"Are we there yet"? "I'm hungry". "Mom, he's on my side........Brings back memories I bet for lots of us. Make travel easier for all. Make your child his or her "special", very own trip tick. You can keep them busy, make them feel special, and the time spent in the car will be more pleasant for all. PLUS, the bonus is your kids will actually learn something while on vacation.
Supplies needed:
3 ring notebook
pocket dividers
colored pencils (not crayons they melt, not markers they're too messy)
Plain White Paper for drawing
Lined paper for writing
Divide by area, or state depending on the age of the child and were you're going AND how long you'll be in the car.
Make a few math problems that involve the kids keeping track of monies spent for gas, food, miles traveled, ...let them figure out how many miles per gallon you're getting. Things like how far it is from point A to point B.
Make hidden word puzzles about vacation, the things you're going to do and see along the way.......like the names of cities you'll travel through, the capitals of the states you'll be in, the state bird.
Have pictures to color that are appropriate....like the state bird. See if they can find them or the state flower as they look out the window.
Make a fact sheet about what's interesting in that area, like what famous person came from there, or what sports teams are in that city (if you've got a sports minded kid).
Encourage them to write a travel journal (we left the house at 7 am, and I was the first to see a Cardinal, the state bird of Ohio...), tie it all in together. If your child's a reader, try to find a book appropriate for the area so they'll have something they can tell you. **For helpful tips on how to encourage them to journal, PLEASE visit my SIL's blog.
As you travel ask them what you're going to see next, how far it is to the next stop etc. Make them a part of it.
I did this every year, and after the first year; my daughter could hardly wait to get in the car and see what I'd put together for her. DON'T LET THEM SEE THEIR TRIP TICK BEFORE GETTING IN THE CAR. KEEP IT A SURPRISE.
Turn off the DVD player, car time is wonderful family time...use it. They can watch TV and DVD anytime; make vacation special--make it different.
The picture is just a pretty flower, has nothing to do with the post, just thought you'd all enjoy it.
This are good tips for travelling with kids. Kids they get bored quickly so, make them busy, before they pop the question "are we there yet?" Thanks for sharing this trip trick tips hehehe
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by and leaving comment at my blog.
Cars are great family time. I've yet to put a DVD player in either of our cars.
ReplyDeleteI like the way you think in regards to that rude woman at the pool. I do think I'll accidentally spill some lemonade on her next time... Or maybe we'll just use the pool at my hoity-toity health club. They have more than enough chairs to go around, there.
Great tips. Can't wait to try your tips for our next trip. :)
ReplyDeleteGood ideas! I agree, traveling can be made into valuable family time! I just cringe when I see a mini van driving with kids in the back staring at mini TV's watching movies... there is so much more they could be learning about and looking at!! I don't have kids (yet) but thanks for the traveling tips!
ReplyDeletep.s. the weather in the plains is hot and humid lately! and lots of rain and thunderstorms earlier this week!
I absoltely agree with the TV DVD thing. Parents aren't exploring many possibilities of connections with the kids when they let them turn out, especially at such a young age. They're a captive audience for awhile there in the car...this is valuable time, and it seems like it's pissing it away to not take advantage of it.
ReplyDeleteLove the idea of the trip tick and am going to explore this further. You're talking math, georgraphy, history all in special game type format above....personalized for each child. You should market this idea.
No blog, yet been enjoying reading around though, so looks like I need to click anonymous to get this posted.
I'll be back to see what else you have for us.
Andy
I am currently in Los Angeles. Is it Rolle or Lausanne the city she's in.
ReplyDeletewww.phyneprint.com
ReplyDeleteI love these tips! And there's always the good ol license plate game. We have one of those place mats that you can get from WalMart with a USA map on it in our van. When they spot a new plate they look on the map where the state is and see how far that car has traveled. Kiddo's love it here when we go over to Daytona for race week and bike week because there are always so many different license plates to look at!
ReplyDeletewhen i was a kid we didn't have seatbelts....can you believe it? our parents always traveled with us at night so we would sleep the whole time....! they took out the back seat and we all laid on the floor and slept the whole way. all six of us.
ReplyDeleteThat's really a great way to spend time with the children...and reading books and interests in stories and puzzles should be cultivated from the young,and you can't change much when they get older.
ReplyDeleteI for one would like to read books a lot during my childhood and I am as interested as ever :)
Hey Sandy,
ReplyDeleteI believe you have done this a time or two. Where were you about 25 yrs ago when I needed these good ideas? lol I will have to use them with my grands I suppose.
Thanks for the info on digg & delicious you left on my blog. Hope you are having a wonderful weekend. Catch ya next time around!
Friends 4 Life!
What great ideas. Mine are just getting old enough for this so I'm definitely going to put something together for our next trip. Thanks for sharing
ReplyDeleteI will have them in my mind when we shall take our holiday this summer, thanks.
ReplyDeleteAs the person for whom the binders were made ... loved it. Wish more parents did this rather than plugging their children in and letting them tune out - is it a wonder that so many children are unable to communicate with adults?!
ReplyDeleteNice post and great ideas, I really enjoyed this post and impress with it.
ReplyDeleteme too.I never thought of this! almost running out of ideas for my kids. great article! I'll use this on our next out of town trip.
ReplyDeleteI usually go out side on trip and i will keep them in mind hope these tips would be helpful to me.
ReplyDeleteThese are all excellent posts. thanks for the links. You seem to be reading day and night looking for good stuff to post lol.
ReplyDeleteI love these ideas and will try out myself while on a trip & tour.
ReplyDeleteWhat great ideas for traveling with children! I remember when my oldest was a baby the car seats were horrible...very unsafe!
ReplyDeleteI like the way you think in regards to that rude woman at the pool. I do think I'll accidentally spill some lemonade on her next time.
ReplyDeleteWhen we travel, I like to buy some flash cards about math, spelling, or language. Then I create a game. After my child answers a certain number of questions, then I give him one of the prizes I bought just for the trip. It is educational and fun.
ReplyDeletegood idea Joy, though I always tried to keep the information exchange to be about the place we were going so it seemed less like school. But am glad to see you didn't let the time be idle. It's a real opportunity and many parents let the kids control the time to much.
ReplyDelete