# Anyone ever taken a year out to travel?



## Dereckerick (Jul 8, 2009)

Hi all

My wife and i are in our 30's and we have a 2 year old son. We would like to take a year out to go around Europe when our son is 3/4 years old and was wondering if anyone had done this.

We would obviously have to save a bit and make plans for our jobs but we think it will be good for us all.

Many Thanks


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## discusa (Feb 24, 2010)

Hi,

We are doing it now. We spent a couple of months in the van touring France and Spain but are currently renting an apartment in a ski resort for the season before setting off again in the van to complete the year. We hope to visit Italy, Croatia and Greece before returning home to start work again. We don't have a young child (only a boisterous springer) but are having a wonderful time - just do it!


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

Take a look in the "fulltiming" section. Lots of people with lots of experience in there :wink:


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## ActiveCampers (Jun 17, 2005)

Currently 2.5 years into avoiding full time work, and the next year will be the fullest travel one so far. Leaving tomorrow on a 5 month trip snowboarding for a few months then down to Morocco.

No kids though....

Suggest you get/buy Europe in a Motorhome: A Mid-life Gap Year Around Southern Europe (My amazon link: Europe in a Motorhome: A Mid-life Gap Year Around Southern Europe ) - we read this book before we started which was interesting-ish, but importantly they had a kid or two in tow and talked about how the kid got educated.

IMO - if we had kids, I can think of no better way to teach them!

Depending on your work, we are actually financially better off now than when we left - which isn't bad considering what we do - and to be fair we get some good well paid work that helps. THis type of adventure isn't as expensive as you may imagine.

Hope these tips are useful - won't be able to reply (so any questions PM me) as we're leaving shortly!!!


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## blongs (Jan 12, 2009)

Our little girl is 4 and I wouldn't dream of taking her for a tour for a year, she is learning so much at school at the moment in such a great way with the new teaching methods they use.

She started this September and reading, writing, numeracy etc is all being done straight away and the kids are really coming on well.

My g/f goes into the school on a Friday morning with some other parents and do some of the learning and the science behind how they teach kids these days. 

It is very different to how we were taught (late 20's) and unless you are teachers yourself I think you may set your child back in their development.

I don't think a 3/4 year old would get a lot out of a trip like that as they would be too young to appreciate the places and wouldn't have the core skills needed to actually learn anything and understand it fully.

Ours likes Disneyland, swimming pools and riding a bike around. Touring the champagne regions, the Rhine valley, Alps etc would not register in her interests in the slightest.

Ben


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## billym (Dec 17, 2005)

We took a year out when the kids were 6 and 4 and it lasted til this year where they are now 16 and 14.

I couldn't disagree more with blongs for reasons far too in depth to go into here. Suffice to say that in my opinion for a 4 year old to spend much more time with his parents who are happy and prepared to give him love and affection and provide him with places to play and mix with others ( campsites ? ) then that child is likely to develop many more skills than sitting in a classroom.

The link below is my daughters but unfortunately hasn;t been updated since we returned to normality earlier this year.

blongs. What exactly do you mean when you write that a 3/4 year old wouldn't have the core skills to actually learn anything...... ?


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## lufc (Jun 24, 2007)

How do you afford to do such a thing? I would love to give up work and take a year off to travel but where does the money come from?


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## billym (Dec 17, 2005)

How did we afford it ?

We have two small pensions. We rented our house out for a good price for two years then sold it. We bought a small house and rented that out then sold it. We put some of the equity in the house away and bought a decent motorhome with the rest. We learned how not to spend too much and found work on sites here and there, worked for a camping holiday company , sold dodgy DVDs, cleaned carpets and upholstery whereever we went. ( admittedly we took a van as well as the motorhome ), gave people lifts here and there for a donation and had a fantastic job driving cars for a second hand car salesman who unfortunately , just after completing his one million pound extension to his house which was totally to the precise satisfaction and specifications of his wife and kids, died of a heart attack in the arms of a Kensington prostitute. 

