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“Do you remember that horrible hill in Germany, the one where we ALL cried?  But Elisha found that cool snail fossil half way up.”

“Yeah, but that wasn’t as bad as pushing all the way up the “cliffs of insanity” in Italy, remember THAT? It rained, there were tornados on the ocean and those guys were still windsurfing?!!”

“That was still WAY better than that night we camped in the HUGE rain on the logging road in Nova Scotia; remember THAT? There were mosquitos everywhere and we had to pour the water out of our plates before Dad could dip the food into them, and there were all those bright green SNAKES the boys caught and the water ran under the tent like a waterbed all night.  And the WOLVES? You remember Ez being scared of the wolves howling that night?”

“Yeah, and in the morning it was STILL raining and we had to cycle thirty more miles in the rain with wet gear and those logging trucks passing us?  THAT was TERRIBLE.”

“Remember that Mediterranean ferry? EVERYONE PUKED… well, except Mom… the WHOLE WAY across!”

“Hey!” says Dad, “I didn’t puke, I took my meds!”

“Yeah, but you were WAY green and you ALMOST puked!” Someone retorts.

“Yeah, but we survived, and it could always be worse…” (more…)

One of the very cool things about running Uncommon Childhood is the parade of fascinating people we get to meet and interview. Every once in a while, we run across a family that makes us go, “WOW!” (okay, more than every once in a while around here!) and the Smeenk family is one of those!

Brian and Jennifer are unique in that they have a BUNCH of kids but decided to hit the road anyway and their open ended adventure is truly inspirational. I know you won’t mind that they’ve given their kids pseudonyms for the internet, charmingly reflecting the adventurous heros of the Narnia Chronicles:  Susan, 9 years old, Peter, 8, Lucy, 6, and Edmund, 4, are growing up in the great big world.

We caught up with them in Turkey, where they’re currently based and were completely impressed by their story, their motivation and their dedication to their family; hopefully you will be as well!

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“Is Chicago the state next to Iowa?”

That was the question one of my children, in earnest, asked our houseguest.

I picked up my jaw from the floor, and with my face blazing like a furnace mumbled some kind of explanation. I couldn’t blame the kid for such a mistake—he had never lived in the contiguous states, and apparently, I’d never made him memorize them.

It was the first time I realized living overseas can cause some embarrassing gaps in a child’s education.

It is taken for granted that because my kids are American they should know all fifty states and capitals by the age of eight. Furthermore, homeschooled kids do things like memorize states, stars, and the Periodic Table of Elements, and recite the Gettysburg Address while playing Lightly Row on the violin—so what had I been doing all these years?

Quite frankly, I have a deep-seeded rebellion against the imbibing and regurgitation of facts, whether kids are educated at home or in a brick building.

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The road to Location Independence (living and working anywhere) with children is fraught with obstacles: time, money, career choices, school, healthcare, the list goes on and on. Most of these obstacles to your dream of a nomadic family life can be overcome with diligent effort and a check list. There are three, however, that are less obvious and far more crippling to most people.

What are they and how can you overcome them? Read on. (more…)