somewhere different each time. On the occasion we’ve had to take my son out of school, his teachers have helped us incorporate travel into his learning including sharing his experience with the class when he returns. Looking forward to our next trip — a cruise to the Pacific Islands.

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  • • mom102844 replied
    • 05 Nov 2014 , 9:21 am

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  Hi I am the author of this blog. Sounds like you have chosen a wonderful school. If you haven’t already chosen your Sth. Pacific cruise, have a look at Tui TAi Cruises in the Taveuni Island reagion of Fiji. Amazing for a cultural experience.

Loving these travel articles…getting itchy feet!!

Travel is such a wonderful way to learn and experience culture!

I would love to take my children right round Australia before we venture out of Australia with them it gives them a greater respect for the beauty of their own country

I agree, travel can be so beneficial to kids in so many ways. Our kids have really had their eyes opened up from travel to non-Western countries.

The education department is quite obessive about attendance and trying to avoid kids missing a single day of school, but I wouldn’t hesitate to take my kids out of school for an important travel experience.