6 + 1 Great Audio & Audio/Visual Resources Your Kids Will Love While Traveling this Holiday Season!

 

Are you planning on traveling with your kids this holiday season but dread it? Trust me! I know the feeling. Having two special needs kids in the same car poses it’s challenges when we are in the car for long periods of time. There’s always the bickering and fighting, not to mention the constant “How Much Farther?” and “I’ve got to go to the restroom!”
As full time missionaries we travel a lot. I gave a lot of suggestions for family traveling in my five part series “Traveling With Kids”. In this post, however, I want to focus on six great resources that we have found with-in the last six months and one bonus resource from a few years ago.

Audio – We were blessed to be able to review three great audio CD’s this past year with the Schoolhouse Review Crew. Now, before you turn up your nose and think that audio productions are old fashioned, you need to check these out. There is nothing old fashioned about them. Audio has come into the modern era and these three suggestions are fantastic!

 

Brinkman Family Adventures – If you are a missions minded family, then you need to check out this missions minded family! Actually the Brinkman family is fictional but they are based on an actual family. This family really believes in missions and their stories are based on true missionary stories sometimes involving themselves and sometimes involving other missionaries. One thing is for sure, though, their radio dramas are exciting. My kids were hooked on the first episode they heard. Check out my review of Brinkman Family Adventures by clicking here and check them out by clicking on the link above!



Heirloom Audio Productions – Can I say “Wow! Wow! Wow!”? These Audio Adventures are A+, #1, Fantastic! There are four of them now and own three out of the four. The newest one just came out last week. The first one we heard, “With Lee in Virginia”, we listened to on the way up to Canada last summer. I’m telling you, you could have heard a pin drop in that car! Every member of this family was transfixed including our three very active boys! After listening they begged us to buy others so we ordered one so that we would have it to listen to on the way home. These audio’s are called audio theater because it is said that these CD’s are “theater for the mind”. The child actually imagines what is going on in their heads as the audio production is playing. It’s hard to explain. Watch the video below and is should give you an idea of what I am talking about. Click here to read my review of “With Lee in Virginia” and click on the Heirloom Audio Productions name above to get to there BIG sale that they are having where they offer all four of their CD’s at a special rate with a lot of added bonuses!



Maestro Classics – We were introduced to Maestro Classics a few years ago when I reviewed one of their great CD’s with John Allen. Joshua was young and didn’t remember it so it was really a new thing for him and Jacob when we got to review another one this past year. What Maestro Classics does is takes great classical pieces such as “Peter and the Wolf” and “The Nutcracker” and tells the story while the music is playing. The kids and I have learned a lot of really neat things about the way music is written. We now understand these musical pieces so much better because are hearing the story along with the music. We realize now why the music sounded so scary or so jubilant. We’ve learned that you can actually “hear” stories in music if you know what to listen for. These are really quality productions and my kids love them. Click here for my review of “The Nutcracker” and click on the name above to get to their website.

Visual – I know that there is are a lot of great and entertaining movies out that you can get for your children to watch while traveling. This is something entertaining and educational both at once.

 



Living Waters Intelligent Design – If you have a DVD player in your car, then you need to check Living Waters Intelligent Design out. It is fascinating and beautifully done. It gives the example of four sea creatures and how they speak of God’s design for the universe and not evolution. The younger ones will love the video of the great sea creatures and the older ones will love the fascinating facts that are given. Our whole family loves it for those exact reasons. Click here for my review and click on the name above to find out more about it.

Internet  in the Car – Okay, I’ll be honest. I thought it was really neat when cars came out with video players for the kids to watch in the backseat. Now, believe it or not, many cars feature wifi so that passengers can hook up with the internet. If you are one of those that are blessed with those cars, you might want to check out the two companies below that feature great online videos.

 

Smartkidz Media – Smartkidz Media is not a Christian company, but it is a family company so you shouldn’t find any objectionable. Instead you will find some fantastic videos on Science, History, Geography, Music . . . you can almost find videos for anything! Jacob loves the educational animal videos and Joshua loves the geography and country features. I wish we had internet in the car because they would be entertained for hours on this website alone. Click here for my review of Smartkidz Media and click on the name above to get to their website.

