With so many travel nurses posting questions about how you travel with your family, kids, pets, etc., we thought this would be a great guest article to post and give you some insight on how one travel family is getting ready to do just that.
Hi, my name is Sarah; my husband Chad and I travel with our three kids. They were 9,6, and 3 when we started in April and 7,4, and 1 when we first started considering and planning for life as a traveling family. We often talked with the kids about living in different apartments in different towns and moving every three months. We made lists of what we wanted to see and got the kids involved in making that list. We made a list of our fears and made a plan of action that we would take to actualize any of those fears. This let the thought of it soak in. It got them excited and calmed their fears.
Next was the biggest job of all, scaling down on all our stuff. We did this several times and continue to do it as we discover how little we truly need. We drive a 4 Runner and have three kids and a large dog, so space is limited.
Then we needed to consider our education plan. As homeschoolers, we knew we wanted to continue homeschooling the kids, but unlike when we stayed in one place, we would not have the weekly support of our homeschool group. Also, we wanted to integrate our current assignment and all its historical and scientific offerings into the kid’s education. After all, that is why we are traveling, beginning with.
To keep in touch, the kids have the addresses and phone numbers of their friends, and we FaceTime family frequently, which has made a big difference, and so far, we have heard very little about the kids being homesick.
There have been many benefits of traveling with the kids already—bonding as a family, a well-rounded education, and an expanded world view. We are traveling for our kids, not just with them.
NOTE: Want to learn more about the travel adventures of this travel nurse? Sarah and her family have a blog all about their experiences! Owens Endeavors
