Beyond the Classroom: Life Lessons from Traveling with Kids

As Lippert Scouts, Kyle and Emily Boreing and their children, also known as Another Amazing Adventure, have embraced the open road, turning their passion for traveling into a lifestyle. Their journey began with a simple family vacation to South Dakota in 2014, sparking a wanderlust that led them to explore countless destinations across the U.S. in their Wolf Pup travel trailer. Along the way, they’ve discovered not only the beauty of the diverse landscapes around them but also the invaluable life lessons that come from traveling with their three sons. Through their experiences, they’ve crafted a unique blend of education, adventure, and family bonding that has shaped their journey. Read on to learn more about the Boreing family and their inspiring story about traveling with kids. 

By Kyle & Emily Boreing of Another Amazing Adventure 

As kids growing up, some of our most exciting times were when our teachers would announce a field trip. In our neck of the woods, that usually meant a zoo, aquarium, or museum. Yes, we got to run around and have fun, but we also got to learn things that we otherwise wouldn’t by just sitting at a desk day after day. Yes, books have a very important place in education, but when it comes to truly learning, life experiences can be just as important as an educational tool (often more so, depending on the individual). Now, imagine if EVERY DAY were a field trip. Sure, you may spend the morning reading a book about a particular location, but what if you could read about it that morning and then go VISIT that place in the afternoon? Instead of a written test, your child gets to walk through, touch, and experience BEING there.     

If you think about it, you will find that we are very blessed to live in a country with so many diverse landscapes. Mountains, beaches, lakes, glaciers, deserts, forests, hot springs, and badlands are all right here in the United States. It’s like being able to go on a new field trip every single day if we want to!   

When we first started traveling, it was such a blessing to see the true awe and wonder in our sons’ eyes as they encountered new locations for the first time. As they grow, mature, and become young adults, that innocent wonder has become genuine curiosity and appreciation for the world around them. Our goal is to channel that curiosity into real-life learning, giving our sons a fully-rounded education that they retain and appreciate well into adulthood.    

According to some key findings from the Student and Youth Travel Association (SYTA), 74% of educators polled believe that travel helps students’ personal development, and 56% believe travel positively impacts students’ educations and careers. Nearly 80% of teachers in the study said that travel is an “extremely effective” teaching resource compared to computer-based or book-based learning alone. It exposes your children to diversity, empathy, and understanding by meeting folks from different cultures, customs, and walks of life that they otherwise would not meet in their hometown.   

In our own experience, we have made efforts to combine “traditional” school learning with hands-on experience through our travels with our three sons. Rather than just picking common “tourist trap” locations or returning to the same place year after year, we choose locations with educational value. For example, Yellowstone National Park is an amazing place to visit in general, but it’s also filled with scientific and historic educational opportunities, which allowed one of our sons to go back to class and explain how geysers and hot springs work after our visit. When it came to learning about American history, not only did our boys learn about the Sand Creek Massacre, but we also had the opportunity to visit the national historic site and stand on the same land where such a sad and brutal attack took place. It becomes more than just a story at that point; it’s REAL history.   

It’s not just about book learning, either. They also learn valuable life skills in our travels — skills that they otherwise might not gain by sitting in a traditional classroom, such as:   

By giving our boys chores and setting expectations, we are giving them the freedom to decide how best to achieve those tasks while also learning what works best for them. We also give them the freedom to explore, so long as they stay within the limitations we set (i.e., have a way to communicate with us via phone / walkie-talkie, give us your expected route, and return by a set time). Even with our recently licensed 16-year-old, the same rules apply as he begins driving more and more around the areas we’re exploring.   

We do a lot of hiking, so our boys know all too well the concepts of “pack in, pack out,” and “leave no trace.” Even at our campsites, our sons are very good about ensuring no trash is left (even going so far as to pick up any trash that might have been there prior to our arrival) and doing everything in their power to leave an area better than we found it.   

This is a VERY important one for our family, having kids who are neurodivergent. When one kid is on the autism spectrum, being adaptable in general can be a challenge. Traveling is often improvisational by nature, and helping our son learn to adapt and accept the unexpected has proven to be invaluable for him. He still has his moments, but he is more aware of what is going on and how he can prepare himself for situations that don’t go “according to plan.”   

Many people argue against homeschooling or road schooling based largely on the “lack of social interaction.” We are here to say that our kids have gained quite a bit of social interaction through our travels, whether it’s meeting other traveling families or interacting with locals. Our youngest son (now 13) has made friends at every single location we’ve ever stayed, usually through a game of basketball (we carry both a basketball and a football with us for this very reason).   

Most importantly, traveling with our kids has helped us learn and grow as parents. When we travel, we get to spend time TOGETHER as a family, and that’s not always sunshine and roses — they’re teenagers, after all! But we have learned how to address the rough patches head-on and in a productive and loving manner while also recognizing their growth and maturity. They’re not the wide-eyed children anymore — they’re young adults, and as they gain their individuality and independence, our relationships with each of them are likewise growing and maturing.  
 
We even started planning individual trips for each of our sons — just them with Mom and Dad — where we get to really connect with each of our sons and establish a family bond that we otherwise might never have had if they were spending their days in a bedroom gaming all day.   

We have had these opportunities as a family through our travels, and we are so glad that we started when our kids were still young. Over time, it just became “normal” for them to be on the road — it was just part of growing up. Of course, nothing in life is easy, and some may say that we’re glutens for punishment by continuing to travel with three teenage boys, but the truth is, we wouldn’t trade a minute of it. We have learned so much, both individually and as a family together, with experiences that you simply can’t get by watching YouTube or reading a lesson plan.   

If you want to keep up with our travels, you can read our Another Amazing Adventure blog, follow us on Instagram and Facebook , and subscribe to our YouTube channel.