Parenting blogger Courtney Adamo broke the mould when she and her husband decided to take their four children on a gap year around the world.
Pulling them out of school and throwing them into different cultures and climates, their new experiences have helped them thrive as individuals and as a family in ways that none of them anticipated.
Adamo, whose childhood was spent on a tulip farm in Washington state, USA, did what many dream of doing, but refused to be defeated by obstacles that stop other people â schooling, careers, or what the neighbours might say.
Instead she and her partner Michael, took Easton, 11, Quin, nine, Ivy, seven, and Marlow, three, on the adventure of a lifetime and they have no plans to come home any time soon.
The couple, who dated for two months before moving from Los Angeles to Primrose Hill in 2003, had always been attracted to âa simple, bohemian lifestyle, barefoot children and carefree adventuresâ so a gap year was always on the cards.
But having spent more than a decade making London their home, when they decided to uproot in 2015 - quit their jobs, sell the house and pay ÂŁ300 a month to keep their furniture in storage - it wasnât all going to be plain sailing.
Planning their route through South America, New Zealand, Asia, there were plenty of things to consider before theyâd even reached the departures lounge at Heathrow.
âTime goes by so quickly and everything you leave behind will be waiting for you when you come back."â
Their primary hesitation (after theyâd worked out how to fund the trip, by selling the house and using savings) was pulling their young children out of full-time education.
âThe conversation with the school was one of the tougher things for us to do,â says Courtney. âWe felt nervous walking into the headmasterâs office to explain our plan, but in the end it was an easy conversation and we were encouraged.â
In lieu of a formal education, the next hurdle Michael and Courtney faced was deciding how to homeschool four children with an age range of seven years.
âMichael and I have always had relaxed views on formal education. Rather than focusing on academic standards, grades or test results, weâve been more interested in encouraging our children to play and be creative,â explains Courtney.
To prepare for the âchallengeâ, Courtney followed several homeschooling blogs and Instagram accounts, bought books, listened to CDs and TED talks, and reached out to teachers at the childrenâs school for more advice.
Although she admits it has been âpatientâ Michael who has done most of the teaching.
Courtney says anyone thinking of homeschooling should invested in the Core Knowledge Fundamentals series of books, which give an overall guide to the UK curriculum and what your children should know; the family used these for maths, reading and writing.
In general the parents decided to follow a âstrictâ curriculum in favour of learning from their travels: âWe are also big believers in the school of life and we believe many of the lessons learned on the road this year could not have been taught in a classroom.â
In South America, Marlow and Ivy practiced their Spanish language skills buying vegetables and ice cream in the local markets, while the whole family learned about Captain Cookâs travels, growing coconuts and papaya production in Argentina.
The travels have also introduced boys Easton and Quin to a passion for surfing, something which stared in Uruguay and has been carried with them to New Zealand. Their newly-acquired surfboards made travelling âlightâ a little trickier.
And how âlightâ can a family of six really travel? As Courtneyâs 180,000 Instagram followers can attest, the stylish brood never look short of wardrobe options. Adamo explains that each family member has only one suitcase and one item of hand luggage, although a growing collection of souvenirs is making zips bulge.
âThe nomadic life is a very addictive one."â
The family believe that the most beneficial element of the trip has been learning about each other in ways that wouldnât be possible in normal life.
Living in such a confined space (such as a camper van in rainy New Zealand) means they kids have been exposed to all sides of each other, as well as the ups and downs of married life.
âBack in London they [the children] would have been in school, in bed or with a babysitter when Michael and I were plotting out our life course or clearing the hurdles life throws up. I think theyâve learnt a lot from this,â says Courtney.
Adult relationships are one thing, but the family surely also have to navigate sibling bickering â a daily chore for parents regardless of location.
But Courtney believes that without the distraction of television, computers and other gadgets, her âtight little gangâ are learning to get along better.
Adamoâs advice for other parents who are contemplating travelling with children is to âjust do itâ and stop overthinking all the potential problems: âDonât worry about all that, youâre leaving behind because the adventure ahead is even better.â
Does she worry about the children re-joining their peers when they eventually return to London? âWeâll only know for sure how weâve done when they re-enter traditional education, but we believe they learned more and progressed more this year than any other year.â
âBesides, we still donât know where we will be settling yet...â
This summer The Huffington Post UK is spearheading an initiative helping families thrive, with a focus on parent wellbeing, the challenges facing stay-at-home and working parents, friendships and navigating the landscape of modern parenting beyond the 2.4. To kickstart the campaign, Jamie Oliver will be guest editor on 15 July 2016, bringing a focus on feeding healthy families.
Weâll be sharing stories and blogs with the hashtag #ThrivingFamilies and weâd like you to do the same. If youâd like to use our blogging platform to share your story, email ukblogteam@huffingtonpost.com to get involved. Jamieâs new cookbook Super Food Family Classics, published by Penguin, is on sale at ÂŁ26.