"Over the River and Through the Woods" without Killing the Kids
by Carolyn Nicolaysen
The
Christmas holidays bring the opportunity to visit family or friends,
sometimes at the end of a long journey. Whether we travel by air,
train or car, a trip with children is a challenge all the same. What
to do with those hours?
To
some extent, the challenge of entertaining children while cooped up
can apply to our family preparedness as well. If a family is
evacuated — uprooted by a flood, hurricane, wildfire, or other
calamity that puts them out of their home for a period of time —
there will be some long hours to amuse children, as well as yourself.
So
a trip “over the river and through the woods” is a good
time to practice basic concepts that are proven successful while
traveling with children. Complete success, however, requires that
time is taken to plan ahead, at least a little.
Be
sure to pack snacks or meals, and drinks. Begin your trip with every
family member having his own brown bag filled with food.
Commercial
snack packs are expensive, so have the kids make their own. Lay out
bread, crackers, cheese, peanut butter, jelly, carrot sticks, celery,
pickles, raisins, nuts, lunch meats, salami, olives, grapes, bananas
— whatever is healthy and handy from food storage.
Every
child makes their own lunch to take along. Before placing their food
in their bags decorate the bag with their name and add a juice box or
water bottle. Remember napkins, and always have some wet wipes in the
car.
Armed
with their brown bag, they are ready to snack without constantly
asking Mom and Dad if it's time to eat. (Parents may have to
supervise the brown bags of children who are so small that they would
eat the contents of their bags all at once and then have nothing left
for later.)
Goodies
like cookies and candy are for a parent to dole out as he or she sees
fit. Be sure you also have a few plastic bags for the trash.
Just
before leaving, have everyone get their own water bottle, and grab a
“sippy cup” for the wee ones who are too small to handle
a boxed drink. When the time comes, Mom can then fill the sippy cup
with the contents of a juice box.
Before
leaving home, children can each choose a favorite toy to take along.
This should be size-appropriate — especially if traveling by
air.
Remember
comfort items like pillows, favorite blankets, story books, teddy
bears, sunglasses and an easily accessible change of clothes just in
case someone has an accident. Don’t discount sunglasses, which
are essential when it has snowed and now the sun is out reflecting on
the snow.
If
you are traveling in an area where snow, fog and/or cold weather and
cold winds are possible, be sure you also have warm blankets in the
car just in case you get stuck. If you need to put chains on your
tires, you may be stopped for a while due to winter road conditions,
subject to traffic controls.
For
those prone to motion sickness, take along Dramamine and basic
medications for stomach upset and headaches. These are often
available at gas stations, but very expensive when bought at a travel
stop or airport.
If
you have young children, make clean-up easier at the end of the trip
by placing a towel or sheet on the seats. When you reach your
destination or stop for the night, carefully fold and shake it out.
Return it to the seat, and clean-up is a breeze.
Now
comes the case for bribes. Or shall we call them “incentives”?
Reward good behavior. Bring along a roll or two of quarters.
Determine ahead of time when you will hand out the coins, and use
them liberally (we don’t mean that politically).
You
can give your kids a quarter for each hour they don't argue. At the
end of the trip they then will have their own money for snacks and
souvenirs. You may have to increase that to more than a quarter, but
that’s up to you.
Wrapped
surprises are always popular. You’ll be amazed at the extra
interest a little wrapping paper can lend to your travel strategies.
Wrap a new toy or snack. Each time you stop, give the kids a gift to
unwrap when you get back in the car. Don't spend lots of money on
this.
Wrap
gifts with pages from the Sunday comics section of the newspaper.
Wrapped items may include one or two pieces of bite-size candy per
person, a box of cookies, or a new toy car or doll from a budget
store — or even pages to color or crossword puzzles or Mad Libs
to solve (see below).
Keeping
children occupied while traveling is an absolute necessity to
preserving family harmony and sanity. We know from journals it was
something pioneer mothers had to deal with, even out on the Great
Plains with the coyotes and rattlesnakes as added attractions.
If
you have a child who gets motion sick, it is important to keep his
mind occupied and focused, preferably looking out the windows. Many
games can also be used during those long flights or long layovers
when flying to your holiday destination. The following simple games
and ideas will help you all to thrive and survive on any trip.
20 Things to do to Pass the Time When Traveling With Children
Play
“I Spy.” Someone says, “I spy with my little eye
something ______” (add an adjective: blue, round… or
even “shiny”). Each family member takes a turn guessing,
and the one who guesses correctly gets to be the next spy.
20
Questions. Someone thinks about a person or object and everyone
takes turns asking a Yes or No question in search of clues. This
continues for 20 questions or until someone guesses correctly.
Anyone may guess as soon as they think they have the answer. Example
of questions: Is it living, is it blue, will it fit in my hand?
Remember, only Yes or No questions.
Make
your own crossword puzzle. Ask questions about your destination in
the puzzle or about your family — use your imagination. You
could even use this as a review of school work that might need to be
made up if the kids will miss a day or two while on vacation.
Crossword puzzles can be made for free at several web sites —
just do a search for crossword puzzles.
Make
your own Dot-to-Dot. Take a simple picture such as the shape of a
state. Cover with a sheet of copy paper and tape to a window. Make
dots at various points around the shape, creating the proper angles
and curves. Remove the paper with the dots and number some, use
lower case letters for others — and upper case letters for the
rest according to the separate shapes, and order in which they
should be connected. You can also use pictures of a pet or even of
your child. You can also print images off the Internet from various
sites with resources for classrooms, home school, and even FHE
ideas.
Hold
a spelling bee. Save your child’s spelling tests. Take them
along on your trip and test each child. Give extra points to
children who can spell words that are more advanced than their
school lists. Bring a dictionary and have children test Mom and Dad.
