Meet the Solises

Remember those family road trips that started off as bonding experiences but had a tendency to turn into World War III? Now imagine that road trip... but for six months and over 25,000 miles.

Welcome to the world of families on the road.

Over the course of a week, we (Xenia and Sarah) followed the Solis family as they made their way from Kansas City, MO to Oklahoma City, OK. We wanted to get a sense of life on the road and answer some of the questions about that lifestyle that we're sure you're asking yourself right now.

But first, some introductions:
The Solis (pronounced So-lease) family consists of the seven members you see on the right hand side. They have a home in Homestead, FL, which they only live in for half the year (the fall & winter seasons). During the other six months, the Solises live and travel in an RV from Florida to California, with many stops in between.

Your first question is probably "why do they travel for six months out of the year?"
The Solises own a business called Lifetime Books & Gifts, which caters to the homeschool market. Because of this business, they travel cross-country to homeschooling conventions to sell their products.

"So are the Solis children homeschooled too?"
Yes. During the six month in which the family lives in Florida, the children are homeschooled in more of a home setting, though the family still travels a bit around Florida to local homeschooling conventions. When the Solises are on the road, the children learn in various environments. For example, during the week that we followed them, Shirley read to the three oldest boys and then quizzed them with arithmetic problems as they were driving. The Solises also visited Prairie State Park in Mindenmines, MO, where a park ranger taught them about wildlife and prairie fires.

"Are there state laws that homeschooling families have to abide by?"
Yes. Every state has its own laws regarding homeschooling. Some states, for example California and Oregon, have strict homeschooling laws, whereas other states, like Missouri and Alaska, have more lenient homeschooling laws. Roadschooling families have to abide by the laws of the state in which they claim permanent resident. For a state-to-state breakdown of homeschooling laws, visit http://www.hslda.org/hs/state/default.asp.

"What is it like spending so much time on the road?"
Well, we only spent a couple hours in the RV with the Solises, so we can't do that question justice. But from our experience, we can tell you that it was a long, bumpy trip. The family's RV is surprisingly spacious, though, which made it fairly easy to move around (besides the fact that when we were driving, every bump in the road seemed magnified by the RV). Shirley told us that they usually play music ("Life is a Highway" is a family favorite) or religious tapes during the drives, and we watched the kids keep themselves busy by reading, playing games and taking care of baby Lucas. And- we think this is especially notable- during the hour and a half drive in the RV with the Solis family, not one single fight occurred among any of the kids.

Any other questions? Let us know!
In the meantime, we hope you take a look at our Current piece and enjoy this blog.

Thanks,
Xenia and Sarah