Martin and Carina Simpson-Hughes have always loved travel – that’s a passion that brought them together on their first date.
So after being cooped up indoors during lockdown, the couple decided to share that love of adventure with their children, Eden, 10, and Ivy, eight.
The couple, from Hampshire, bought a Volkswagen T6 bus for £18,000, spent a further £15,000 revamping it to suit their family, then hit the road.
But this wasn’t just a summer holiday. The pair of video producers had noticed how much their children benefited from education outside of school, so decided to ditch tradition and take over their kids’ learning themselves.
‘When we said the kids weren’t going to back to school there was a sharp intake of breath from our parents,’ said Carina.
‘But both our parents are in full support of it now.
‘They said had they known then what they know now they wouldn’t have been so concerned, because they see how happy the kids are now.’
Now, the family travel the world and are homeschooled on the bus along the way.
So far, they have travelled to Spain, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, France, and Belgium.
Carina explained: ‘What we do is a mix of world-schooling and home education.
‘After the lockdowns, we decided it was a really good fit and we’ve been doing it for two years.
‘At the moment they do one and a half days a week at an online diplomatic school, and then we do a whole load of other stuff to support that.
‘We have a tutor that helps with the more core subjects, and then we look at what they want to learn for history, geography and art.
‘For us, it just means having the freedom and opportunity to take the kids to places they are learning about to make it tangible and make it something they can fully understand.’
‘I love that their learning can be brought to life,’ said Martin.
‘Last year we went to Barcelona and they did a whole project on Dali, Gaudi and Picasso.
‘It’s really important for them to get an understanding of different cultures.
‘I think what was probably a key point in our decision as well was that our oldest daughter has dyslexia.
‘We worked with the school over a period of two and half years, and we were doing everything we could at home, but that gap between her and other kids her age wasn’t closing at that stage.
‘In many ways Covid gave us a “try before you buy” experience of home education, and gave her the one to one time she needed.
‘Now she’s absolutely flying in the areas she was struggling with before.’
The family estimate they have travelled around 30,000 miles in their bus, and are fully commited to their lifestyle-on-wheels full-time.
They have now invested £60,000 in a new Roller Team T-Line 700 van for more space as they journey.
‘We are planning on a lot more travel in the van and further afield from September onwards,’ said Carina.
‘I think for us it’s just about having the freedom – being able to raise our kids how we want to raise them, but it’s also about them being able to have their own voice.
‘We regularly talk to them about things they want to learn and are passionate about and include these areas within their study.’
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