Small
cookie sheets as magnet boards. These are great to use with magnetic
letters and color forms. You can also create other distractions by
gluing a small piece of magnetic strip to the back of pictures,
flannel cut outs and more. The trays are also great for coloring as
the crayons and paper will stay in place because of the lip around
the cookie sheet. But when you go to a budget store to buy these,
take a small magnet to be sure the metal responds to magnets.
Crayons.
Coloring books or coloring pages, along with crayons and colored
pencils are always a hit. Copies of free coloring pages are
available for Disney characters, the latest animated hit movie,
animals, trucks and any interest your child may have on
family-oriented internet sites. If you must travel on Sunday, make
copies of temples, prophets and scripture heroes. The children can
color these as you read or discuss scripture stories.
Tell
a story. The first person starts a story. For example: There once
was a monster that lived in New York. He was tall and green
and had a blue________. The next person finishes the sentence and
then adds to the story and so on until someone decides to end the
tale.
Books
or stories on audio. Get an audio book on CD and listen together.
Make
a scrapbook. Take along a “book.” This can be as simple
as several pieces of construction paper stapled together, or a
binder with note book paper. This can also be as serious as a
purchased journal. Each time you stop, pick up a travel brochure,
local map, postcard, or other small item to include in your
scrapbook. When you get back in the car take a few minutes to record
some information about the stop or things you have seen since the
previous stop. If you take a photo, describe it in the scrapbook and
then when you print the photos later you will know the location
where they were taken.
Play
the license plate game. Instead of just shouting out a state when
you see the plate, take along a map of the United States and color
in the state. This will help children to practice both their
spelling and geography.
Play
“Who Am I?” Have each person in the car choose a famous
person or someone you all know as a mystery person. Have them give
you hints as to the person’s identity. The player who guesses
correctly is the winner, and chooses the next mystery person. This
is a great opportunity to teach children more about their ancestors
and other family members. It would also be a great way for them to
get to know more about Mom and Dad.
Put
in a CD and sing along. You can also bring along copies of the
lyrics to songs you would like them to learn, such as old children’s
classics and religious songs.
Keep
a travel log. Read travel brochures and historical information about
the places on your journey, as well as your destination.
Appoint
a navigator. Make an older child feel important by appointing them
navigator. He or she can calculate mileage from home to each way
point on your route, as well as to your destination. Give them a
map, and teach them how to read it and make measurements. Granted,
there is GPS in some cars, but of what use is an electronic map if
children don’t learn to read and use the real thing?
Navigating is a way to use math skills, and an opportunity to teach
children to read signs, mileage markers, and match them with the
towns and features on a map. They can also calculate your gas
mileage after each fuel stop.
Classic
radio shows. Listen to old time radio shows on CD. They will be new
to your children and there are many varieties for all tastes —
comedies, mysteries, adventure, etc. Our kids learned to appreciate
episodes of “The Shadow,” “Jack Benny,” and
“Sherlock Holmes.” Download them for free online.
Remember
“Mad Libs”? These are so funny and a great way to teach
the parts of speech. We take these along on bus trips with the high
school band, and they are great fun. We have written our own with
titles like “Our Amazing Band Director”
Bear
Hunt. The first person says, “I’m going on a bear hunt
and I’m taking a ______.” The next person repeats the
phrase and the item and adds an item of his own. Each person then
continues the pattern adding his own item. You can tweak this game a
little and go on a pioneer hunt and load your handcart.
Be
creative. Learn a craft or skill such as knitting or card making.
Have supplies on hand. For knitting you could have needles and yarn
or a knitting loom. For card you can have card stock precut and use
stickers, stamps and markers to make cards to send to friends or
thank you notes for holiday gifts.
Play
the alphabet game. Choose a topic such as names or animals or
places. Then, take turns beginning with A. If you are doing girls’
names, A...Alice, B...Bethany, C...Carolyn and so forth. You can
play several rounds with a topic and the rule that you can't repeat
a name.
You
may notice that I did not mention DVDs. While they are great to pass
the time, they will not make great memories and they do not build
family unity in the same way as interacting with one another.
Take
a little time during your trip to teach your children the things that
mean most to you, through games and activities. Teach them a little
about family or Church history. Teach them a gospel principle through
a story. The games mentioned will help keep these teaching moments
fun for all.
If
you are the grandparent and your family is traveling to see you, why
not have some of these things ready to send home with your family?
The kids will love discovering what you have sent for them to do and
their parents will be forever grateful — or if not forever,
then at least until they arrive home!
So
this year, wend your way to Grandma’s house while making great
memories of a fun family trip — but take a moment now to
prepare.
Carolyn Nicolaysen grew up in New Jersey and joined the Church while attending Central
College in Pella, Iowa. With a degree in Home Economics, she later worked as a high school
teacher, and served as an elected trustee of her local school board. Carolyn has taught personal
and family preparedness to all who will listen. Having lived in areas that were threatened by
winter storms, hurricanes and tornadoes, and now living in an earthquake prone area, she has
developed a passion for preparedness. Carolyn started her own business, TotallyReady, when she
saw the need for higher quality emergency information that could truly sustain families in a
disaster.
Carolyn is FEMA trained and is an Amateur Radio first responder. She serves as Relief Society
president of her California ward.
Carolyn is the author of three ebooks, Mother Hubbard, What She's Doing Now (food storage
for the 21st century), Prep Not Panic (preparing for a pandemic of medical emergency) and That
Won't Happen to Me (a discussion of disaster preparations). She has also authored a glove box
book, Totally Ready for the Road and writes a monthly newsletter and the Totally Ready
facebook page.