Homeschool While Traveling with Paul and Jeanne
Gone are the days where we work 9-5, at the same company, for 40 years.
Couples, individuals and families all around the world are reinventing what life can look like for them and reprioritize what matters most. It might be travel, time together, or more space to think. The most fulfilled lives are the ones we are creating.
The Little Book of Big Dreams shows what life is like when we think our dreams are possible. May their stories encourage you to dream!
The Little Book of Big Dreams Series
Meet the Webber family from California. Jeanne was raised in New Orleans with a strong Vietnamese heritage and enjoyed 10 years as a Neonatal Intensive Care Respiratory Therapist breathing life into some of the most fragile and beautiful infants you could imagine. She met her husband, Paul, a handsome, athletic and super-nerdy Emergency Medicine physician and relocated from the Big Easy to California. They rebuilt an old ranch house and then Jade & Lily arrived in 2006 and Noah 14 months later. The next few years were full of diapers, dream feeds, and travel. Yes, they took their kids everywhere, even before they could walk: Vietnam, Austria, Italy, Singapore, Thailand and New Zealand. You will find them wherever there is adventure, culture, great people and, of course, food & wine.
Editor’s Note: We met the Webbers at a campground in New Zealand and immediately hit it off. Jeanne and I chatted about her dreams of reimagining her children’s education….just a few months later she did just that. YESS! Read more below.
We were lucky enough to cross paths with you and your family at an RV park in Queenstown, NZ. You are from California. What were you doing in New Zealand? How long were you there for?
We introduced our 11yo girls & 10yo boy to the South Island and all its diversity & wonders, investing about 3.5 weeks circumnavigating it by campervan.
2. Was RVing through New Zealand always a dream? I think I remember you telling me you and Paul had done it together years before without the kids.
After exploring Vietnam & Brazil by plane, train, hired car & foot, the campervan proved a true luxury: a moveable feast of sorts with local wines, farm-stand foods, and a porch with a vista whenever and wherever we pulled over. It’s like a home in a backpack. We free-camped in places resorts could only dream to inhabit.
3. Were you both on board from the start? Anyone need convincing? Did the kids get excited about it?
Completely. With mountains, fjords, lakes, glaciers, caves, waterfalls & hot springs all within reach, New Zealand is our paradise. The kids are fit and fearless, and reveled in all the outdoor adventures. The only convincing we needed was that we had to return home to California; we all wanted to stay. (Ask Paul about his job interview in Invercargill/Queenstown.)
4. Did you ever change your mind? Any fear around this?
Not at all. We are all pretty relaxed and resourceful and always up for an adventure. Paul served in the Navy & Marines before he became an ER doctor and is pretty handy when something goes wrong. I am a respiratory therapist, teach health & wellness through essential oils, but also work for an airline so non-rev traveling is quite affordable. And after years of globe-trotting and living on a small ranch & avocado orchard, our kids have become pretty self-reliant and share our wunderlust.
5. How did you afford to do it? Any ideas you can pass along to someone that feels like money is keeping them from making a change.
Eat, drink & party like a local. You came for an authentic experience: find it. Meet people, share a bottle, ask for recommendations. Explore local shops and markets for food & drink over restaurants. Book simple, comfortable, safe accommodation — AirB&Bs or vacation rentals (read the reviews) — rather than hotels. You’re typically only going to shower and sleep there after exploring all day. Pack smart & light. You’ll be stunned at how little will comfortably and fashionably get you by.
6. Did others’ opinions about your choices ever affect you?
Excellent question for those traveling with kids. Jade & Lily experienced Vietnam for the first time when they were 11 months old. Noah rocked Baja Mexico when he was just over a month. Friends and family thought we were nuts traveling abroad with infants but we knew the risks, planned well, and felt prepared. I speak Vietnamese, Paul speaks Spanish, and we are both medical professionals who’ve traveled extensively. Sadly, many people who don’t wander off the beaten path think anything outside the gate of a resort is fraught with danger. They end up missing spectacular experiences.
7. Since returning back to California you have made some other big changes. How did that happen?
Yes! After five people spend weeks in a 20’ campervan, you either bond or despise one another. We loved it. So much so that we left traditional schooling for ‘world schooling.’ We enrolled the kids in a hybrid learning program and took their lesson on the road/water/air. Paul could work 15 nights shifts at a time, clearing weeks off so we could take advantage of Jeanne’s travel benefits and flight-planning savvy to fly us everywhere.
8. What has the transition been like to homeschool?
Quite challenging initially. Our kids attended a competitive private school and enjoyed a large group of friends. After a few weeks, we realized their focus seemed to be more on achieving grades than learning to understand. That took some undoing. Once we found our groove, however, it was smoother sailing. We still have days when no one wants to crack a book and others where they (incredibly) finish entire weeks of work in a three day period. We will have to see if the spaghetti sticks: the girls enter ‘normal’ high school this fall, COVID permitting.
9. Any other plans in the works once travel is allowed or big dreams you are following?
Working for an airline has really opened the world to us so we plan our work schedules to accommodate extended stretches off. We usually decide on destinations a couple weeks prior and then check the number of space-available seats on potential flights. This might drive some people crazy but flexibility is key. You might plan for Japan but end up in Australia. You learn to pack creatively under such conditions.
10. If you could offer someone one piece of advice in regards to going for a big dream they have, what would it be?
Every minute on this earth is a gift. in our jobs, we routinely see peoples’ lives and hopes instantly and dramatically upended by something they didn’t plan for, couldn’t have prevented. If you have a dream, don’t put it off. Chase it with all your might. And when you’ve achieved your dream … dream again … and again … and again. Let this be your new ‘wash, rinse, repeat.’
Be sure to follow along Jeanne’s journey! She shares great tricks and tips. It is always incredible to see what she gets from her garden.
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