Kids and Traveling

Recently our family took a mission-related survey trip to a town that was about 2 1/2 hours away. We knew we would be gone for two whole days and that the first day would be the longest. It would be the biggest "work" day. Everyone was up at 5:30am and bedtime didn't come until almost 10pm! The kids did great, though!

A couple of things stuck out to me though is that in both life and homeschooling you have to be willing to be flexible. There are seasons in life (and in homeschool) that things flow more smoothly. Routines are established and kept, school lessons are taught around the dining room table between the hours of 9am-12pm. There are seasons of life, however, that do not follow any routine or pattern! Bedtimes are whenever, school happens whenever. I've learned (the hard way) that you can either be okay with it and "go with it" or you can let it "get to you".

I knew about our trip ahead of time and was able to plan accordingly. Much of our school was done ahead of time, allowing us to take off for those days. This meant, however, that school was done at un-routine times- like the evening hours and weekend. And yes, some of it came with us in the car.

Traveling with kids also means taking them into consideration.

Isaiah & Aspen getting their wiggles out after being in the car for most of the day!
Sometimes a few jumping jacks go a long ways!

I also made sure that we had things to occupy us while in the car. I knew that the hubby would have people he would need to meet with and that it would be better for us to wait in the car. While we don't watch much TV at home, the portable car DVD players is a blessing during certain times. At one point, we were in the car for over an hour while Daddy got some of the business related stuff taken care of. I crawled in the back seat with the kiddos and we watched a movie together. Books are also important to take!

 

Speaking of books....

Checking out the local library can be a blessing while traveling. Moving there or just traveling through doesn't matter- it can be a place to relax, read a few books, and play with some of the toys in the children's section. The library can also be a good place to go to find out information about the town which allowed the hubby to find out more mission-related info while the kids had some downtime!

The park is a great place, too!

Some parks even have walking or bike paths! Perfect way to burn off some energy for the kids AND gain energy for the adults!

 This city park had a pond nearby where we could look at the geese!

Another season that I experience is food related. There are times that buying organic and natural foods are doable. It's in my budget and we're home to prepare wonderful, yummy meals. Then there are seasons that we are traveling and we don't have room for a big ice chest to pack our healthy, natural foods or time/money to have a hotel room that has a stove and make a trip to the grocery store! Again, I can freak out about it or go with the flow....

Our favorite stop was Perkins for breakfast- eggs, bacon, sausage made for a yummy breakfast! The kids had a great time eating out for breakfast and the food choices were decent!

Last, but definitely not least, no matter WHY you are traveling always find time for FUN! Yes, we stopped at Cabelas just to look around, but even that fun stop proved to be beneficial for the survey trip.

 

 We kinda loved the camo high-powered air hand dryers there and of course, the animal display is pretty cool! 

Traveling with kids- both for fun and on business- doesn't have to be too challenging. Most of the time what the kids need is also what the adults need. Keep the purpose in mind, but be willing to "go with the flow" too!

And that is how a family of 6 does a mission survey trip! (or at least the family part of it!)

Do you have anything to add?