We have now bought a house in our old town, downsized but still perfectly adequate, still cleaning carpets and working evenings just to pay the bills !


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## gromett (May 9, 2005)

blongs said:


> Our little girl is 4 ..... she is learning so much at school at the moment ......
> 
> I don't think a 3/4 year old would get a lot out of a trip like that as they would be too young to appreciate the places and wouldn't have the core skills needed to actually learn anything and understand it fully......


Hmmm, They are either too young to learn or they aren't. If a teacher in a class of 20 can do it. surely a loving parent 1 on 1 can do much better???

I would say go for it. If you have the resources to do it and you love your child then I am certain it will be a positive experience.

Karl


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## blongs (Jan 12, 2009)

The speed in which we have seen ours grown and develop in the last 3 months has just been amazing. Obviously we don't have a control sample of another child not at the school doing the same stuff but compared to the move from reception class to full-on schooling she has come on leaps and bounds, so it is hard to know either way like Karl has mentioned.

My g/f is completely full of praise for the teachers and the methods they use now to bring the next generation through. 

The way phonics are used for spelling, no more regimented times tables and numbers from the blackboard, the insights and changes that have been made to the education methods to give the child the reasoning and knowledge behind why things add up to what they do and not just know that 7x5=35.

Like I said, I wouldn't dream of it knowing now after this 1st term of how much she has developed. 

We do a lot of trips on the weekends and holidays and we can take her to experience things, most of which I dare say will be forgotten quite quickly at that age as it may not have been fully understood, she may enjoy looking at birds or insects on a day out but for me I would rather her also be able to spell, read and write and be taught by a professional with years of experience than an IT guy and an accountant.

It's good that Billym has done it and had a positive experience so any hurdles and things to what out for can be researched and guided on. My boss and his wife do home schooling now for 1 of their children and the old school is very supportive of their decision, they do have to prove to Ofsted in inspections of the home environment that they are doing a good job. I don't think that applies though until 5?

Everyone has a different way of doing things and all have their merits, for us, fulltime professionally taught schooling is the best way. 


Apologies to the OP for my negativity and going slightly away from your original question.

Ben


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## billym (Dec 17, 2005)

quote

..... My boss and his wife do home schooling now for 1 of their children and the old school is very supportive of their decision, they do have to prove to Ofsted in inspections of the home environment that they are doing a good job. .............


That simply is not true.
The previous Government tried to regulate home education this year but due to unprecidented lobbying and opposition they failed. 

The local authority has no right in law to check or inspect your home environment or to check you are doing a good job. Some local authorities will ask to see the home etc. and if that is agreed by the parent then so be it. The local authority must have reasonable cause to suspect that a child is or is likely to be suffering significant harm before they can insist on seeing the child.


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## grizzlyj (Oct 14, 2008)

Hi

The quandry for many parents is surely if you want to do such a trip with kids, when is the best time for them? Personally I would like to travel while teaching my kids when and if I'm lucky enough to have them, as billym seems to have done? (How have your kids got on returning to "normality" billym?)

This travelogue covers 4 years, 56 countries, 5 continents, 4 left, 5 came back!

http://www.opensens.com/ukhome.htm

My wife and I rented our house two years ago, and the rent does cover our normal monthly expenditure. Repairs, meals out, trips etc come from savings!

Jason


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## Dereckerick (Jul 8, 2009)

Hi All

Thanks for all of the replies, varied they are.

My idea behind taking a year out is, we are still young, the boy isn't 2 yet and if we are going to do it t has to be in the next couple of years, as has been mentioned i want ths to be beneficial to all of us and not impact my sons education.

Many people I have spoked to have said, if we could turn back the clock we would go no questions asked. Life is short and doing something like this is a great adventure.

Looking back and regreting things you never did is difficult to take, life is for living.

I have a very stressful job and can save up £20K+ and take a year out to spend with my wife and boy. 

Just have to convince the boss to hold my position open!!