 

 

RightNow Media – RightNow Media is another website that features videos but this one is Christian so the videos are mostly from a Christian perspective. There are some wonderful Christian biographies on there and some great science videos produced by Phil Vischer from Veggie Tales fame. And, speaking of Veggie Tales . . . yep! . . . you can find them there as well! Plus there are Bible studies, missionary stories, educational stuff . . . I could go on and on but I will let you explore yourself. I haven’t written an official review on RightNow Media yet, but, trust me, it is great. Click on the name above to get to their website.

Bonus – As I was getting ready to write this blog post I thought about the many travels that we have enjoyed and some of the things that my kids really loved. One of the first things that popped into my mind was Hank the Cowdog so, even though it is from years ago, I wanted to include it as a “Bonus”. ‘'

 

Hank the Cowdog   - If you have never read a Hank the Cowdog book or, especially, listened to one of the audio books, you have really missed out. They are hilarious and entertaining. The audio books are actually read by the author and he gives different voices to each of the characters. We still joke around about Hank the Cowdog and it is one of Jacob’s favorite series of books. Click here to get to my very old review, and click on the name above to get to the website to find out more about it.

Folks I am not an affiliate for any of the above companies at least not YET! I haven’t had time in the past few months to reevaluate my affiliates, do away with some, and add others. However, when I do, you can guarantee the above companies will be some of the first companies I affiliate with. Remember, I don’t recommend or affiliate with anything that I don’t like or think is appropriate and you can trust that the above products meet my standards. Enjoy browsing around and leave a comment to let me know what audio and visual products that you like to use while traveling.

Merry Christmas and Safe Traveling!

5 Days of Traveling With Kids - Throwback Thursday

 

 



Summer is upon us! And with summer comes family vacations. I have tremendously fond memories of family vacations when I was growing up. Believe it or not, those vacations and trips helped shape the person that I am today. Dad was a big history buff and a big nature buff. We traveled to some great historical places like Gettysburg, Williamsburg, Boston, Plymouth, and New York City, and we were always looking for great nature areas and scenery.

 

Traveling with my family was always an adventure. That's one of the reasons why my desire is to make sure that my kids remember our vacations in a fond way as well. Although we often do the fun things, we also try to do a lot of things that are educational. We have visited national, state, city and private parks and gardens, lots of museums, historical areas, tons of zoos and aquariums, and other fascinating places. We have really been blessed.

 

A few years ago I wrote a five part series titled "5 Days of Traveling With Kids" and I thought, since summer is upon us, that now was a great time to share it once again. Just click here or on the banner above to get to the five posts. I hope that some of you find them useful. Happy traveling!

Traveling With Kids Part 5 - Our Favorite Trips



This one has got to be the hardest post from my "Five Days of Traveling with Kids" series to write because we have been to so many neat places. We tend to find the out of the way places that aren't touristy (is that a word?). I'm going to just go ahead and jump right in and start listing some of our favorites in no particular order.

