Parents Take Two Daughters Out Of School For A Year-long Adventure

Parents took their two young daughters out of school for a year so they could all go snorkelling on the Great Barrier Reef and canoeing in Vietnam as part of a round-the-world trip.
Deputy head teacher Paul Davies and his wife Adele 'home schooled' their daughters as they visited 12 countries so they could have a taste of freedom 'without health and safety restraints'.
Nine-year-old Lili Mai and her seven-year-old sister Nel had never flown in a plane before they left their home in Llandybie, Near Ammanford, west Wales, in September 2013.
The family saved for nine years to afford the once-in-a-lifetime adventure which saw them cover almost 30,000 miles. 
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Deputy head teacher Paul Davies and his wife Adele took their two young daughters Nel (left), seven and Lili Mai (right), nine, out of school for a year, pictured at Halong Bag, Vietnam
The family saved for nine years to afford the once-in-a-lifetime adventure, pictured is Mr Davies and his daughters during a festival in Singapore
Along the way the family went shopping in New York, snorkelling in Cairns, canoeing in Halong Bay, Vietnam, and even met Fijian natives.
Primary school pupil Lili said: 'We enjoyed everything about our journey.

Everything was new and exciting. Hearing new accents and languages was cool.
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'Not going to school for a year was a new experience for Nel and I, but learning something new every day was easy when you got to.' 
Mr Davies, 40, said he has no regrets about taking the children out of Ffairfach Primary School in Carmarthenshire to go travelling.
He said: 'We are very fortunate that we've had a chance to go.

We have been saving since Lili was a baby. 
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The parents home schooled their daughters as they visited 12 countries, pictured at Ayers Rock, also known as Uluru, kynghidongduong.vn in central Australia
The family covered almost 30,000 miles and visited the Taj Mahal in Agra, India (pictured left with Mrs Davies' mother) and (right) at the Great Wall of China
The girls had never flown before they set off on the journey from west Wales in September 2013, pictured sailing in Australia
They visited some of the world's most fascinating places, including Angkor Wat in Siem Reap, Cambodia, the largest religious complex in the world
'Our girls learnt so much along the way.

Every new country was a lesson in itself. Their numeracy skills were improved as they worked out exchange rates and new currency and their communication skills and confidence grew daily. 
'Experiencing the world and all the variety it has to offer - the sounds and sights and smells - that education broadens the mind.

It does more than reading about the world in a book ever could.
'I'm always so aware that your time with your children at home is finite and I want them to have amazing experiences and memories of their time growing up.
I know Lili and Nel will remember our trip forever.
'Although they missed a year of physically being in school we tutored the children on the road. 
The family visited Disneyland in Florida (pictured) during their once-in-a-lifetime trip which took place from September 2013 to August 2014
Primary school pupil Lili said: 'We enjoyed everything about our journey', pictured with her sister on a camel in Alice Springs, Australia
Along the way the family went shopping in New York and snorkelling in Cairns, pictured during a festival in Singapore
The couple wanted to give their daughters a taste of freedom 'without the restraints of health and safety' during the year-du lịch hạ long trip
Nine-year-old Lili Mai at a temple in Bangkok (left), Thailand and pictured (right) in a tuk-tuk with her father in Georgetown, Malasia
'They did things we could only have dreamed about in the UK like riding elephants bareback as they waded into a river. 
'We wanted the girls to taste freedom without the restraints of health and safety.
'They used Adele and I as a measure of whether or not they should be afraid.
'There were a couple of mishaps along the way but I always played it down so the girls weren't scared.

I wanted them to really live each moment.'
The family went on 36 different journeys by air - visiting Canada, China, India, America, Fiji, New Zealand, Australia, Malaysia, Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand and Brittany. 
The family went on 36 different journeys by air, pictured with burlesque dancers during their stay in Las Vegas, Nevada
The parents decided to 'home school' their daughters even though they were thousands of miles away from home
The family set off from their home in Llandybie, Near Ammanford, West Wales, in September 2013 and returned a year later 
The family visited Thailand as part of their round-the-world trip, pictured is Lili Mai holding a snake at a market in Bangkok
They 'treasured' their memories of the adventure, including sleeping in the Red Centre region of the Australian outback
When they visited Brittany, France, Mr Davies gave the girls some intensive catch up lessons to get them up to scratch with the national curriculum.  

Mrs Davies, 38, an administrative assistant, said: 'I'd never been too keen on the idea of going on big trips and really travelling before this experience.
'I let Paul go off exploring on his own. But I knew taking the children around the world was one of his big dreams and I got swept up in the excitement.
'Now I truly have the bug.

It's really special to be able to share that passion with Paul and the family.
'I know we'll all treasure our memories of exploring the world together forever.' 
The family filmed their experiences for Welsh language channel S4C in a programme called Teulu Mewn Bacpac shown on Channel 4 in Wales. 
It is still available to view on their online catch up service 
The girls were given the geography trip of a lifetime, pictured with giant trees in Yosemite national Park in the USA
They went shopping in New York and spent a few days in San Francisco, pictured riding on the trams in the American city
The children were taught the national curriculum throughout the trip, pictured riding elephants in Luang Prabang, Laos
The family pictured (left) having a mud bath in Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam, and visiting a waterfall (right) in New Zealand
They spent a few days in New York as part of their epic family adventure, pictured posing at the Empire State Building
When they visited Brittany, France, Mr Davies gave the girls some intensive catch up lessons, pictured in Sydney, Australia