Travel Resources - Home Educators Association of Virginia

Travel ResourcesNancy ColemanWant to tour the country with the children?Tour the “continent” of Europe? What aboutmountain biking in the Pyrenees? Thanks tothe World-Wide Web, we have information galore about anyplace we might want to visit.Finding travel information isn’t the problem. The challengeis to sift through the information and organize it to helpyour family enjoy the upcoming adventure. When we travel, Itake a notebook of activity ideas relating to each state throughwhich we will travel. I also take a map of our route, and travelgames such as Scrabble ® , Yahtzee ® , and Boggle ® . Whenwe cross the border into a new state, we pull in at the visitorcenter and request a state map. It is great fun to watch oursix-year-old unfold the map to find out exactly where we areand what route we are taking through the state.Web SitesThe A to Z Home’s Cool Homeschooling Web Site athttp://homeschooling.gomilpitas.com/index.htm is anexcellent comprehensive website. Ann Zeise presents herselfas “your web guide to the best and most useful sites and articlesabout homeschooling.”You can go to this website and find general home-educationinformation on such topics as field trips, discounts,family stories, or pertinent family issues. Or, go directly tohttp://homeschooling.gomilpitas.com/weblinks/traveling.htmfor the most comprehensive “homeschoolingwhile-traveling”resource I could locate.The travel site has links to websites created by familieswho travel extensively while homeschooling, a message boardto discuss education on the road, resources to help keep childrenon track, ideas for keeping kids entertained, and more.While the family travel pages are mainly geared toward RV’inghomeschool families, much of the information is appropriatefor any traveling homeschool family. Plan to spend lots oftime at the website. It truly is comprehensive.An amazing geography website is WorldAtlas.com,http://www.worldatlas.com/aatlas/world.htm. Need amap? They have it. If they don’t have it online, you can requestit and they will e-mail it to you. Need to know the populationof Cote d’Ivoire? (or where Cote d’Ivoire is located?) WorldAtlas.comwill tell you. They even provide permission for theirmaps to be used in any educational setting. I have searched foryears and never found a map/geography website so complete.You won’t need that CD with black-line maps ever again. DidI mention that everything at this website is free?Several years ago, Lisa Whelchel, homeschooling momand star of “Facts of Life” television show, packed up herfamily and headed cross-country in an RV. An interviewshe gave with homeschool.com is available online at www.homeschool.com/articles/Whelchel/default.asp. A differentinterview by KVH, whose technology allowed Lisa touplink her daily diary and keep her husband in touch withhis office, is available at www.kvh.com/uploaded/images/Whelchel_Article.pdf.BooksIf you are circling the globe in 80 days, you might considerpurchasing Galloping the Globe by Loree’ Petit and DariMullins. Available at their website, www.geomatters.com,for $24.95, it is basically a world-geography unit study. Itcontains word searches, mazes, maps, and more. It also listsadditional reading and activities that can enhance understanding.While it is designed for early elementary-aged children,it would be a great basic introduction to a country.Cantering the Country, also by Loree’ Petit and DariMullins, is the United States’ counterpart to Galloping theGlobe. This book contains detailed information about eachstate, from its state flower, tree, animal, and bird, to storiesof famous people and founding fathers. (continued on page 30)The Virginia Home Educator l 23