79: Learning Never Stops: Turning Family Travel into Learning Opportunities

One of the greatest joys of homeschooling is the freedom to take learning beyond the traditional classroom—and even beyond our hometowns. Travel presents a rich opportunity for families to turn any trip into an immersive educational experience, filled with hands-on learning, cultural exploration, and unforgettable memories.

As a homeschooling parent who also travels for work, I’ve learned how to blend education into our trips, making each journey a chance for discovery. From planning intentional outings to embracing unexpected learning moments, every adventure offers something valuable for our children. 

Below are some of my strategies for making the most of educational travel, along with how an unexpected visit to Selma, Alabama, became a profound lesson in history and heritage for my daughters.

Planning for Learning While Traveling

Homeschooling on the go doesn’t have to mean packing textbooks or sticking to rigid lesson plans. Instead, it’s about being intentional with how you structure travel experiences to maximize learning. Here are a few strategies I’ve found helpful:

• Set Learning Objectives: Before any trip, I ask myself what I’d like my children to take away from the experience. Is it exposure to a new culture? A history lesson? Science in action? Defining these goals helps guide our activities.
• Research Educational Attractions: Museums, historical landmarks, science centers, and even local farms can offer fantastic learning opportunities. I make a habit of researching destinations in advance and identifying sites that align with our homeschool curriculum.
• Plan for Your Own Needs as a Working Parent: While it’s important to ensure your kids have a fulfilling travel experience, don’t forget about yourself—especially if your trip includes work commitments. Balancing work and family travel means planning ahead to set yourself up for success.

Consider working from a hotel coffee shop or finding a quiet spot in the lobby if you need quiet time to prepare for a big presentation or to focus on work. You might also plan an outing for the kids during that time so your partner can take them while you get things done. Another helpful strategy is requesting a suite-style hotel room with a separate bedroom, allowing you to get a full night’s rest without disruptions.

Thinking through these logistics in advance ensures you can be present for both your family and your work responsibilities—without frustration or stress.

• Embrace Spontaneity: Some of the best learning happens when we let curiosity lead the way. Whether it’s stopping at a roadside historical marker, talking to a local artist, or exploring an unfamiliar ecosystem, these organic moments can be just as impactful as planned activities.

Making Travel Engaging for Kids

While parents may see the value in things like museums or historical sites, kids may need a little extra motivation to fully engage. Here are a few ways I ensure my children are active participants in the experience:

• Involve Them in Planning: Giving kids a say in the itinerary helps build excitement. I often show my daughters options for places to visit and let them choose what interests them most.
• Create a Travel Journal: Encouraging children to document their experiences through drawings, writing, or photography helps reinforce learning while giving them a keepsake to look back on.
• Make It Hands-On: Whether it’s trying a local dish, participating in a cultural workshop, or engaging in a scavenger hunt at a museum, hands-on activities help make learning come alive.

Our Unplanned Road Trip Learning Experience

Recently, my family traveled with me to Atlanta, and once my work was done, our timeline was fairly flexible since we had driven to Georgia.

My husband needed to stay in Atlanta a few extra days, so the girls and I were preparing to hit the road to return to Dallas. 

Now, you may have heard me mention before that my dad’s family is from Selma, Alabama, and that our family was deeply involved in the Civil Rights Movement. Though I’ve shared these stories with my kids countless times, they had never actually been to Selma. My grandmother passed away a couple of years before my oldest daughter was born, and my dad passed while I was pregnant with her. So in the span of just a few years, we lost not only my connection to Selma but also the oral history my dad carried. My kids never got to know them or hear those stories firsthand.

As I was speaking with my uncle (my dad’s brother) and my cousin (our unofficial family historian) before leaving Atlanta, they both encouraged me to detour from our usual route through Birmingham and instead take a more southern path through Montgomery. That way, I could take my girls to Selma.

So I did just that. And it was one of the most fulfilling experiences I’ve ever had.

 A Crash Course in Selma’s Significance

If you’re unfamiliar with Selma, Alabama, and its impact on the Civil Rights Movement, here’s a quick history lesson:

For years, Black Americans faced systemic barriers to voting in the South—poll taxes, impossible “literacy” tests, and outright voter intimidation. But the fight for voting rights never stopped. On March 7, 1965, about 600 marchers, led by John Lewis (who later became Congressman John Lewis of Georgia), James Bevel, and Hosea Williams of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, set out from Selma to the Alabama capitol in Montgomery to demand equal voting rights. Their march began at the Edmund Pettus Bridge, marking the start of a 54-mile journey along U.S. Highway 80.

