How to Plan a Road Trip your Kids will Love: Tip 1

Last week, my son told my husband that he wasn't very happy.  He would like to go somewhere new.  We are not planning to move any time soon, but we do have a major road trip planned. Maybe that will settle his need to wander.  This week, I am sharing a few hints  for planning a road trip your kids will love.  

Tip 1: Make Traveling an Adventure

Carry a map

No expedition is complete without a map.  We have a Notebook Map of the United States that we consult as we are getting on the road in the morning and through out the day. My kids love it and ask for updates.

 Plan to stop at major attractions

Today, I spent about ten minutes on our state's tourism page and found several cool places.  One of the best is four hours from home and only thirty minutes out of our way.  I am really looking forward to visiting that museum with my children!

Whenever we drive into a new state, we stop at the visitors center to pick up a state map.  Often the visitor's center will have information about attractions, clean restrooms, and coffee.  Sometimes they even have small museums.

Make unplanned  stops

Last summer we were driving through the Navajo Nation when we saw a home made sign that said "dinosaur fossils".  We made a split second decision to pull over, and spent thirty minutes taking the tour.  My kids are still telling people about that stop.  You probably can't afford the time to pull over every time there is an attraction, but stopping when there is something a family member is especially interested in is time well spent.

In post two of this series, I share another tip for planning a road trip your kids will love.

How to Plan a Road Trip your Kids will Love:  Tip 2
How to Plan a Road Trip your Kids will Love:  Tip 3

This post contains Amazon affiliate links.  Click here for more information.   Thanks for your support!  The post,  Planning a Fun, Educational Family Road Trip: Make traveling an adventure by Christy McGuire originally appeared on WisdomKnowledgeJoy@blogspot.com.

Lower Stress Painting

Painting is a fantastic activity.  It allows for creativity as the child makes her own design. It fosters scientific learning as the child learns how textures and colors mix.  It even contributes to a correct pencil grip, especially if you are diligent enough to attach the canvas to the wall.

Painting is also really stressful for moms like me.  Please notice I used the present tense verb.   I would not choose to paint in my free time.  I would not choose messy little fingers while renting a house painted with flat paint.  But, my daughter chooses painting weekly, and I want to free her to go beyond my struggles.  Here are a few strategies I employ to survive while she thrives.

1.  Put an adult size t-shirt on the child, and use a clothespin to shrink the neck hole so that none of her clothing shows.

2.  Cover the table with newspapers.

3.  Use washable paint from squeeze bottles.  Water colors are fun, but my kids destroy them.  My sister, who would know, says that they are a difficult medium to master.  We'll save them for later.

4.  Use divided trays to hold the paint while painting.  Mine came from Hobby Lobby, but you could also just use an old egg carton.  By putting the paint in divided trays, it more or less stays distinct, unless of course my artist wants to have the mixed look. Because I dole out the paint from squeezable bottles, I can always give more yellow if the old yellow has been used to make green.

5.  Use lots of paint brushes, more than one per color.  That way we do not have to wash any brushes until we are totally finished.

6.  Sit down and paint with her.   Putting my energy into creating beside her helps me relax.  It keeps me at arms length in case of a spill or need for more paint.  She seems to enjoy it, and I would like to think it encourages her in a healthy activity.

7.   Before painting, fill an old bottle with clean water to use for cleaning brushes. Here is how we make cleaning up into a quick science add-on.

When everything is dry, the master pieces can go on the refrigerator, and the materials go back in the gallon bag, ready for another day.

This is an area where I would like to continue to grow.  Do you have a hint to add?

Travel friendly storage for magnetic alphabet letters.

My brilliant husband gets credit for this idea.  I told him what I was trying to do, and he made it happen.  This lovely storage box came from Grangier.   It isn't the cheapest possible option, but I like it because the letters fit easily,  the clasps fasten the lid securely, and it has a handle.   If you're looking for a cheaper option, check a craft supply store for a bead storage container.   If you want seriously cheap, an egg carton will work.  The main goal is to put each letter in its own compartment so that it can be found easily.

Before we put the letters in, I followed Montessori's direction and wrote the name of each letter on the section where it goes.  Clean up time is not the time to tax tired little brains!

We put capital and lower case letters in the same compartment. There's plenty of space, and so far my kids don't seem confused.  If one of them was struggling, I'd make a point to store capital and lower case letterers separately.

I'm looking forward to pulling this out many, many times in the coming years.