• BCM Missionary Conference  - Okay, this one is kind of cheating. This is geared toward all of the BCM (Bible Centered Ministries) missionaries but anyone can go. It is held almost every year at a great camp and retreat center called Camp Sankanac in eastern Pennsylvania. There is a great group of ladies from EG Ministries that run the children's program every year and they are fantastic! Over the years my boys have been inside a whale, measured Noah's ark, made candles, made volcanoes...and much, much more. And they learned a lot in the process! We love conference!
• Aunt Carol's House - Okay, again this is cheating. You can't really visit my sister's home (well you could but she might be giving me a call very quickly). You can, however, perhaps glean from our experiences. Remember, a vacation doesn't have to be at a fancy place. Any place new is worthy of exploration. There are new stores to visit, new parks to explore. What's might be ho-hum to the locals could be exciting to you and your family. We always have a great time visiting my sister. (Sorry, no links to this one. My sister doesn't have a website!)
• Sandy Hook - Part of the Gateway National Recreation Area - When we visit my sister, we do try to take at least one day to explore a new out of the way place. One year we visited Sandy Hook. Sandy Hook is on the New Jersey side of the Gateway National Recreation Area. There are also units of the recreation area in New York, but we haven't visited those. Sandy Hook is amazing. It has the oldest working lighthouse in the United States - dating back to the 1700's! It also has an old fort, a lot of old buildings and a bunch of beaches to enjoy. It was a blast the day we went. The tour of the lighthouse was awesome and the beaches were really nice. Be careful, though, when we were there a section of the expansive beach was set aside as a clothing optional beach but, there are miles of beaches and unless you knew where it was you probably wouldn't pick that one. It is marked anyway. I can't remember if that particular beach was in the recreation area or on the outskirts. It's hard to imagine a nude beach in part of a National Recreation Area.
• Philadelphia Historic District - Okay, so this one's not so "out of the way" but it is one of our favorites. This was another "give Aunt Carol a break" day and is a must see if you are any place close. We visited Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, sat on top of a double decker bus on a bus ride of the historical area...it was fascinating! We loved it. Put on your walking shoes, though, and make sure that you have a stroller for the real littles to ride in.
• Virginia Safari Park - I mentioned in one of my other "Five Days of Traveling with Kids" posts that we like to take two or three days to travel a distance that could be covered in one long day. We then take it easy and stop at sites along the way. On one such drive we stopped at the Virginia Safari Park. It was hilariously fun. It's an actual drive through zoo with animals that come right up to your car or van. You can buy buckets of food to feed them and they will actually stick their heads right in the windows to get a snack. They allowed us to open the sliding doors of the van but make sure that the children were secured in some way. John Allen loved it. Joshua was afraid at first but calmed down after a while. Jacob, on the other hand, would have nothing to do with it! He was scared to death. He climbed into the back seat with a terrified look the whole trip. They also have a petting zoo and a bird habitat that you walk into and birds roam freely. John Allen was trying to be a good zoo keeper and coax one of the birds to come to him. Instead the bird got very irritated, cornered John Allen and wouldn't let him leave. I had to form a barrier between the bird and my son and ease my way to the door until he could escape. Good memories! This is a must see if you are traveling through VA on I-81!



Not us but you can see what it's like!

• Virginia Museum of Transportation - On the same trip that we went through the Virginia Safari Park, we visited the Virginia Museum of Transportation. Another must see in Roanoke, VA, again right off of I-81. There were planes and cars and...oh the trains! There were big trains and little trains. They had trains that you could walk through a huge model train exhibit. The kids had a blast and so did Mom and Dad!
• The Blue Ridge Parkway - Did you know the Blue Ridge Parkway is actually a national park? I remember my dad took us on The Blue Ridge Parkway when we were on vacation once when I was little, and I wanted to carry on the tradition and drive through it with my children as well. I didn't remember all of the little historical stop offs and exhibits. We loved spending time driving down it. We visited an old railroad at one exhibit, bought arrowheads at one of the national park centers, drove through an old town and visited an old general store, picnicked...we had a blast. If you ever have the chance to drive on the parkway you have got to do it!
• Boxerwood Gardens - I've already talked about this fascinating place in one of my other "Five Days" posts. It is really a neat place that isn't advertised nearly as much as it should be. We were looking for a place to picnic and let the kids run and play on one of our trips home from conference/Aunt Carol's and stopped at a welcome center in Lexington, VA. They recommended Boxerwood and we are so glad they did. You must stop in to check it out and meet Uda the dog. Get it You Da Dog! Yep, that's what they named her and she fits right in. So friendly to the kids. Again, it's a must see!
• Creation Museum - If you haven't visited the Creation Museum near Cincinnati, OH then you must if you are in the area. It is fascinating. We loved the whole thing. Except, of course, John Allen's artificial eye falling out during one of the movie presentations. But, that's a post for another time! Anyway, the planetarium is great. It is worth the extra cost.
• Hollywild Animal Park - I won't say much about this safari/zoo because I am in the middle of writing a post all about it. It's one of our recent adventures. But, check the link out and if you are in Spartanburg/Greenville, SC area then make an effort to go. You will love it!

I could go on and on talking about our many adventures. Like to...

• Philadelphia Zoo
• Great Smoky Mountain National Park
• Silver Springs Park in Florida
• Knoxville Zoo
• Nashville Zoo
• and on and on and on.

But, it's time to bring this post and this series to a close. It has been a fun week. I hope that I have given you some pointers on traveling with kids. I know I have enjoyed reading your responses and suggestions. We'll have to do this again sometime! If you missed any of my other "Five Days of Traveling with Kids" posts here are the links to them all.

