Create Your Own Blake Boles Director, Unschool Adventures LLC Unschool Adventures unschooladventures.com
UA 2008-2011 website UA 2011-current website Argentina 2008 6 weeks Australia 2010 7 weeks Leadership Retreats Spring & Fall 2010 3 weeks + 6 weeks Argentina, Chile, Peru 2011 6 weeks Argentina 2012 4 weeks New Zealand 2013 6 weeks Trailblazer 2013 1 week Writing Retreat 2009, ’11, ’12, ‘13 4 weeks 2014: Buenos Aires Tango, Nepal, Writing Retreat
Create Your Own Unschool Adventures
• Where to go
• Where to stay
• What to do
• How to get around
• Logistics
• Ground rules
• Upcoming programs How to Use This Information
• Inspire new family travel ideas
• Help your teen or Y.A. plan a trip
• Organize a trip for your homeschool group
• For your own travel Where to Go Where to Go
• Balance of safety, cost, natural beauty, and exoticness
• U.S. Dep’t of State
• LonelyPlanet.com
• BudgetYourTrip.com South America • Recent travel blogs map data courtesy CIA World Fact Book
500 km 0 • Google news + alerts 500 mi
• Trip leader experience 755 mi / 1220 km
1 inch
297 mi / 480 km 1 cm Europe Europa Data Courtesy CIA World Book
0 300 km
0 300 mi $ Canada United States $ 0 300 600 km 0 300 600 miles Africa Data Courtesy CIA World Book, Wikipedia
0 300 km
0 300 mi ? Where to Stay: Youth Hostels
• $5 - $25 / night
• Kitchen access
• Social; full of independent travelers
• Sometimes full of drunk or high people
• Fill an entire room
• Hostelbookers.com, book along the way Where to Stay: Family Homestay
• $20 - $40 / night, food included
• Cultural & language immersion
• Host siblings!
• Book through reputable language school Where to Stay: Rental Apartments
• $100 - $300 / night for entire group
• Privacy, quiet, security
• Great home base for longer visits
• Save $$ on food
• Book through HomeAway.com, AirBNB.com, or reputable local agency Where to Stay: Camping
• Cheap or free!
• Shelters, backyards, or roughing it.
• Bathrooms are nice. What to Do What to Do: Volunteer
• Free, fun, meaningful
• Outdoor work: farms, ranches, vineyards
• “Teaching English”
• Not volun-tourism ($$)
• HelpX.net, WWOOF.org, Idealist.org, Google What to Do: Learn a Language
• Formal: language schools & tutors
• Informal: “let’s go talk to people!” What to Do: Learn a Local Craft
• Dance
• Cooking
• Sport
Explore the Outdoors! What to Do: Work Alone, Together
• Use travel to stimulate creativity: writing, art, business planning
• Writing Retreat students work alone, but they’re together What to Do: Let Go of the Reigns
• Teen-planned travel
• Provide a budget, tools, and clear ground rules
• Choose a decision- making system
• Step out of the way! What to Do: Every-day stuff
• Peruse the grocery store
• Go to a movie
• Browse a bookstore
• Hang out in a park
• Embrace the little differences How to Get Around
Logistics UnschoolAdventures.com/DIY Slides + sample budget Logistics: Group Flights
• Use a travel agent!
• Get a red-eye flight from a major hub
• Students fly individually to the hub, then the group flies together to the destination
• Airfare is volatile. Price separately from the trip. Logistics: Enrollment
• Unschool Adventures interviews every participant, including returning ones. We want to know:
• Do YOU really want to go on this trip (not your parent)?
• Are you prepared? Do you have “stepping stone” experiences?
• Do you play well with others?
• $1000 deposit secures space Logistics: Fundraising
• Travel is expensive by nature
• Crowdfunding: a powerful but often abused tool
• Get the guide on Kindle or read for free via UnschoolAdventures.com Ground Rules Ground Rules: Student Agreements
1. Join because you want to challenge yourself, not escape
2. Basic respect for all
3. Not a place for sex
4. Breaking laws, verbal / physical abuse, theft = bye bye
5. Zero-tolerance for drugs / alcohol
6. Be responsible during unsupervised time
7. Sleep at program location
8. No refunds for breaking rules Ground Rules: Unspervised Time
• Rule of 3
• Rule of 1
• Emergency info cards: address, trip leader cell phone numbers, calling card
• Call if you want to change destination or stay out longer Upcoming Programs Writing Retreat 2014 Crested Butte, Colorado Oct-Nov, $1700, ages 14-19 Southwest Gap Year Colorado, Utah, Arizona, Mexico (not technically U.A.) Sept-May, $6500, ages 17-23 Flickr image credits “Some day” programs. (Please steal!) Camino: juanpol Iceland: Hello, I am Bruce Hogwarts for Unscholers! Best of luck on your own adventures!
Unschool Adventures . com
Slides: UnschoolAdventures.com/DIY