Traveling with Kids!

TIPS, GAMES, IDEAS, FUN...

BETTER FAMILY VACATIONS
Everyone dreams of a perfect family vacation. There will be a lot of together time with family members enjoying themselves. Everyone will find time to relax and unwind, and everyone will come back refreshed. Yet anyone who has ever taken a family vacation has discovered that they're far from perfect and that you never know what to expect. If you plan carefully, however, you can create better family vacations in which everyone comes home with fond memories.
Try it...
 

FOR ALL PARENTS
Adjust your expectations for family vacations. Instead of thinking of them as time to relax, think of them as family time where you may need to work a bit to bring the family together. (You can always take time off for yourself to unwind at another time.)

 
Get everyone's input on possible family vacations and activities. Your getaways will be more successful if everyone is involved in the planning from early on. Make sure the kids have a good say in what is planned, where you go, and the activities you want to do (and want to avoid). You may even need to plan one favorite activity per person so that everyone gets the chance to do something he or she really wants and the rest of the family can get to know that family member better.

 
If you're divorced, be careful not to get your children caught in the cross hairs of competing vacations. Some kids think it's too much to go on two vacations (one with dad's family and another with mom's family) because it keeps them away from their friends too long. Balance your children's needs along with your own.

Be realistic about budgets. Family vacations can get expensive rather quickly. If your kids want spending money, let them know their budget before you go.

If you have kids in two different age groups (such as a preschooler and a young adolescent), find activities that both enjoy, such as swimming or water parks. Also let each child choose an activity he or she really wants to do and have the whole family go along and enjoy that activity.

Consider vacations with different goals. One year have a vacation that's about relaxing and being together. Another time have a vacation that's more adventuresome, where you're exploring a national park or a major city. Another time, consider taking a family service trip during which your family volunteers and helps others. 

Whenever you take a family vacation, remember to expect the unexpected, have a sense of humor, and be open to surprise and discovery. This will help you keep your balance and your sanity!

This article is from MVParents.com To find simple, practical, and proven ways to help your kids succeed visit their website! It's a great site to both visit and subscribe!

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FOR PARENTS OF KIDS 6-9

Pack a traveling bag with activities that kids can do while traveling and on vacation. Include blank tablets, washable markers, puzzle and activity books, playing cards, handheld video games, books to read, and so on.
 
Consider putting away several new activities (such as a new card game, puzzle, or board game) and wrapping it like a present. When kids get bored, bring out a present for them to open and discover.
 
Be intentional about playing together as a family while you're on vacation. The best part of a family vacation is being together and having fun together.

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FOR PARENTS WITH YOUTH 10-15
 
Encourage your teenager to bring a friend. This often will raise your teenager's enthusiasm level greatly.
 
You may need to rethink and redefine a family vacation for this age group. Don't be surprised if your teenager is more enthusiastic about taking a trip to see a favorite music group, go to an amusement park, or visit a first-class water park.
 
Consider taking two or three shorter vacations instead of one longer vacation. Sometimes teenagers are more agreeable to short getaways (so they don't miss much time with their friends) than long ones.
From MVParents.com

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TRAVELING FUN IN THE CAR!

"MAKE OF CAR" SCAVENER HUNT

Materials: List of cars, pencil and lots of time, time, time...
Players: Small to medium groups

Here's a game for the kids to play on that next long car ride. It's a car scavenger hunt and here's a list to get you started.
Print this list and have players mark off which cars they have spotted.
If there are several players, take turns as to who marks off the next car that you pass or that passes you--or make a copy for each child!

• Accord
• Aerostar
• Alero
• Astro
• Audi
• Aurora
• Blazer
• BMW
• Bonneville
• Camaro
• Camry
• Caprice
• Caravan Caravel
• Cavalier
• Celebrity
• Cherokee
• Cirrus
• Civic
• Concord
• Contour
• Corolla
• Corsica
• Cougar
• Dakota
• Denali Escort
• Excursion
• Excursion
• Expedition
• Explorer
• Galant
• Grand Prix
• Hummer
• Infiniti
• Interpid
• Intregue
• Jimmy
• Kia Laredo
• Lexus
• Lincoln
• Lumina
• Mazda
• Mercedes
• Montana
• Monte Carlo
• Mustang
• Mystique
• Navigator
• Park Avenue
• Pathfinder
• PT Cruiser
• Probe
• Ram
• Ranger
• Sable
• Safari
• Saturn
• Silhouette
• Silverado
• Suburban
• Sunbird
• Sunfire
• Tahoe
• Taurus
• Tempo
• Tracer
• Tracker
• Transport
• Towncar
• Venture
• Villager
• Volkswagen
• Voyager
• Windstar

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WHAT CAN YOU TAKE TO KEEP KIDS BUSY?

