I Am Jill Krause, “Roadschooling” Mom and I Am a Parent.
Jill Krause and her husband Scott have achieved what they call the “American Greater Dream.” They had a home, a five-bedroom beauty in a prestigious Texas school district. But this dream, they realized, was sucking the life out of them. The couple spent most of their free time keeping the house and really wanted their children to see what went beyond extracurricular activities and standardized tests. So, early last year, the Krauses made a radical decision – to sell the house, move to a mobile home and hit the road. The family of six is now engaging in “homeschooling” – homeschooling on the road – while sharing tips and tricks for RV life on the blog and in a YouTube series called Happy Loud Life. Jill tells us about her parents.
Location: currently? Washington DC Job: Content creator and influencer Family: Husband Scott and kids Kendall (10), Lane (7), Lowell (4) and Wallace (18 months)
Tell us a little about your family and your career. Was life mostly according to plan, or were there any surprises?
Scott and I have worked very hard to achieve our idyllic family life from the moment we met. We both graduated from college, worked hard to advance our careers, and basically planned to have all four children we have now, although the couple arrived at unexpected moments. While we didn’t plan on selling everything and hitting the road in an SUV, it was definitely a choice we made on purpose when our hearts were opened to the idea in 2016.
Tell us about your morning routine. What are your best tricks to get out the door?
Now that we live in a full-time mobile home and educate children on the road, there is little that can get us out of the house before 10 am, and this is one of the great perks of this trip. However, it can be difficult to get four kids together and keep them entertained, no matter what time of day. We keep all our shoes in one place, and this is a trick we used when we lived in a 4,000 square foot home that still serves us well. We also have time-tested snacks to go (a big love for Target’s fruit leathers ) that we keep in stock, and extra diapers and wipes are kept right at the door. Thus, we know exactly where to go for shoes, snacks and diapers. These are really the key things we need before we go anywhere.
How do you share home / childcare responsibilities with your partner?
Scott and I have always worked as one team that leverages each other’s strengths. Scott does the dishes and laundry every night, and in fact now he takes on most of the childcare while I work full time on the road. But before we sold our house, he had a permanent job that required me to do this.
How much outside help do you get as a parent? Who or what cannot you live without?
Now, when we travel, we do not receive any outside help. It’s exhausting, but we know it’s temporary. There was a time when we had a weekly housekeeper and when we get back to the house my goal is to include these costs in our budget. She made our life less chaotic.
What gadgets, apps, charts, or tools do you rely on?
We couldn’t have made this trip without our iPhones, and I know this is not a new answer, but thank goodness for them. I take tons of pictures of kids and our family as we move from state to state, and I really enjoy editing them on my phone with A Color Story . Instagram is our primary platform for family stories these days, but I also love printing these photos with Recently , which turns your film into a photo magazine.
For life with a toddler in a RV, there are several game-changing products including Lotus Travel Crib , Summer Infant Pop N ‘Play Portable Playard and Stokke Flexi Bath , which folds up very compactly and is stored in our closet.
How do you like your evening routine?
Our mobile home is quite spacious in terms of mobile space, which is why we have a stunning living / dining / kitchen area with two comfy sofas and a large TV. We cook dinner with lots of documentaries in the background like Planet Earth or Ken Burns’ National Parks. We read fairy tales to children in the evenings and put them to bed, as we did in our house.
How do you unpack?
Scott and I should try to take care of ourselves and make time for the two of us while we do this. We love to watch shows like Westworld or The Walking Dead in our room when the kids go to bed. We love finding local craft beer or wine wherever we travel and enjoying our favorite drink while we watch.
What are your tricks on the road?
We love listening to podcasts on the road with our kids. Our family favorite is Circle Round . Scott and I also enjoy listening to How I Built This , which isn’t really a children’s podcast, but I love that our kids can overhear success stories that always detail their failures. I think it is very important to teach our children that failure is a huge part of growth and success.
What are you most proud of as a parent?
I am very proud of our children who made this jump with us. It’s not that they have a lot of choice, and they complain for many days or miss our old life, but they are here, living it. They find joy in the new things we experience. They create such strong family ties without even realizing it.
What moment are you least proud of?
I think we end each day not being very proud of what we did as parents. We are always working on our patience and our intentions for children. I am not proud to lose my temper or feel like I need to better manage my work time to give my children more attention. So every day I wake up and try to get better at these things.
What do you want your children to learn from your example?
One evening in February 2017, I brought up the idea of this trip – to sell a house, buy a camper van, and hit the road – at the dinner table. We had a lively family discussion and I hope my children will remember that night forever. This mom had this wild idea, and then we carried it out. I hope they learn to turn their own crazy ideas into reality and take risks because they saw me do the same.
Do you have any funny / weird / special family rituals?
Instead of singing Happy Birthday to each other on our birthdays, we play Parry Gripp’s There A Cat Licking Your Birthday Cake and sing along. It’s much more fun!
The only thing I would like to say to other parents who are thinking about life in a mobile home:
Do it! Do not wait. There is no perfect timing. Yes, it will be noisy, crowded, tense and chaotic. It will also be rewarding if you can let go of your expectations and let the magic create itself.