Welcome to our blog!

We are a homeschooling family of five, regularly living in north Queensland, Australia. We aim to travel internationally a few times a year, often to see family (we have lots of extended family who live in different countries around the world!) and also doing what we call "homeschool field trips." 

This year we will be travelling in the USA, going around Europe, completing a Baha'i pilgrimage in Israel, and visiting Thailand. 

About to fly out from the Townsville Airport

Now that our children are (almost) ages 13, 11 and 7 we wanted to give them an outlet for recording their experiences. Therefore this blog will serve as a sort of collective journal as we document some of the highlights from our travel. 

Different types of posts will include:

• Informational posts (who, what, why, when, where)
• Personal reflection posts (how we have been influenced by experiences as individuals)
• "So what?" "Now what?" posts (what we can do based on what we've learned)

We travel to:

• Learn about other cultures, so we can appreciate diversity in our worldwide community and develop empathy for others
• Learn geography and history, so we can better understand our place in the world (and why it is what it is) and find ways to contribute towards making the world a better place
• Grow through new challenges by getting out of our comfort zones and practicing resilience

For example, past travel experiences have included...

Lots of planning before even arriving at our destination (New Zealand)

Trying new foods (Samoa)

Watching traditional music and theatre (Indonesia)

Exploring different religious practices and places of significance (Japan)

Learning about local customs and ceremonies (Fiji)

Appreciating local crafts (Vanuatu)

Exploring nature (Mexico)

Learning about indigenous cultures (Kakadu, Australia)

Visiting museums and national parks (Kings Canyon, USA)

Challenging ourselves with new experiences (snorkelling in New Caledonia)

Volunteering (public health skits with YWAM in Papua New Guinea)

We hope the next few months of travel will offer lots of learning experiences and opportunities for reflection.

Please comment at the end of posts if you are so moved. We would love to hear your thoughts and questions as you read along. Remember to add your name so we know who is commenting!