Worldschool and Homeschool Ideas for Vancouver Island and British Columbia, Canada
One of the advantages to taking a gap or travel year is all of the fun stuff you can learn in different locations. When we’re learning from home we call it homeschool but when we travel – It’s worldschool. Here are some starter topics and ideas for learning in Vancouver Island and British Columbia.
Science Worldschool/Homeschool Topics Ideas
Science
Take a hike in one of the many wonderful hiking trails on the island and learn as you go. Let the kids bring a notebook to write observations and questions to research later. I did a quick prep prior to the hikes just to give the best info.
Temperate Rainforest Hikes – Biology / Botany
There are many rainforest hikes along the island. We had several near the condo where we were staying including Roberts Memorial Provential Park, Yellow Point Park, and Wildwood EcoForest. In Nianamo we visited New Castle Island for a great hike. Almost anywhere on Victoria Island you can find a great hike.
Learning opportunities during these hikes include talking about the rainforest, tree life cycles, wild-life, and types of trees. You can discuss composition, there is always a fallen tree somewhere and insects. We found plenty of examples of moss and lichen as well as ferns.
Consider getting a guide book to help label all the plants you see. I always enjoy stopping by the local library and asking for resources about the area there.
Resources:
Videos:
Newcastle Island Hike
During our Newcastle Island hike we took a short break from traditional learning to learn a little about magic (and spider webs … but mostly magic). We muggles have skills.
Explore the Coastline and Tidal Pools – Marine Biology / Zoology / Geology and Earth Science
Victorian Island’s many coastlines give an abundance of educational opportunities. Learn about tides, islands, waves, weather patterns and sea-life. A simple stroll can lead to many lessons. Consider starting with a marine biology book and local guide book.
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Learn about Volcanoes – Geology / Earth Science
The Seattle area is a great place to learn about volcanoes but British Columbia mainland has them too. This is a great area to learn about volcanoes, how mountain ranges form and tectonic plates.
We took a day to do the classic “make a volcano” science experiment and the kids just loved it.
Learning about math and physics in British Columbia
Math can be worked into many daily activities. Consider watching a sailing race. Talk about the wind and the path of the boat. Sailboats need to change directions numerous times to reach a destination – there is a lot of math involved.
Watch a Seaplane take off – discuss the physics of flight and make up some math problems about speed and distance. These can be any level from simple addition to high school trigonometry.
Learn about History in Victoria
The Royal British Columbia Museum is a wonderful place to learn about indiginous people of Canada and the history of the area. It’s a great museum and a good opportunity for an easy history lesson. This museum definitely makes learning fun.
Learn about Canadian History
Everytime we visit a new country we take the time to learn about the different styles of government, the natural landscape and the people. I have the kids make a presentation. These presentations are not only good learning experiences, they also make fun scrap-books.
Our favorite resource for learning about countries is Geography Now on you tube. We also like to look up Fun Facts about a country and can usually find some entertaining resources.
The Pacific Coast of Canada is a great place to visit for a short trip, long trip or extended stop during a gap year. There are many fun and unique learning opportunities throughout the area.
Victoria, Island Family Travel Posts
We’re a family of 5 (Physician Assistant mom, IT project manager dad and 3 kids ages 3,6,10) taking a gap year from normal life to travel. For blog posts, locations, and more information on how we did it and how you can to click here.