Traveling With Kids Part One - Packing "Have Tos"
Traveling With Kids Part Two - Traveling "Have Tos"
Traveling With Kids Part Three - Overnight "Have Tos"
Traveling With Kids Part Four - Homeschooling on the Road

And don't forget all of the other TOS Crew members who participated in "The Five Days Of..." blog hop. Just click on the link below to get to the main page and explore. Have fun!

Five Days of Traveling With Kids Part 4 - Homeschooling on the Road

***I'm so sorry that my day four post is late. Unfortunately life happens and it certainly had happened the past day or so.***

One nice thing about homeschooling is the freedom. You aren't tied down to school schedules or calendars. You can come and go as you please. Being missionaries requires us to go quite often. The bad thing about it is that school must go on. Oh, there are some homeschoolers that are year round and homeschool through the summer, but, still, if you travel a lot, you must do some homeschooling while you travel.

An obvious choice, and the choice for many, is to take your books with you. We've done that with not much success. When we're busy with running around to and fro, you tend to forget to set time apart to hit the school books. Besides, it's not much of a vacation for the kids if they have to have their nose in a book all of the time. Instead, I have sly ways that use to educate my kids on the road. So secret and so tricky that they don't even know what is happening. Fortunately for you, it isn't so secret that I would have to kill you if you found out. In fact I'm going to come right out and tell you right now.

Here's how we homeschool on the road:

Obvious Ways:

1. Books or books on tape. Have a book that needs to be read? Get the book on tape and use it to pass the time away while riding in the car. I mentioned in Part 2 of this series that on one trip I read a whole book to the kids. It was one of those trips where Sarah's mom came along and shared the driving while I was regulated to one of the middle seats with the rest of the kids (but I'm not bitter!). Anyway, we all enjoyed the book - even Sarah and her mom.
2. Make sure the places you visit have historical or cultural value. Even homeschoolers are entitled to field trips every once in a while. Tomorrow I'll be talking about some of our most memorable vacations/trips but I'll tell you now that we love visiting state parks, museums, historical sites, zoos...and, of course, you can count them all for homeschooling!
3. Music and art class. Listen to classical music. Have your children draw pictures. You have a captive audience when they are in the car. There may be some moans and groans, but, if you are enthusiastic about listening to Mozart then they will be as well.

I'm sure there are many more obvious ways that I can mention, but why accentuate the obvious?

Not so Obvious Ways:

Here's where the fun begins. I get to talk about the sneaky stuff.

1. Geography - John Allen loves maps. Little does he know that while he using his pocket atlas to follow our route he is learning map skills, directionality, state identification...a myriad of things!
2. Geography - remember the license plate game I mentioned in part 2?  Why not give your children a map of the United States with just the states outlined and labeled with the state name and have them color each state in when you see a license plate instead of just writing the state's name down?
3. Social Studies - Do your children know what road signs mean? Do you talk about what they see on billboards? What about just plain old site seeing out the window? When we traveled through Arkansas last summer we saw planes parked right next to houses. We had a great time discussing crop dusters and watching them in action.
4. Language - Think those rhyming games, word games, memory games, etc. are just for fun? Think again! Especially with younger children, those things are all part of their development.
5. Cultural Studies - Ok, I'll admit it! We come from small town Tennessee. There isn't an extensive foreign food section in our grocery stores. When we visit my sister in New Jersey, however, we can visit huge grocery stores that have huge foreign food sections. Have you ever bought a snack from another culture? What about a Mexican soda? We always buy something from another country to taste whenever we are able. Just a couple of weeks ago we were someplace that had an Indian store so we purchased some snacks from India. Great lessons!
6. Nature Studies - Remember that post where I talked about stopping at interesting places to eat lunch? State or local parks are great places to stop and learn about nature.
7. Nature, U.S. Studies, History - Take the scenic route. Often, on our way home from visiting my sister in New Jersey we'll take it in two (or three days) and drive the Blue Ridge Parkway. We try stop some of the historical exhibits, scenic overlooks, and cultural centers along the way. It has become a favorite for thing for us to do. Why not look on the map and take it easy on the way home from someplace. Find an "off the beaten path" drive to travel on. Stop a lot. Have fun. It's also very educational as well.

I think you get the picture. There are so many things that you can do while you travel that is also educational. Count it as homeschool. Be creative! Did your child make a craft at the conference you attended? Did you collect shells at the beach? Did you have your child keep a journal of the highlights of the day? Did you allow your child to take pictures? Don't be afraid to count those things as homeschool! Hey, if the public school teachers pretty much shut down for about a month after the standardized tests, then you can count a bunch of things like what I mentioned above for homeschool.

