3 Reasons a Cabin Rental is an Ideal Vacation for a Homeschooling Family
Sometimes we need a change of scenery, am I right? It's always around February when our homeschool feels a bit void of excitement and I feel I've lost my motivation and inspiration.
A getaway, if even for 2 nights, can really be refreshing and rejuvenating for the entire family. You can bring school work to do or ditch the book work and plan other educational experiences during the trip. We wholeheartedly believe learning is always happening, even if books aren't involved.
I knew after Christmas we would need a little getaway and my first inclination was to go to one of my happy places, The Smoky Mountains in East Tennessee. We've visited Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, TN a few times now and always have an incredible time. There is no shortage of family friendly things to do and although we do something different each visit, we still aren't even close to trying everything on our list. This destination is high on my list for recommendations for homeschool families as it is also very cost effective, especially if you're traveling on week days and during months that aren't busy (such as February).
For our most recent visit, we partnered with a cabin rental company called "Cabins For YOU". They are a family owned business that has been operating for 20 years and have a very large selection of cabins to choose from. Seriously, a HUGE variety of cabins. There is something for everyone whether you want an indoor pool, incredible mountain views, games, movie theaters, hot tubs, and more!
The cabin we stayed in was called "Be Our Guest" and it was so fun and cozy. Whenever we weren't in the cabin, the boys were begging to go back.
I wanted to share with you my Top 3 Reasons a Cabin Rental is the way to go for a Homeschool family:
1) It's spacious. We've stayed at plenty of hotels and they're great but it doesn't give you much room to move around and relax. We loved the space that a cabin offers. Our cabin was 3,000 sq feet and with only four of us, we had so much space to spread out. This particular cabin sleeps 14 and is perfect for a large family or a multi-family trip. Inviting another family along is a huge perk and also helps you save money. There are cabins that can fit up to 40 people so you can really be creative and invite your whole homeschool tribe. Our cabin had a hot tub and a balcony on each of the three floors overlooking a beautiful serene view.
It also had a large common space on the top floor with a pool table, a foosball table, two bunk beds, a king bed, and a sitting area with a TV. "Be Our Guest" has 4 bathrooms and two additional large bedrooms with king beds.
There are cabins with all sorts of amenities and some of the resort communities even offer additional perks such as a community pool and gym depending on the location of your cabin rental.
2) You can plan meals and cook there. This is also very cost effective and convenient when traveling with children. You can either pack and bring food or go grocery shopping once you arrive. You can even pack a crock pot or instapot. Cabins For YOU cabins are equipped with full kitchens, dinnerware, pots and pans, coffee makers, toasters, and other cooking utensils you might need. We love to bring breakfast food, supplies for sandwiches, and plenty of snacks and then usually go out for dinner or order take out/ delivery.
3) There are activities to keep everyone in the family busy. When you browse the Cabins For YOU website, you will notice a wide variety of options. You can rent a cabin with an indoor pool which is really great, especially for a multi-family trip. Every cabin has a hot tub outside.
Most cabins have various games to choose from such as arcade games, air hockey, foosball, a pool table, and more.
Our cabin, "Be Our Guest" even had a movie theater that our boys loved!
They watched numerous movies and I made them popcorn each time and it truly felt like we were at the movies. You can also pack board games and puzzles since you have the space. I feel like when we stay in a hotel, our boys stay glued to the TV. At this cabin, they went back and forth from pool and foosball to the hot tub and then playing in the movie theater and pretending they were employees.
They even created tickets for each seat and my son would rip the ticket in half as we entered and direct us to our seat.
The boys also brought our binoculars and were looking for wildlife.
Xander brought his saxophone and practiced on the balcony and the boys also read and did some light school work on the laptop.
This was an ideal getaway for our little family. I know we'd love to bring another family next time we rent a cabin. And we definitely would rent from Cabins For YOU again! The customer service was incredible. A few days before our trip, I received an email with all of the information we needed for our stays, including videos showing exactly how to get to the cabin and what to expect and pack. It was so helpful and I had zero questions heading into the trip.
Once we were there, I was having trouble finding the WiFi network so I called the phone number on the fridge. A lovely woman answered and was so helpful and kind. She texted me the network and password. It was comforting knowing they were so responsive. Every cabin has a lock box with a code that was e-mailed to me prior to the trip so it was a seamless check-in and check-out process.
I would definitely suggest following Cabins For YOU on Instagram and Facebook to see when they post about new cabins or new specials and promotions:
More Cabins For You Links to check out:
Here is a link to the "Cabins For YOU" cabin we stayed in: Be Our Guest
Here is a link for Homeschool Days & Discounts in Pigeon Forge & Gatlinburg from Cabins For YOU: Homeschool Discounts
Here is a great downloadable PDF from Cabins For YOU with all of their Partner Discounts in the Pigeon Forge/ Gatlinburg area: Partner Attraction Discounts
"Cabins For YOU" truly was a dream to work with and I am happy to recommend them to my audience of homeschool families. I really appreciate their consideration for and desire to serve the homeschool community.
Be sure to use the code SCHOOL for $150 off your stay year-round!
Book your next getaway today and message me to let me know when you do! :)
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