Enriching audio book playing.
Peacefully observing the beautiful sights that zoom by.
My perfect children getting along perfectly.
Angels singing.
Pigs flying...
Help.
I don't want to resort to electronics, as I have observed that the more electronics they use, the less they get along when those electronics are off, and the quicker they claim boredom.
So please, share your best road trip tips.
The beginning of trips were toughest. Not much for us to see in Kansas! And attitudes provided plenty of teachable moments - close quarters. Mommy realizes everything that was forgotten...
ReplyDeleteWe've found that having a routine in the car helps... After 2 months! I'm sure you'll get one down that works for you too:-). And except for the audio books/music we didn't want electronics on either. And from the 5 - 15 year old, they all love road trips. -We've had littler people that made it easier to establish a routine with... and we pretty much followed our home routines with snack time (didnt want us eating away every mile!), followed by quiet times (reading). We made up games a long the way. Make up stories about the people driving next to you. Start and stop stories. Old standbys of 20 questions. How many differentt state license plates etc. Not sure if you have an actual paper map... but we had one for each of the kids to track along where we were and didn't have the "how much longer comments", except when we were in traffic. Singing. Did you bring a harmonica? Could drive you crazy, but also varies the routine. :-)
SMALL COOKIE SHEETS (work great for lap trays, magnetic abc's or tic-tac-toe games, add stickers to one side), COLORFORMS (do you have any? do they still make them? Great for sticking on own personal window to decorate or just play), DOT- TO- DOT BOARDS (made with a hole punch and card stock...then "sew" with yarn or shoe string), FELT (make flannel-graph like backgrounds and people and animals),MAD-LIBS! (you can get a book of them and then you can get the idea and create your own stories too), make up your own STRETCHING exercises for each finger and toe (could be made into a song), and as a last ditch effort....the ole' 99 BOTTLES of Gluten Free Rice Milk on the wall (LOL) SO EXCITED FOR YOU!!!
ReplyDeleteSheri
My parents gave me the road maps and taught me how to read them. I spent the entire trip(s) across country tracking our travels. I also learned that if we traveled 60mph (which you DID in the 1970's) that was a mile a minute! So I learned how to calculate when we'd arrive at different places.
ReplyDeleteOh and I'm all about the MAD LIBS!
I agree with the road maps. We did that also with our boys. They used a highlighter to mark the way and watch for the signs. Hanna can show Robby where you are going. We talked a lot about the next place we would be seeing. When we took our trip across country they each had there own seat in a van so it was their own space.
ReplyDelete