Do you homeschool on the road? What are some of the things that you do? Leave a comment and tell us all about it. We'd love to hear from you.

Also, don't forget to check out Day One, Day Two, and Day Three of this five part series "Five Days of Traveling with Kids". Just click on the links and they'll take you straight to each article!

This series is part of a huge blog hop called "The Five Days of...". There are over 65 bloggers participating. Click on the banner below to find out all of the interesting things that they are blogging about.

Traveling With Kids Part 3 - Overnight "Have Tos"

We packed in part one. We traveled in part two. The title of this post talks about Overnight "Have Tos", but we still aren't quite ready to head to the hotel! First I'm going to talk about how the Tinkels roll when it comes to overnight stays on the road.

The Preparation

Often when we travel we can go the whole distance in one day. Just as often, however, the distance necessitates us spending the night at a hotel. Yes there is an art to getting ready to stop for the night. Here's a few "Tinkel Tips".

• We never make hotel arrangements ahead of time. Usually you don't need to. Of course there was that time when the Olympics were going on in Atlanta way back in '96 and we were traveling home to FL from TN with a one month old child, but we won't go there right not. No, usually we have no trouble getting a hotel. Not having a hotel or set stopping place makes it handy if we are having a good day on the road or not.. If we are having a good day then we are probably making good time and can go even further than we thought. If we are having a troublesome day then we may want to stop early. How do we do it? Read point two.
• Do you remember that we talked yesterday about stopping at those Welcome Centers that you see when you cross over state lines? Well, another thing that we do, other than pick up travel brochures, is pick up some of those Hotel Coupon Guides. You know the ones that I'm talking about. They are usually outside in a newspaper type dispenser. But, instead of having to pop in quarters to get them, they're free! There's usually a red one, a green one, and sometimes even a glossy magazine type one. When we feel that the natives might be getting a little restless, then we start leafing through the coupon books to see what we can find. We look ahead to the hotels located at upcoming exits, and Mom and Dad discuss the options. Once we've decided on a hotel, whichever one is not driving calls on the cell phone and books the room (whatever did we do in the days before cell phones?). There are a few things that we insist upon though.
• Number one - the hotel has to have an indoor pool. It's amazing how many hotels have indoor pools these days, and the price is not bad. An indoor pool - preferably with an adjacent hot tub - is great for the kids to get all of the jitters out of them after the long ride in the car. The hot tub is great for Mom and Dad to get the jitters out of them after the long ride in the car! Just recently we stayed at a hotel with an indoor water park! It was amazing!
• Number two - we insist on a couple of safety features - for everyone's sake, but especially our children. The first is that the hotel must have indoor hallways. We've stayed at the outdoor balcony type hallways, but we prefer indoor ones with outside doors that lock so that you can't get in without a room key.
• Number three - this is a Mom thing but it is worth repeating. We really like having a hotel with a refrigerator in the room. Even if we are just spending the night, a refrigerator is so handy.
• Number four - also a Mom thing but also worth repeating. We like staying in populated areas. One with more than just one or two motels. It makes it easier to find a place to eat, and it's just plain old safer.
• Another thing that we usually do is pack an overnight bag, complete with bathing suits of course, so that we don't have to haul in all of our luggage. I really should have included this in my day one post, but forgot so I'll add it here.

Now that we have prepared for the hotel we're ready to arrive.

The Arrival

Everyone has their own routine when they arrive at a hotel. Here's what we do.

• After check in we have we take a quick peak at the room and take a potty break. Depending on the time, we don't always unload. Instead we look for a place to eat.
• This is the one meal that we don't scrimp on. We don't eat at expensive places, but we don't eat fast food either. Preferably we try to find a buffet of some type. At buffets they usually have something for everyone. That make it a lot easier for us and usually there is no fussing from the kids. Here's how we find a place.
• Number One - we keep our eyes open when we drive in to the hotel.
• Number Two - we ask at the front desk when we get there. They are the experts. They know the area and can sometimes even get us discount coupons.
• There is one scenario where we don't go out. That's if we get to the hotel at a late hour and the pool will close before we get back. Then, it's unload, go straight to the pool, and check for delivery pizza.
• After eating and a swim in the pool, it's off to the room. We usually buy no snacks at the hotel, we just use the snacks that we brought or use leftovers from the picnic that we ate for lunch.

