Helpful Mom

Along the way driving to your destination you should think of the drive as part of the trip.  I know we are trying to get there as quick as possible so we can get out of the car and start the fun.  But we should try to make it part of the fun and enjoy it along the way, make a memory or two.  In order to try and do this and keep our sanity I pack things for even our stops along the way.  We try to stop every hour and a half to two hours to get gas, food, potty break, and most important let the kids run around.

If you are stopped at a basic rest stop there are simple ways to have fun.  I keep chalk, bubbles, and punching balloons in my glove box at all times.  (You never know when your car might break down with kids in the car)  All these items are small and portable.  Kids love to draw and if you can get them to play hop scotch, or act out a story.  My girls love to act out Jonah, by drawing a boat, a whale, dry land, and Ninevah, then jump from the boat to the whale, to dry land, to Ninevah, and over and over again.  It’s a simple way to teach them Bible stories and use their imaginations while stretching those legs, just use your imagination.  Bubbles, who doesn’t like bubbles?  Kids love to blow them, kids looove to chase them and try to catch them.  I even keep a small bottle in my purse for those moments in a long line when you need a distraction.  And punching balloons can be blown up, played with, deflated, re-blown up, etc.  I’ve also packed jump ropes and very basic kites.

When plotting our route I will also look for parks we could stop and take a short hike.  Once we stopped and took a 20 minute hike into a park to see a pair of beautiful waterfalls.  And I will also check out McDonalds website to search for where the ones with play areas are along our path.  That way we can plan on stopping at those spots for lunch or dinner and let the kids run free.  Usually we’ll eat our meal while the kids play, and then when it’s time to leave we’ll go buy the kids their meals and let them eat in the car.

We’ve all done it at some point wheither it was an hour and a half trip or a three day drive and have had to deal with the pinned in kids that have a case of the squirmies.  In an effort to entertain the kids along the way we have tried various strategies.  One is that while in the car I have prepacked goody bags for each hour of the drive.  In it will be various things, usually one small toy, a craft, and a snack or treat.  I will label them with the child’s name so that the toy will age appropriate, and number them so that the kids are getting the same things at the same times, and so that if the bags have things that build on each other they will get them in the right order.  Most toys come from either the dollar store, clearance sales after holidays, party favors from the party store, or things I pick up at garage sales and sock away for trips.  Things like small etch a sketchs I got after Easter because they are egg shaped, kids don’t care it’s new toy on a looong trip.  Craft things can be found at Michaels, Joanns, and AC Moore for a $1 or less that will have pictures to color, markers, and stickers all in one easy to pack package.  Or make necklaces or sticker books, or just a sheet of stickers in each bag to stretch them out.  And window clings are fun if they can reach the windows.

In addition to that I take a box books with us that they haven’t read in a while, although you may have to dole them out yourself, the first time we did this we put in on the seat between them but they kept fighting because they both wanted the same books since they were “new to them”.  Library books sales are a great way to get new books for a trip.  Go the last day of their sales when they have their bag sale where you typically pay $1-3 a bag you can fill full of books.  I did this with the idea that if we needed to leave them at our destination it wouldn’t be a big deal since I only paid $2 for them.  And I also pack a box of bigger toys they’ve never played with before.  Things like magnetic scenes with people with clothes you can dress them in, like paperdolls but magnetic.  Or I found a flannel board with a zipper bag full of dolls, clothes and wigs to play with.  Also paint with water books, with prewet Q-tips in a zipper bag, extra sticker books, coloring books, and clip boards to make it easier to color and draw in the car.  I’ve also found books that are like the old Where’s Waldo books but are made for preschoolers so they are easier and have pictures of the various items to look for, they are called “Look and Find” and come in all kinds of characters from Princesses to Cars.  And of we finally got the new standard, portable DVD players for the car which work wonders.  These we usually stash away until we have been on the road for a couple hours, usually after the first pit stop.  That way we’ve gotten to the point where the excitement has worn off a bit and they are just beginning to get bored.

Libraries can be a great resource for road trips.  You can borrow DVDS that your kids haven’t seen before, and you are allowed up to 25! on the monroe county system, usually there is a limit of 4 or 5 per library though.  You can check them out for a week and they cost $1 a day in late fees.  Also I know that the Penfield library has leappad books in quantity that you can check out, with no quantity limits.  And of course you can take lots of books with you, which you can ask to have an extended due date for up to six weeks from check out date.  They also have audio books for kids and adults which you can borrow.

Other ideas is signing up for blockbuster or netflick and take those dvds with you, no late fees here and you can stick them in the mail while you are out so you don’t have to worry about where that video went.  If you have  blockbuster ones you can trade them in at a local store for other movies.  Or you can check out Red Box dvds.  They rent movies for $1 a day, you can keep them as long as you like they just keep charging you $1 for every 24 hours.  Around Rochester they are just inside Wegmans, they are a big vending machine which accepts credit cards and you can pick from a large selection of the newest videos.  When we were in vacation they had them in McDonalds restaurants in Houston.

I just read that Disney World is going to offer a free ticket to you if you visit on your birthday during 2009.  It has to be on your birthday and you have to bring an ID that shows your date of birth.  You can check out more details at Disney.  This offer is valid for either park in Florida or California, so if you were thinking about a visit to Disney with your kids next year this could a great deal.