Amtrak Schools on Trains Program Open to Homeschoolersby Julie Gentry | More from this Blogger 26 Jan 2007 12:20 AM There's nothing quite like riding on a train, whether it's the local steam locomotive or a high speed state of the art passenger car. We were blessed enough to ride the Shinkansen, or Bullet Train, when we lived in Japan. That's truly like flying 15' off the ground. It's one of those must-do experiences when you're in the Orient. We've had almost as much fun, though, riding the steam train around the large community park in our area. Trains are fascinating, no matter what their size.
Groups can be as small as twenty or as large as 72. Note than adults traveling with children under five are not eligible for the rate since it's intended for school-aged children. There are a few other restrictions, but they're easy to comply with. The Amtrak trip is one where getting there is half the fun. The train is clean, comfortable, and a great place to connect with other homeschoolers you may not know well. We usually bring a chessboard and some cards. For the first couple of trips, we studied the towns along the way and talked about them as we passed. It's a completely different view than from the freeway. For me, the magic of the trains is invigorating. By the time we get to Portland, I'm raring to go. No traffic hassles, no bathroom stops along the way, no filling up the gas tank. Just a relaxing ride through beautiful landscapes. What a country! Current Schools on Trains programs include: Amtrak Cascades, serving Bellingham to Portland, and Portland to Eugene (and all stations between) Amtrak Hiawatha, serving stations between Milwaukee and Chicago If your area is not listed, why not write Amtrak a letter and request that they extend the program into your city? Learn more about Julie Gentry  Julie is affectionately known as GoGo Mama to her friends since she seems to always be out and about. Relevanthomeschooling tags User Comments  Valorie Delp (49340) 26 Jan 2007 05:08 AMJulie. . .you're my hero now for writing about this. I wonder if we would be able to do it since we live in NYC. I'm going to check it out. Thanks! Nola Redd (7081) 26 Jan 2007 08:32 AMThat is so awesome! Do they have any requirements for proof of ID? We are up in the northeast, and I may have to connect with a homeschooling group just to get the discounted rate! LOL. I'll have to wait another year or two for my kids to get a bit older, though, since my first two are only 5 and 4. But I know they would love this!  Julie Gentry (5915) 26 Jan 2007 11:50 AMThey didn't require any ID from us. You have to give them the names in advance because of security. But our homeschool "group" is actually an online Yahoo group where homeschoolers throughout the county share information. We're really thirty different local groups meeting online. They don't ask. I don't think they really care, as long as the children are well-supervised. We've has such fun with this, and would like to see Amtrak extend it throughout the country. Community Tags Amtrak, homeschooling, schools, trains Discuss this article
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It's one of the reasons that we're first in line when an Amtrak trip for homeschoolers is posted on our county homeschooling board. Because the trains in our area rarely run at full capacity on weekdays, Amtrak has made the empty seats available at a greatly reduced cost for school groups. They've included 