Thankfully, usually the kids (and parents) are tired from the drive, more worn out from the swim, and, since our bellys are full, we're "fat and sassy", ready for bed, and will sleep peacefully.

Well, we've packed, traveled, and spent the night. But, wait a minute, we're homeschoolers. Shouldn't there be a lesson in this somehow. Well, there can be. Tomorrow I'm going to talk about homeschooling while you travel. No, I'm not going to talk about doing algebra class in the car. It's going to be a lot more fun than that! Tune back in again tomorrow to find out what the fun's all about!

Have you been checking some of the other great "Five days of..." themes from this great blog hop? If not, you're missing out. Click on the banner below to get in on the fun.

Traveling with Kids Part 2 - Traveling "Have Tos"

In Part One of our series (if you missed it click here) we talked about packing and getting ready for our journey. Packing isn't fun, though! I'm ready for the trip to begin. Let's jump in the car and get going!

The Car Ride

Some suggestions to take into consideration before you even start. This might should have been mentioned in yesterday's post but, hey, all of my posts this week kind of dovetail together anyway!

• We have a seating arrangement and everyone knows where they are going to sit ahead of time. This really helps with our aspy, Joshua. He likes to know what is going on ahead of time and We know that Joshua and Jacob cannot sit next to each other. For that matter, neither can Joshua and John Allen! Joshua is just his own person. He gets the back seat while John Allen and Jacob get the bucket seats behind the driver/passenger. It's a good thing that Jacob adores his oldest brother. Yes, we really need to work on sibling relationships, but that's for another post. Of course if Grandma or Aunt Lois is traveling with us then the whole seating arrangement changes but, again, that's a post for another time.
• Make sure that each child has his space! He needs to know his boundaries. They need to know where they put there drink. They need to have space to put their individual toy bag and the goodies that we talked about yesterday.
• Each boy also needs a pillow and perhaps a blanket available to them. Our boys like to sleep in the car. Yes, we are blessed in that area, they take after dear old Dad.
• Is there a child that needs tissues? Is known for his spills? Tends to create a lot of trash? Have the appropriate item close at hand.

Thinking of the little things ahead of time make for a more peaceful trip.

Goodybags

Yesterday we bought all of our fun stuff for the reward/goodybags. The Tinkel family has worked the reward/goody bag system in several ways - sometimes several ways in the same trip. Here's some suggestions based on how we've done it in the past:

• At select intervals throughout the trip - say every hour or every 100 miles - we reward them with something from the goodybag.
• If things are getting hairy with attitudes like "he's in my space" or "he's breathing my air" then we might use it as a reward system. "If you all can get along for the next hour (or whatever) then we will give you something from the goodybag." I know. Some folks think this type of thing is bribing your children. Maybe it is, but it works for us.
We also sometimes let this work to our benefit. For example, if the natives are getting hungry, then the next reward will be a snack. Why have a separate reward and snack? Conquer two birds with one stone!

• Sometimes the rewards can be a joint reward. Did one of their favorite movies just come out on DVD? Make the DVD a joint reward and pop it into the DVD player. Then you won't have to worry about another reward for an hour and a half or more!
• A variations that we have used is to buy souvenirs along the way and use them as rewards. Did the boys see some arrowheads at that last place that they really would like to have? Sneak back in and buy them each one and use it as a reward. Or, buy something unique at a Cracker Barrel. The rewards don't all have to be bought ahead of time. Buy some along the way.
• Another variation that I have read about but never used is to individualize each child's goodybag. Buy different things for each child depending on their likes (as I mentioned yesterday, this probably wouldn't work of our crew).
• I've even read about them numbering the gifts. The first gift may be a coloring book with crayons. Then, the next gift may be stickers to add to it. The third gift might be colored pencils to add to the fun.

Be creative with it. Again, you know your children.

Boxerwood Gardens

Lunch

We've also turned lunch time into an art. We try to save money on a trip by packing our own lunch and finding fun places to eat lunch. Here's how we do it.