This is what I do when traveling in the car, plane or train with my grandchildren!
 
I give my grandchildren things like pipe cleaners, stickers and paper, aluminum foil (they mold it into whatever they want), scotch tape and post-it-notes, band aids (by the time you get somewhere they may be wearing the entire box--and that's OK if it keeps them happy! With this--you won't later find melted crayons on your back seat! Cassie/Michigan

Depending on the age of your children-- you can add:

• Books to read as well as age appropriate activity books, comic books and sticker books
• Threading sets (pictures with yarn)
• Magnetic Travel-size games such as Monopoly, Sorry, Battleships, Chess, Backgammon, Checkers, and Chinese Checkers
• Travel-size Magna- Doodle and Etch-a-Sketch
• Small Lego sets in Ziploc bag to store the pieces  
• Travel Desk sets
• Wipe of easels (white-board) with board markers 
• Miniature worlds: little houses, etc. with figures, hand-sized playsets
• Small magnetic puzzles 
• Small wind-up toys
• Decks of Cards such a "Go-Fish" and regular...
• Miniature cars--sold in portable sets
• Small sets of plastic figures such as dinosaurs and animals
• Yarn and string for finger knitting and making Cat's Cradle, etc.
• Blank Paper for Tic Tac Toe and Hangman
• Hand-held toys with the sound turned off
• DVD players-and favorite movies
• CD players
• Handheld electronic games
• A map to mark follow and mark off--how about a compass too!
• And of course...favorite snacks!!!

The aluminum foil that Cassie suggests is great! Kids can mold it into anything they want! Challenge them to come up with something really creative such as crowns, animal shapes, masks, jewelry, a headband and more...

ACTIVITY SET  MADE TO TRAVEL...

Along the same line are game and activity sets that have been made and packaged for travel.  Fun travel games are great for keeping kids occupied on long trips. You can put your own travel box (such as from the above ideas)-- or purchases a kit such as shown--this one includes travel games for kids of all ages; checkers, car bingo, solitaire games, tangrams, doodle board, license plate games, and more. This one at about $13.99 comes with magnets, dice, a dry erase pen and double sided activity cards. idea/and above photo from Family Travel Gear...

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DON'T FORGET THE BOOKS!  Check out the Book List in Summer Reading. There is an excellant list of books to read during 'ROAD TRIPS'!

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  PLAY 'COLORED CAR' GAME

Have kids look for cars of a certain color. Be sure to play along with them too. You can time the game so that the person who has spotted the most cars of a certain color wins.

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HOW FAR AWAY IS THAT ________?
Pick an object in the distance and have everyone guess how far away it is. Set your odometer and clock it!

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PLAY 'RYHME THAT WORD'!

• Think of words.
• Children take turns seeing how many “real” rhyming words they can think of.
• When one word is worn out, choose another word. Remind the kids to use “nice” words only!
• Example: Rhyme words with “time”...
  Chime, climb, crime, dime, grime, I’m, lime, mime, prime rhyme, thyme, slime, bedtime, centime, daytime, enzyme, lifetime, mealtime, meantime, nighttime, pastime, ragtime, sometime, springtime, sublime, maritime, overtime, pantomime, paradigm

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A - Z BACK-SEAT TRAVELS:

Need:
1 small notebook
1 large zipper- seal plastic bag
A pen or pencil
Crayon or markers
 
What to do:
1. Before you go on the trip, write name, the place you are going to, and the date that you are leaving on the cover of the notebook.
 
2. At the top of each page, write one letter of the alphabet, beginning with A and ending with Z.
 
3. Place the notebook, pencil, and crayons in the plastic bag and take them on the trip with you.
 
4. As you travel, look for special landmarks or things and write their name next to the appropriate letter. For example, lake would be written on the "page with "L" at the top.
 
5. Draw a picture of that item on the page, and color the picture with the crayons.

You can use blank pages at the end of the book as a travel diary, detailing everything you saw and did on the trip.

Kids will have a full book of vacation memories!

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SINGING CAN BE FUN on long car rides. Turn off the DVD'S, CD's and radio --and pick a few of your children's favorite songs and sing them. Try to get the kids involved, taking turns singing the songs in your funniest voices.

 For .01 to 10.76 Amazon.com haALL-AMERICAN CAR-I-OKE-yes, karaoke for the car! It'a a kit including a book of 15 great family sing-along tunes and activities galore, an accompanying CD of music, and three booklets of lyrics for the back seat and the way-back.

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