Why We’re Ready to End Our Worldschooling Chapter

When we started worldschooling, we didn’t set a firm end date. We told ourselves we’d know when it was time to end our worldschooling adventure. That this would feel like a season with a clear beginning and a clear ending—something we could sense intuitively when the moment arrived.

What I didn’t expect was how quietly that moment would show up. Not with a dramatic breaking point or a single hard day, but with a slow shift in how things felt. What once felt free and exciting began to feel heavier. Not wrong. Not bad. Just… different.

So here it is: we’re ending worldschooling. This decision feels complicated—because it worked. It gave our family more than we ever imagined. And still, we’ve reached a point where continuing no longer feels aligned with who our kids are becoming, or with what our family needs next.

I know – it feels like we just started this adventure, and in the big picture, we did. But ending worldschooling doesn’t mean our adventure is ending. In fact, one of the main reasons we are starting to talk about wrapping up worldschooling is because we are now considering living abroad. Gulp. It’s a big decision, and one we are in the research phase of, but it’s a strong possibility that we can explain further in another post. For now, let’s continue on the why-we-are-ending topic.

What Changed Along the Way

I’m not going to write things in order because there is no way to confidently do so. Our feelings change from day to day and are influenced by so many things. But lets start with this: living out of suitcases is hard. Rarely do I wish we had more things with us (though wearing the same clothes for months on end does get boring), but it’s the packing and unpacking our lives every couple of weeks that takes a lot of mental energy. Along the same lines – we always need to have this extreme minimalist mentality because of our limited space situation. Let’s make _______ for dinner tonight! Actually, no, because we don’t have all the ingredients and we are leaving in 4 days and it is silly to buy something that we will use once. Whether it’s ingredients we are talking about (I do realize cooking/baking ends up being my default example – it’s clearly something that means a lot to me) or kitchen tools or weather appropriate clothing, this leads to a lack of variety in many things.

Why Stability Matters More to Us Right Now

We miss community. We most definitely feel supported and loved via family and friends on Facebook, Facetime, texts, etc, but we miss having the face-to-face connections with those we love. We miss being able to grab a coffee or a beer with a friend, dinner with family, and the excitement of team sports. This was probably the most obvious difficulty we knew we’d face before launching on our trip and it is what has affected the kids the most. On our hardest days, the feelings usually point here.

When “Enough” Started to Feel Like Too Much

Having a home is nice. While I’ve always said “where we are together, we are home”, our AirBnbs just don’t have the comforts we didn’t realize we’d miss the most. One of the first things I did while visiting the states was to lie on the couch with a blanket and take a nap. Not one of our accommodations (yet) has had enough seating for all of us in the living room. Or throw blankets. You get the picture. Things you don’t realize you love until you miss them. Other examples include knowing where things are – not only inside, but out of the home. The place that has the best meat, where to find the art supplies we want, the coziest coffee shop for a cup and a chapter. And yes, exploring new places to find these things is part of the adventure!! But constantly redoing it in each new destination gets tiring. Decision fatigue is real!

The kids are changing (heck, we are too!). Emotionally, academically, spiritually, we are all in a different place than we were when we started which really is the whole point! Like I said earlier, things started to shift slowly and quietly – there wasn’t a single turning point that screamed “Time to Stop!”, the thoughts just started creeping in and our conversations about the future started to pivot. It’s important for us to recognize these feelings and acknowledge them. Like I have said from the beginning – just because change feels scary doesn’t mean it’s bad. Change can be exciting.

What Worldschooling Gave Our Family

Worldschooling these past several months has been an extremely rewarding experience. Seeing and experiencing the world through the eyes of our children is something that cannot be matched. All four can navigate foreign airports, train stations, buses, Uber rides and busy city streets with confidence – skills that will stay with them their whole lives. Making “single serving friends” along the way – at parks and in planes, has personalized the experience into something really special and memorable. Now instead of “just Aruba”, we have Bob’s lesson on oxygen storage in hospitals, instead of “Lima”, we have Amanda who taught us about chocolate, and instead of “just Antigua”, we have Spanish teachers who have become our friends. We have shown our kids that no matter where we are in the world, the people we meet are human. We all want the same basic things in life – love, safety, and connection. They know that being different is a strength and that accepting differences and learning from them will open your world to so many beautiful people and places.

What It Also Cost Us

Among all the good of worldschooling, we made some big tradeoffs. We left a stable, “comfortable” life in the states. We left friends and family. We spent time and money on unexpected twists and turns along the way (this deserves it’s own post too). And while we 100% would do this over, we are ready for another change – one that will allow more stability and connection for our family while continuing to experience new things.

Choosing to Stop Doesn’t Mean We Failed

So the timing just feels right to start wrapping things up. As the need to end has been revealed to us slowly, it will also unfold slowly as we determine the next steps. It goes without saying – this will be another learning experience for us all. We will be showing our kids that sometimes acknowledging your feelings and acting on them is the better decision than pushing through (sometimes). That being flexible means not always knowing exactly what is next but being confident that you have the resources and confidence to take that next step.

What Comes Next (Even If We’re Still Figuring It Out)

So what is that next step? Right now, we don’t have any answers. We are asking a lot of questions of ourselves and our children. What matters most to you? Is it living in a city or in the suburbs? Near the ocean or mountains? What we liked or didn’t like about our most recent experiences will be taken into account as we explore our options and hopefully start to narrow things down. This narrowing down will start with a trip back to Europe in March (and then who know’s where after that – we plan as we go lately…it’s not for everyone). We will be checking out some potential landing spots in hopes of getting some clarity. Ending worldschooling is not going to be easy, probably not super fun either, but we will trust in the process. Wherever we end up, we know it will be home. And that you will be around to cheer us on.

Now I need your story – have you ever just known it was time to end something…even if it was good?

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