Worldschooling Central Live Q&A
We went Live with Karen at Worldschooling Central to talk about all the details of the retreat and what Worldschooling is all about. Watch or read the transcript below to learn more about the Worldschooling movement and the upcoming retreat.
Why we have chosen this particular location and what you can expect in terms of the natural, cultural, and social surroundings
Overview of the Villa, the gardens, the security, the precautions we are taking to ensure the guests’ safety
Details on Co-working space - location & set up
Details of the Summer Camp and Day Care program
How we are handling kids of different age groups
Worldschooling as a global trend and what you can expect from this lifestyle
Hear from Karen on the positive effect Worldschooling has had on her family and others and the connections they have made with other traveling families.
Read the Interview Transcript here:
About Worldschooling Central
Karen: For those that don't know, I'm Karen King, I'm the creator of Worldschooling Central and with my family I've been now Worldschooling since 2016 So it's been a crazy few years, and Worldschooling Central was really just created to help you travel more, to introduce people to Worldschooling and help people realize that there's an alternative way to living life, and one that I think most people that get started in the Worldschooling lifestyle, absolutely love. Today, as mentioned, I'm super excited to introduce Kate Shifman from The Family Workation, she and I have partnered up on her very special project - a summer retreat and co-working retreat for parents and kids and teens in Portugal.
Kate: Hi Karen, thank you so much for having me. It's such an honor and it's so exciting to be here talking to you guys - people who are really into the lifestyle and who are traveling or aspiring to be traveling with their families. I'm so excited to partner with you and to tell your community about this really interesting opportunity.
Karen: Absolutely. I'm so glad you reached out to us and I'm so excited to be partnering with Kate on this because this retreat. Kate's doing things a little bit different to your standard retreat and it's beautifully set up to help busy working parents who need some dedicated time whilst their kids are going to have the time of their lives. So, Kate, let's just start by telling me a little bit about introduce yourself to our audience and tell us a little bit about you and how you got to this place.
Kate: I am Russian and I have lived in New York and London and now I live in Portugal. I always say that I grew up on the plane because my family has been based between the United States and the Ukraine since I was very little. So the idea of traveling and living in different countries is something I grew up with. Another thing I grew up with was, being shipped off to the countryside when my parents were working full time in the city. And so, perhaps the idea of finding a way for parents and kids to have a more beautiful and more connected summer experience was something that was always in the back of my mind. And something that I noticed about my friends, who became parents was that the connection with the kids was so difficult to maintain because life is hard right like you have to make a living, you have to make it work. There's so many priorities, you're so focused on creating a better future for your kids. So while you're doing that, you're kind of forgetting those moments that really matter. And at the same time, coming from a place like New York, I know how exorbitantly expensive summer camp programs are - you spent thousands of dollars, in some cases I've heard people spend $8,000 for a few weeks, and you don't even get to spend time with your kids. They are in summer camp while you’re stuck in the city so there is no room for a real connection. And so the idea came to me as I was on my own nomadic journey. I thought why not create a retreat for the only kind of group that has been so far left behind in this global movement to remote work - the parents. So I’ve decided to embark on this journey to create an experience that would allow parents to work, allow children to have a wonderful time, but also keep them together.
Karen: And you know I think the reason I love this so much is that that has been for us, one of the trickiest things is trying to get the work done, and trying to be a mom, and you know, be involved with the kids and you know not miss out on time with the kids and, you know, making sure that they're busy and that they're occupied and that they're learning and it's just this constant battle of having to do so many things, and I think this is the perfect opportunity to, first of all, connect with other families which like I said, we've made so many friends over the last few years as we've worldschooled. There's just this, there's something really special about connecting with other worldschooling families because they're like minded, they just get, you know, and whilst your family might have at home might not understand this crazy lifestyle you live. When you connect with the worldschooling family they just get you and you create this incredible bond, but to go beyond that and give parents an opportunity where they can legitimately focus and get their work done and know that their kids are off having an amazing time that they're connected with other worldschooling kids and know that at the end of my long working day I can hear these awesome families and these awesome kids and I can have this really special experience with my family, I just, I think that's just a perfect combination of of things to do. Yes, wonderful, and tell us a little bit about the location that you've chosen.
