This has been an undeniably strange year and from remote work to rearranging vacation plans, most folks have had to make some sort of readjustment in their normal pre-2020 lives. With fall right around the corner, parents everywhere are getting prepared to make the biggest readjustment of all—remote learning. While there are certainly some complications and added difficulties to remote working and remote schooling, there are also several advantages—the biggest of which is being able to work or learn from anywhere! Whether you are choosing to go the complete homeschooling route or have a lot of Zoom meetings with teachers in your future, consider these 3 reasons to try remote learning at the beach.
Equipped Rental Homes
When you rent with Seaside Vacations, our rental homes come fully equipped with resources you'll need for remote learning like WiFi*. Most of our homes also come with a large dining room table (perfect for spreading out for projects and homework) as well as spare dens/secondary living areas so you can have a quiet space to get away from the rest of the family and even connect your laptops to the Smart TV for easy teaching. Fully-stocked gourmet kitchens make it easy for you to prepare tasty, healthy lunches. Central air and heat ensure you’ll be comfortable while you learn. Private pools, volleyball nets, and other activities in the back yard of your rental are perfect for keeping up exercise and recreation!
On-Site Lessons
From history to biology, you can conduct many in-person lessons and hands-on experiments right here at the beach! Visit local sites like Island Farm or Roanoke Island Festival Park in Manteo, the Wright Brothers Memorial in Kill Devil Hills, or one of the many lighthouses along the coast to learn about the early history of America. For a more environmental focus, visit Jockey’s Ridge State Park or Jennette’s Pier in Nags Head to learn about local flora and fauna or simply go out on the beach to identify shells, plants, and other elements of nature. According to a recent study conducted by UChicagos published in Psychological Science, students perform better on tests and comprehend ideas better when they experience concepts hands-on. Plus, these educational activities are fun for kids of all ages so it's a win-win!
Taking an art class? You can utilize sand, seashells and other beach treasures you find and for older students, your project is sure to receive a passing grade when you draw or paint a local sunset scene or perhaps a wandering bird walking around on the dunes. And don’t worry about your kids missing out on physical education—by studying in such a fun location, kids of any age will want to spend as much time outside as possible. To mix things up, try a local watersport like stand-up paddleboarding or kayaking,
Tip: Search Pinterest for “homeschool beach activities” for fun suggestions including experiments, printables, lessons and other ideas!
A Stress-Free Environment
Some students find the classroom environment challenging. Others may have a hard time keeping up with other students or struggle with traditional “book learning, and some students even find the school setting boring. Homeschooling, on the other hand, is not as rigid as regular classes and allows for the flexibility of utilizing whichever teaching methods work best for your kids (combined with the occasional video chat if remote learning!) If your kids are going to be learning from home this Fall anyway, why not make sure your environment is as stress-free as possible—and what’s a better environment than the beach?
While you may have to buckle down and work hard during the day, imagine wrapping up the school day and going fishing, taking a stroll on the beach, hopping in the pool or even grabbing a tasty seafood dinner. You can do all of this—and more—when you homeschool or try remote learning from the Outer Banks! Not only will your kids think they are on the field trip of a lifetime that they can brag about to their friends about, but parents will love being able to relax after a long day of being first-time teachers!
Tip: Click here to follow our homeschool trip planner for a fun and adventurous (as well as educational) week on the OBX.
Bonus: Affordable Rentals
Fall is an incredible time to visit the Outer Banks—just check out this list of reasons why! From local events to temperate weather, we affectionately refer to fall as our “second summer.” One of the best reasons to visit during Fall is that the cost of rentals is significantly lower in the summer. In fact, you can save hundreds to thousands of dollars and use that money to book multi-week stays! That’s right—no more trying to cram all of your homeschooling activities or vacation fun into just one week! Since most people are working or learning remote these days, Fall is the perfect time to book a 2 to 3 week (or more!) stay in one of our gorgeous vacation rentals for the same cost of 1 week in the in-season.
See you at the beach... and happy learning!
*Wifi is normally very good on the Outer Banks, however, being in a remote area there are occasional unexpected outages. In those events, we will do everything in our power to get service restored as quickly as possible, but we would recommend bringing a hotspot as a backup plan if wifi is a necessity for your family.
About the Author: Jessie has been coming to the Outer Banks since she was just 5 years old. She loved it here so much that she finally relocated in 2018. Now her mission is to show the world that the Outer Banks is an incredible place that everyone should experience. When she isn't working, you can find Jessie hanging out with her friends, chilling at home with a good book, or discovering a new Outer Banks adventure.
