wr it e n e x t d oor with columnist Colleen D’Angelo Photos courtesy of the Swenson family
Extended Field Trip Dublin family spends year homeschooling and traveling When our youngest daughter was 10, she gave a persuasive presentation for her fifth grade class on why she should be homeschooled. Catie wanted the flexibility of setting her own schedule and spending more time on subjects of interest. Homeschooling become a conversation point for somewhat different reasons as the COVID-19 pandemic sunk in as parents dealt with online classes, scattered start times and hybrid learning models. With many classes and jobs moving virtual, some saw possibilities for shifting their normal routines and finding new experiences. That’s exactly what the Swenson family of Dublin did in the summer of 2020. Remote work allowed Ashley, her husband Todd, their 9-year-old son Ryan, twin 8-year-old daughters Alexis and Avery, and their dog, Finnegan, to travel to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan with a small pop-up camper and a thirst for adventure. The trip would ultimately inspire a year of homeschooling and travel. On that trip, Todd worked outside using a solar unit to power his computer and a tall antenna to magnify cell signals for video calls. The test trip went well and the Swensons started the search for a larger motor home, eventually settling on a 29-foot
RV in Canada, complete with a shower, toilet, folding bunk beds and a propanefueled kitchen. Ashley spoke to Dublin Schools about her plan to homeschool the children while they traveled throughout the coming school year, and she received a lot of support. The family decided to begin their adventure in San Antonio, where Ashley’s mother was fighting pancreatic cancer. The Swensons wanted to spend as much time as possible with her, so they drove their camper to Texas and made that their base. From there, the Swensons traveled 44 • February/March 2022
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