Kate: There are places in Portugal that people tend to go to like the Algarve, and all the coastal areas. But these tend to be overcrowded, expensive, and super hot and to me, it's an inferior experience. Because I've lived in Portugal for the last four years, I've had the opportunity to explore different areas.
This retreat is taking place in Central Portugal, about an hour's away from Lisbon. It's very natural area there's mountains, lots of lakes and rivers. You can go hiking and things like that. It's near a city called Tomar, which is actually a gorgeous, gorgeous medieval city from the time of the Templars, so should you want to dip your toe in history, there's the castle, there are museums, there are things to explore in the cultural realm as well.
The house itself is a beautiful Quinta, which is kind of an estate. It’s beautiful family home, which has nine bedrooms in total. We're able to accommodate around five families just to kind of keep things calm and intimate. Of course, we have a swimming pool, because it does get warm there and it's sunny all day long. And we have a beautiful garden, and an olive grove, six hectares of olive groves, well, that's what comprises the property.
Obviously, we're all still a little bit worried about being in places that are too public. So, you know, having an estate like this allows us to be insulated and to feel safe while we're also being outdoors, and really enjoying that nature.
Karen: So tell me a little bit about the facilities that you're going to have for, for parents for their for their working for the coworker.
Kate: The house has two large ballroom style living rooms, and one of them is going to be transformed into a co working space. We've purchased desks and proper chairs with which we'll equip one of these rooms - the one on the second floor so that, there's not much noise and the parents get their work done in peace and quiet.
Karen: Awesome. That'll be good. And what about the kids? I'm so excited for this. This Kids program that you've got planned and I do want to highlight that this isn't just for you know young kids Kate's very much looking forward to welcoming teens as well and is adapting the plan to facilitate both younger kids and teens so tell us a little bit Kate about the about the kids program we've got planned.
Kate: We were actually so fortunate to be able to partner up with one of the biggest summer camps in Portugal, they happen to have a base very close to the Quinta, just around 10 to 15 minutes’ drive.
The arrangement we have is that they have allocated two childcare facilitators to us, which will come to the Quinta four days a week to play with the kids - do cooking classes, Portuguese classes, paly water games and things like that. And on day five, they will come and take the kids to the summer camp. And there you have canoeing, you have a petting zoo, you have bungee jumping, you have all kinds of things.
Thinking specifically about teens, if we end up having a group where there are teens mixed with younger kids, what we'll do is we'll actually adjust the program a little bit, so the teens can go to the camp three times a week instead of only once, and they can have fun there and then the other two days, they can stay at the Quinta, participate in the classes, connect with the younger kids. So they will have a more robust kind of program because they need to get the energy out.
Karen: It genuinely just sounds incredible. And unfortunately for us this year we're not going to be able to make it but I am definitely it's definitely on our agenda we've definitely spoken about, about wanting to come and, and, you know I like the fact that you're just keeping it small at this stage someone in our Facebook group asked, you know why only five families so can you tell us a little bit about about that decision.
Kate: I wanted to make sure that we are completely safe and secure. We're still at the tail end of the pandemic, it's still going on and not everyone is vaccinated, There's still some danger in that regard. So, I thought it would be the a safe choice to make this a small kind of a limited, let's call it a limited edition experience, to make sure people are safe, it's a small group everyone arrives around the same time, everyone is tested and everyone stays together as a group, so that we're all safe, but also the smaller groups, I also feel they allow a deeper connection between the people.
Karen: Absolutely. So, Kate, you mentioned actually let me ask you first of all, obviously COVID is a is an issue at the moment, and everybody is aware there are restrictions, what's it like in Portugal in terms of COVID restrictions.
Kate: They're a little bit easier here, so from May 3 indoor dining is allowed, outdoor dining has been allowed for the past several weeks. We are all wearing masks outdoors in public areas just like pretty much anywhere in the world right now. According to the regulation, we're not required to wear masks where social distancing is possible, so you know if you're walking on the beach and there's no one else there, you don't have. If you are in a crowded town, of course you do. The good thing is that last summer we had a really nice summer, especially compared to some of the other countries. Most things were open, people were out in the street, it was really a low number of infections, because it's a fairly hot country. So, luckily virus isn't as rampant in hot climates, so it is possible to enjoy the outdoors, almost as if nothing happened.