• One of our potty breaks is always at the usual Welcome Center that appears when you cross state lines. We pick up several (sometimes to Sarah's chagrin, all) of the brochures for the upcoming towns. Especially for the towns that we think we might hit around lunch time.
• While we travel, we check out the brochures for interesting/cheap places to stop to eat lunch. Sometimes, if we can't find anything amongst our brochures we just pull of and ask.
• We've eaten at some fun places. Like the great park called Boxerwood Gardens in Virginia or that neat park that was off of the Blue Ridge Parkway. I'll talk about both of those later this week, but, make sure there is plenty of room for your kids to run.
• If all else fails, pick a rest area and pull off. Most of them have picnic tables, and many of them are very interesting places as well. And, they come with a restroom! That's always an essential.

Our theory is - why spend a lot of money when you can have a fun/memorable lunch without a lot of cost?

Extras

Finally, here are a few miscellaneous suggestions.

• Don't forget the DVD's that we talked about yesterday. Again make sure that you choose wisely. Make it fun for all ages.
• Books on tape are also wonderful! We still laugh about one memorable trip where we listened to Hank the Cowdog the whole way. On another trek I read a whole book to the boys. Of course mom and grandma shared the driving.
• Maps are fun as well as educational. We have bought several small pocket atlases for our kids at various times. John Allen loves following along and keeping track of where we are and where we're going.
• Travel games are also a hit with us. We have gone through several of those cardboard travel bingo games where you slide the window closed when you spot a certain object. They can be purchased very little to nothing at most truck stops.
• Another hit with the Tinkel family (from when I was a boy) is the license plate game. Each person guesses how many license plates from different states that you think we'll spot along the way. Whenever a new state is spotted the person shouts it out and Mom (or Dad) adds it to the list. It's a lot of fun when someone actually sees an unusual one. I still remember when we spotted a car with Hawaii (yes I said Hawaii!) plates and, another time, one from Alaska! We've even seen license plates from European countries (must be nice, huh?)!
• Word games are also popular! You all know the usuals, but usually can't think of them when we need them. Like the memory word games where you start out with a and go through the alphabet saying what you are going to bring on the trip. The first person says "I'm going to Pennsylvania and I'm going to bring an apple." Then the next person continues "I'm going to Pennsylvania and I'm going to bring an apple and a baseball bat." It goes on and on until you get to z or you all just can't remember anymore. Think of your favorite word games and have fun!

It takes a little planning, but traveling in the car with kids can actually be fun. If you work at it you might actually be able to conquer the Are We There Yets and the How Much Farthers!

Well, I hope that this gives you some ideas for your next trip. Tomorrow we'll talk about "Stopping for the Night!". Yes, you can even turn that into an art! We'll cover everything from restaurants to hotels so don't forget to check back in!

Don't forget that there are over 65 other bloggers that are taking part in this big "Five days of..." blog hop. Click on the banner below and check out all of the fun topics. Happy Traveling!

Traveling with Kids Part 1 - Packing "Have-Tos"

With our crew of three boys, two which are on the autism spectrum, we have learned how to pack the luggage and pack the car. Packing can become an art form if you work at it hard enough. My dear wife, Sarah, is a pro at it. I'm going to touch on some "have-tos" for packing, but I'm mainly going to be talking about things that you really need to pack in order for the trip to go smoothly.

First the luggage and car packing.

I'm sure that you all know this, but it is worth repeating. MAKE A LIST! Now, we don't always make a list for the trip to grandma's house an hour and a half away, but we do make lists for our long week or two week trips. And, just like Santa, we make the lists and check them twice. Some things that we definitely list are:

• Medications
• Special items needed for the trip (you have to have fishing rods if you're going to the lake!)
• Special items that you may be taking to someone on the trip (don't forget that great one-of-a-kind gadget that you found for Grandpa!)
• Must haves that you can't buy along the way (Study Bible, special stuffed animal, lap-tops etc.).

It might help to also go ahead and list usual items like clothes, else you'll be using your travel budget to buy outfits at Wal-Mart (yes, we've learned the hard way!).

We have also discovered, over the years, how to use every available space in the car and that every item has it's place.

• Have a toddler whose feet don't touch the floor? Use the floor space to store his needs. Diaper bag, extra pillows, pull-ups, can all be placed there and, perhaps, even make his ride more comfortable (ever travelled for a long time with flapping legs and feet that can't touch the ground?).
• Do you have a van with bucket seats behind the driver and passenger? Put the cooler between them. It makes it handy for the kids to grab a snack and it's also easy for mom (or dad when mom's driving) to reach around and help.
• Have an extra seat where no one is riding? Don't leave it empty! Put blankets, pillows, duffel bags with toys (more on that later) on it.

