Trucking is an education unto itself. The places you see, the people you meet, not to mention all those books on tape. For some families, trucking plays a major part in their children's education-they home-school on the road.

Sherman Sheffield of Warren, Texas, has spent more than 12 years on the road. For the past three, he and his wife have turned the trucking life into a home-school experience for their youngest son, Timothy.

"When our son goes on the road, he looks for topographical changes in the geography of the land," says Vicki Sheffield. "Once he's back home, we put the information in a travel scrapbook that tells a story of his time on the road with Dad."

Home schooling also allows the Sheffields to maximize their family time when Sherman is at home. Because of its flexibility, home schooling can accommodate the trucking parent's schedule. "We make every effort when he's home to get the most out of his time with us," says Sheffield. "We may have planned a day trip to the beach, but if Dad comes home and isn't interested in going, we change the agenda to fit his plans. Why? Because Dad is going, going, going all the time."

Scheduling Challenge

When Mom and Dad are both truckers, home schooling becomes an exercise in precision scheduling. Kathy and Fletch Tilton of Covington, Wash., have a combined 42 years of trucking experience, both in long haul and local trucking. Because of their revolving schedules, their daughter has ten days of school with her parents and then four days off while she is at the sitters. This makes involvement in home-schooling groups difficult.

"Most things are scheduled weekly and we're not able to participate in them," says Kathy Tilton. "We try to do one field trip a month, but we hate driving anywhere when we're finally out of the truck. It's frustrating for her…she would like to do more."

The Tiltons, who enjoy home schooling despite the scheduling challenges, have found that their experiences as long haulers have come in handy.

"Both my husband and I use our experience from long haul in discussions," says Tilton. "Things like what we've seen, or what would be neat for her to see. She still has two uncles that long haul, so we look up where they're at and where they're going and how long it may take them."

Getting Game

For the Queens of New Freeport, Pa., trucking and home schooling go hand-in-hand.

"We are not allowed to go with Dad on the road due to company policy," says Sandi Queen, who stays at home to home-school their six children. "But we operate a home-school supply company, and we frequently get to see Dad's route as we travel from conference to conference. He points out places we are passing in our motor home, and tells us when he stopped there in his truck. It makes his work more real for us-getting to see the places he's been, and the places he's slept and called us from."

Trucking inspired their family-designed games, Big Rigs Travel Games, which are a series of travel games for children about U.S. geography, trucks, and truck cargo.

"We were amazed to find that so many truckers home-school," says Queen. "They come up to us to buy the game, excited to find such a thing at a home-school convention. We've talked to quite a few homeschooling/trucking families because of this."

In getting to know so many other home-schooling truckers, they have found that just like other families, each one is unique. In some families, Dad is out on the road alone, other families travel together, while in others, the kids get to ride along on occasion.

"The common thread for all the trucking/home-school families we've met is that they all try to make the most of the trucking experience," says Queen. "Even if Dad is off alone, Mom and kids are home charting his course on a map, or sticking stars on a U.S. map to show what states Dad has been to. It always seems to become a geography lesson! And that's part of what home schooling is all about-learning from everyday life opportunities, and making the most of them."