Karen: Oh that's awesome. So I guess I would like to ask about Portugal itself because that's not one country that we've been to at this point in time. So, what is it that you love about Portugal,
Kate: I always say that you come for the landscape and you stay for the people. Both, both are fantastic. I really fell in love with the landscape here it's a fairly small country, but for a country of this size, it has an incredible diversity of landscape. You have your beaches, your mountains you have forests you have lakes, you have lots of lots of rivers. One of my favorite things actually, and it's, it's particularly common in the center where we're going this retreat. It's something called Praia Fluvial. These are natural lake or river beaches that have been landscaped by the by the City Hall to make them safer and more approachable for families, for kids, for the elderly and people with disabilities. And then there's usually a little cafe and a parking lot, maybe a little campground, something like that. But the facilities of the actual bathing are created or retrofitted in a way that it's easier to get into the water, come out of the water so it's really, really family friendly.
There are some of the most beautiful places in that part of the country - you have these little lakes with beautiful trees around and meadows, and rivers, so the diversity of that natural landscape in that part of the country, in particular, is just incredible.
Karen: You may think me travel sick. I am sorely missing travel but you know it is what it is and, and you make the best of each situation but I think this is a really wonderful experience for you know whether whether families are already traveling and they're out and about and, you know, I know, a lot of people are still just maybe a little slower but they're still traveling.
We have so many new people in our Worldschooling community at this point in time, who COVID has just opened the world up in terms of possibility, people who had maybe never considered homeschooling, or never considered remote work, have had you know they've been thrown into this situation where they've had to get to know it really quickly, and I know I've spoken to a lot of people who it's just opened their eyes to something that they never dreamt of and now. So I think this is going to be a wonderful opportunity for people who are new to this as well. I know that on our Worldschooling trips that we've done, we've had a lot of new people or people that are just sort of dipping their toes in, so to speak, and what you get from connecting with other families and seeing how other families live, it gives you that confidence to be able to go out there and live this crazy but incredible lifestyle.
And so honestly I just so excited for anybody that's able to take part in this, so just a reminder July 2 to July 16 and August 1 to 15 are the dates for that.
I think this is such a great experience and I am very excited to be a part of this and introducing this to our community because worldschooling hubs and communities are such a critical part of the worldschooling experience and I know that they are particularly popular at the moment. And in Portugal, we've not been there but Portugal is, is definitely on all radars at the moment. And I'm hearing about Portugal all over the place so definitely on our radar for when we finished leasing this hotel, you know, even when that happens. Anything else you'd like to add Kate at this point?
Kate:I love the points that you’ve made about people now realizing that they can actually now continue to have careers and travel and have a lifestyle that is untethered from their jobs. And I think a retreat like this can be a really good way to try this out, at least partially, this lifestyle to see how does this actually work when you know, I pack all my bags and the millions of suitcases and we get to this place and I'm working, and my child is close to me, and then we take trips together and it's a very different mode of living and being with your child, parenting.
And I think for some people this could be, this could be a test - do they want to continue to delve deeper into this, or this could be like a once a year experience as well.
As I mentioned, I spent most of my life in the US and we have such limited paid time off, that the ability to work somewhere, while also being on vacation is vital because if you have like your 10 days or two weeks 14 days of vacation, you have obligations, so when do you find the time to do what you actually want, what you like.
Karen: And the two weeks is in my opinion and my experience is the perfect amount of time you know you've got the time to travel to the country. You could do a little sightseeing before and after. But two weeks in a group environment, this is just perfect. You have plenty of time to get the work done that you want to as far as the co working is concerned, you have you have, it's the right amount of time to connect with other families to, you know, have those experiences with your kids. And then, you know, have you said goodbyes at the end of the two weeks because that is something that I in our trips that I've noticed you become very good friends with the other families that are there and you know I know that in our group trips. We've got members, you know, wanting to organize, you know, catch ups in, you know, additional trips so that we can all just go on another trip together so it really is that sort of friendship that you can eat and that that you can create with other families and that will stay with you as you will school, and there's nothing quite like meeting up with friends around the world and you don't meet them meet up with them in Asia or in Europe or in South America and, you know, we might all be traveling but you can create incredible friendships, so, so look those contact details are on the, on the screen the family location.com forward slash contact, there is a, a form on there that you can fill out, make sure you mentioned Worldschooling central in the How did you hear about us section.