🍎 3 quick bites

Happy Wednesday!

Welcome back to your daily dose of educational enlightenment. No, we haven't solved the mystery of missing socks in the laundry, but we do have some interesting news.

Let’s dive in!

🌍️ 🤷 What in the World is Worldschooling?

Worldschooling is the latest homeschooling spin-off – enjoying a resurgence since virtual offices, remote work, and online schools have become more common.

So, what is it? The Prisma blog defines it as "a type of homeschooling that involves full-time or part-time travel away from the family's home country."

At OpenEd, we embrace a more expansive definition: it's any approach that turns the whole world into a classroom.

You don't need to sail across the Pacific – studying marine biology with wild dolphin pods and using celestial navigation for math lessons – to call yourself a worldschooler.

Visit your local international market and challenge kids to plan a meal from a country they've never visited. Take a family road trip to see the biggest ball of twine in Minnesota (Google it!) and turn it into a lesson on folk art and community pride. Or try geocaching in your neighborhood to combine outdoor adventure with geography and problem-solving skills.

Take the Thygerson family. They found a sweet spot between traditional education and world travel. Using OpenEd (formerly My Tech High), they’ve blended online learning with real-world experiences.

"Learning is everywhere,” says one of the Thygerson children, “it's not just in school for seven hours – it's every day and everywhere that you go."

One day, the Thygersons are exploring Nepal; the next, they're back home, building robots at the Thanksgiving Point Makerspace.

Remember, worldschooling is more mindset than travel itinerary. It's about seeing learning opportunities in everyday experiences. So whether you're planning an epic journey to Mt. Everest or just a trip to the local park, learning opportunities are everywhere. Just don't blame us if your kids start asking for "educational" ice cream trips.

📱 Free App Alert: Teach Your Monster to Read

Bailey, our homeroom team lead, brought an exciting opportunity for early readers to our attention:

The "Teach Your Monster to Read" app is offering a special promotion! Starting tomorrow, you can download their apps for free (usually priced at $8.99 and $3.99).

This app comes highly recommended by teachers and families in the OpenEd community.

Happy reading, monsters.

Download on iOS App Store
Download on Google Play
Download on Amazon Appstore

Meet Lily Goodwin: Pickleball champion and OpenEd superstar! 🏆

At just 14, Lily snagged not one but two Gold Medals at the Pro Tour of Pickleball Juniors event this weekend at the women's doubles and mixed doubles!

The best part? She doesn't have to compromise her studies to pursue her pickleball passion. Lily loves the freedom and flexibility OpenEd provides as she chases her dreams.

Huge congrats, Lily! We can't wait to see what you'll achieve next.

– Charlie (the OpenEd newsletter guy)