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## andyandsue (Sep 7, 2008)

*what away to go*

died in the arms of a kensington prostitute, what a way to go! far better than withering away in an overpriced "home" watching the government plunder your savings,,lets hope he hadnt paid his council tax " up front"


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## artona (Jan 19, 2006)

I would say go now. If your child is just two you will realy love the time you spend together.

We brought up three children in the accepted "normal" way. They attended school and we also spent a lot of time home edcuating them at the same time.

As two left home to go to university and the third to continue his world travels we popped out a fourth child. From the age of 1 through to 3.5 she lived with us in a motorhome. The closeness we all enjoyed was superb. 

She started school this year and yes she is doing really well but I would have no worries taking her out for a year or so and continuing the home ed. By th etime she went to school we had taught her the love of education (the most important lesson), th eability to count and to draw and write her name etc.

stew


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## billym (Dec 17, 2005)

quote
(How have your kids got on returning to "normality" billym?) 


The boy has gone to 6 form college to do his A levels and is happy as larry but suffering from itchy feet and is already dreaming of a year out. His studies include English, Spanish and Italian and has designs on being an English football correspondant in one of those countries.

The girl has gone into yr 10 at school and loves it. We were scared that school would dampen her motivation to learn but this has been far from the case. She has made lots of highly motivated new friends.
The teachers seem to have respect for the kids and seem to pay a genuine interst in them. A refreshing surprise ! She has very high expectations of herself !!

Fingers crossed.


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## Lesleykh (Apr 13, 2009)

Hi,
We're doing it at the moment too. In Greece, half way through our year off. Check out our blog - see below.

I resigned my job as deputy head of a junior school to do this and it has been worth it so far. We have no children, but I would say do it anyway. You can teach your child so much. They might not remember the travel bit at a young age, but they'll be learning all the time. In some countries, whose results compare well to the UK or even better, children don't even start formal education until 6 yrs old. There are a couple of blogs of folks doing this. I think one groups are MHF members - check out 3-6-6.com and google overland with kids. You can do it more easily now than when children are taking GSCE or A' levels. Most intelligent adults will cope with home schooling lessons, especially at a junior or infant level. I would, however, get some expert advice on teaching handwriting and pencil grip, because you can get that wrong and you'll never correct it. Hey, I guess I am that expert though, so feel free to ask! And in case anyone questions why we have teachers if it's all so easy - the trick is in holding the interest of a large number at different levels. 

Lesley


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## billym (Dec 17, 2005)

Quote lesleykh

......I would, however, get some expert advice on teaching handwriting and pencil grip, because you can get that wrong and you'll never correct it.........................


Wow ! Of all the things in all the world that it is " important " for a child to learn...........how to grip a pencil ! Still I suppose it might keep a few " experts " in thier jobs.

I actually don't believe that good handwriting has much or any place in today's keyboard controlled world.


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## gromett (May 9, 2005)

Lesleykh said:


> And in case anyone questions why we have teachers if it's all so easy


Billy covered my question on the pencil holding. Reminded me of the old days when lefties were punished for not using the correct hand :roll:

I don't think teachers are necessary if parents are reasonably well educated and are prepared to put the time in. I don't however underestimate the skill and talent of many teachers. Teaching 30+ kids half of whom don't even want to be there is a task I wouldn't even consider taking on. I have the utmost respect for them.

Having met some kids of fulltimers who home school, and another family who homeschool living in a house I have to say the kids seemed extremely well balanced, interested in everything and had great social skills. The latter I suspect was from not mixing with some of the oiks that go to the local comprehensive. Plus having a 1 on 1 educator can't hurt...

Karl


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## cleo (Nov 17, 2007)

Dereckerick said:


> Hi all
> 
> My wife and i are in our 30's and we have a 2 year old son. We would like to take a year out to go around Europe when our son is 3/4 years old and was wondering if anyone had done this.
> 
> ...


Check out this website http://3-6-6.com/ and read their diary & blog - facinating. At present, I think, they're in Greece. They also pop in on here from time to time.


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