Road Trip!

Posted by Christine | 0 comments

We love to travel. We love that we can travel whenever we want to. I secretly wish that we had been the ones to think up the Kids Love… book series idea, but alas! We’ll have to simply benefit from the travel and research that the Zavatsky family has enjoyed together over the years.

Unlike many parents I know, we do not break out in a cold sweat when faced with the possibility of car trips with the kids. I have found that even with toddlers, if you prepare well enough, you can enjoy the time spent with your kids and not not continually pull your hair out. In the past year I have taken 3 car trips from Ohio to New Jersey or Ohio to North Carolina by myself with my four children who were 9, 6, 3, and 2. While the last hour was always a bit hairy, I really enjoyed my time with them, not to mention the sympathetic looks when we stopped for a potty breaks! All I have to say is God bless the places on the interstate with family restrooms!!

Here are some of the things I do to guarantee (OK, maybe not guarantee but at least improve the odds of) a successful trip:

• Beginning weeks before the trip, I make my lists. I love lists. They make me feel much more in control than I actually am, and if I keep up with them- adding to them frequently when something else pops into mind-by the time it’s actually time to go, I don’t have that panicky feeling that I’ve forgotten something. I make lists for groceries (if needed), clothing, activities for the kids, places to visit, etc. Ahhhh, I feel fulfilled just thinking about it!

• About a week before, I set aside a folder for each child and label it. I begin printing off games, car activities, coloring pages, and anything else that I think will occupy them in the car. I also take a trip to Target and Michael’s for their $1 bins. I find a bunch of things for each child that will be brand new and in their “travel bags” once we get on the road. This usually includes cheap games, little figurines, coloring books, and snacks. Snacks are crucial with my brood!

• We do have a portable DVD player but we use it sparingly. We love to play music instead because it gets everyone involved in singing and bopping along. We also love books on tape or the Classical Kids series of CDs.

• We have some great car games by Melissa and Doug that are well-made and pass the time more creatively.

• I make mileage cards for each of the kids who is old enough to use them. I take an index card, write the beginning and ending location of our trip on top with the total mileage next to it. Then I break the trip down in 50 mile increments and write down as many 50′s as we’ll be traveling with the remainder following. Each 50 miles, the kids cross off one 50 and before you know it you’re there! There are not nearly as many “Are we there yet?” moments this way!

• I have a nice cube basket between the kids in the back and the kids in the middle of the van. They are packed with age-appropriate reading material, usually stuff that I find that they haven’t read in a while, and that have a high “activity” content. We love the “Where’s Waldo?”, “Can You Find It?”, and “I Spy” books for this purpose.

• Last, but certainly not least, I adjust my expectations to fit the crowd. There are occasionally times when someone is melting down. Usually this doesn’t last for more than 10 minutes at a time, but those minutes can seem like forever! I do some deep breathing, try to engage the whiner in a game of “count the red cars that pass us by” or “wheels on the bus”, and take it in stride.

As we get ready to go on another family road trip, I am enjoying the process of getting ready for fun! That fun can include the traveling itself if you plan the good times into your car ride. Happy Traveling!

Christine Hiester is a Christian, homeschooling mom to three boys and a girl, ranging in age from 9 to 2 years old. She is a musician by trade, eclectic in homeschool style, and continues to grow and learn along with her children in this journey of life and discipleship at home. Visit her blog at Fruit in Season.