With large families, families that require a lot of things when you travel, or going on a long trip that requires more things, it is often a necessity to use every space in the vehicle. Be creative. You know your needs.

Everything is ready to load - including Jo-jo our dog!

Now for the fun part of the post.

"Must Haves" that will make your trip way more enjoyable.

I know that I have talked about some of the obvious things that you have to pack. These are some extras that we always pack to make things more enjoyable.

Reward/Goody Bags

Number one on our list is our reward/goody bag. These are things that we pass out at intervals throughout our trip. They could be anything.

• Little toys
• Games
• An unusual snack
• Coloring books w/crayons
• You name it, you can put it in. You know your children. 

A couple of recommendations are to make sure that you have equal things in an equal amount for each child.

• More than once we have bought two of one color and one of another or two that are the same and one that isn't quite like the others. Don't do that unless your kids are totally used to that type of thing and can handle it. Our autism spectrum kids can't. It doesn't work for them.
• Sometimes it's good to have three different colors so that you can tell whose is whose, but at least make sure that they are basically the same.
• If you have a child(ren) that is sensitive to bright blinking lights, smells, noise, car sickness, etc. choose accordingly. Nothing is worse than a meltdown or sick child on a long trip. It really defeats the purpose of the rewards/goodies.
• Remember, you know your children and what they can and can't handle.

We'll talk more about this tomorrow in my "Traveling Have-Tos" post.

Electronics

Electronics in a home can be a blessing or a curse and the same is true in the car. I'll repeat my mantra once again - you know your children! Here are some tips and ideas.

• If you are blessed to own a mini-van with a DVD player in it, then that can be a God send! More than once an hour and half trip to Nashville for Drs. appointments have gone smoothly because we had a movie to pop in. If your vehicle isn't equipped with one, then consider buying a small travel DVD player. You can purchase ones that hang write over the back of seats now and the prices aren't quite as high as they used to be. When you pack the movies, take into consideration what movies will be enjoyable for all. Your 14 year old probably isn't into Blue's Clues anymore!
• Handheld games or computer tablets. Again, they could be a blessing or a curse. Make sure you pack one for each child or at least have plans for the other kids while one is taking his turn. There is even a way to hook a game system up to your mini-van DVD player. Again, make sure that everyone will have a turn somehow and pack their favorite games.

More on this tomorrow as well.

Fun Bag

Don't forget to pack a small bag with favorite toys to play with while they are waiting for their goody bag items to start being passed out. Some ideas/reminders are:

• Cars for the boys or small dolls for the girls
• Coloring books and crayons, sticker books, etc.
• Favorite books to read
• Favorite stuffed animal

Remember what you bought (or are thinking of buying) for the goody bag so that you don't duplicate - compliment instead. If you know that stickers are going to be passed out, then make sure their sticker book is in the toy/duffel bag. One suggestion is to pack a separate bag for each child and don't forget to put it in a handy place to get to.

Snacks

Snacks are a big thing in the Tinkel family - especially on a long trip. Some folks don't allow their children to eat in the car, but that wouldn't work for us. Here are a few things that we have learned the hard (or easy) way.

• We like to try different snacks when we travel. Start with some out of the ordinary things and buy some along the way. Did you see some regional drink or snack at the last rest stop? Buy it and save it for snack time later on.
• Make sure you take into consideration allergies. Or...
• Make sure you think sugar or things that make your kids hyper. We can't/don't allow our kids to drink or eat anything with red food coloring in it. The results could effect them for days to come. We really try to stay away from all food coloring, but, that's just us...what's my favorite saying...you know your children!

Once again, we'll talk more about this tomorrow.

Well, I pray that relaying some of the things that work with the Tinkel family will help with your packing and getting ready for your next big travelling adventure. Tomorrow we'll talk about what we actually do on the trip to make things run smoothly and happily (for kids and parents alike).

Don't forget that this post is part of a great "Five Days of..." Blog Hop that is being presented by the TOS Homeschool Crew. Other members of the crew have chosen other "Five Days of..." themes to blog about this week. Click on the banner below to check out some of great things that they are talking about!