But as they stepped onto the bridge, these peaceful, unarmed marchers were met with brutal force from local law enforcement. The violent attack, now known as "Bloody Sunday," was broadcast across the nation, sparking widespread outrage and prompting Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to step in. He played a key role in organizing the subsequent Selma to Montgomery march from March 21-25, 1965—the one my dad and uncle participated in—which ultimately led to the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

 Driving Through History

So why is this history lesson relevant to our road trip? Because if you’re driving from Atlanta to Selma, you’re literally retracing that historic march route. From Atlanta to Montgomery, you take an interstate highway, but once you reach Montgomery, you get on U.S. Highway 80 - the very path those brave men and women walked to demand their voting rights.

As we drove along this road, waves of emotion hit me. First, nostalgia: I had traveled this route many times, but not since losing my grandmother 13 years ago. Then, excitement: as we passed historical markers, I pointed them out to my girls. I even pulled up a History Channel YouTube video about Bloody Sunday and the subsequent march so they could see the historical footage for themselves.

Then, just as the video ended, we spotted another historical marker—but this one wasn’t alone. It stood beside a building. So, we pulled over.

 An Unexpected Stop at the Lowndes Interpretive Center

We had stumbled upon the Lowndes Interpretive Center, one of three National Park Service museums dedicated to the Selma-to-Montgomery march (the other two are in Selma and Montgomery). Inside, we explored interactive exhibits that brought the struggle for voting rights to life. My girls and I took our time, absorbing every detail. At the end, we picked up a few books to take home so that we could dive even deeper into the history.

After taking plenty of pictures, we got back on the road, making our way into Selma. As we neared my grandmother’s house, I found myself overwhelmed with emotion—not just from missing my grandmother and my dad, but from the weight of what this visit meant. My girls never got to meet their grandfather, but in this moment, I felt like they were getting to know him in a deeply meaningful way.

We stopped at my grandmother’s home—the house my grandfather built with his own hands. We drove through the neighborhood where my dad’s aunts, uncles, and cousins once lived, many of whom we still see today when we visit family in Atlanta. And then, one of the most special moments of the trip: my grandmother’s last living sibling, my 91-year-old Aunt Erlene, welcomed us into her home. She pulled out old family photos, and my girls instinctively recognized their Papa, though they had never met him. Standing on her porch, she pointed out homes of relatives, weaving together the story of our family’s roots.

Then, I learned something that completely floored me—something I only found out after we had already made it back home to Dallas. My Aunt Erlene had been arrested with Dr. Martin Luther King and shared a jail cell with him. The family history just keeps getting better! More on that later…

Seeing the Edmund Pettus Bridge

Before leaving Selma, we drove less than a mile to the Edmund Pettus Bridge. Today, you can park at its base and take photos, which we did. Later, my cousin told me something that shook me: when my grandmother lived here in the ’60s, there weren’t as many trees blocking the view between her house and the bridge. This means she likely stood on her front porch and watched Bloody Sunday unfold with her own eyes. Just imagining that sent chills down my spine.

As we waved goodbye to our cousin and drove through downtown Selma, my girls soaked in the sights, pointing out landmarks and asking questions. I asked them what they thought about everything they had seen and experienced. They had learned historical facts, which was amazing, but more importantly, I could hear pride in their voices. They now had a personal connection to this history, to their family’s role in the Civil Rights Movement.

I promised them that we would set up a Zoom call with our uncle James and Aunt Erlene to ask more questions and to record their stories. I regretted not doing this with my dad while he was alive, but I’m determined not to make the same mistake again.

Before we knew it, we were outside of Selma’s city limits and back on the road to Jackson, Mississippi, where we spent the night. As I tucked my girls into bed, I silently thanked God for such a meaningful, unforgettable day—one that we will cherish forever.

The Power of Learning Through Travel

Travel is more than just a break from routine—it’s an opportunity to expand our children’s worldview, foster curiosity, and make education come alive in the most meaningful way. Whether it’s a trip across the country or a simple weekend getaway, every journey holds lessons waiting to be discovered.

By planning intentionally, staying open to unexpected learning moments, and making experiences engaging for our children, we can turn travel into one of the most powerful tools in our homeschooling journey. Learning truly never stops—it simply takes new forms wherever we go.

👉🏾If you’re inspired to think about homeschooling in a new way, I’d love you to join me in my new Facebook community called Homeschool: Education Reimagined for Black Families. It’s a space for my homeschool besties and me to keep the conversation going! 

I’ll see you there!

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