Grr.
I wrote up almost an entire post last night while in the car (ironic, isn't it?), and woke up this morning to find it gone. Thanks, Blogger.
I guess I'll attempt to write it again. Which means, of course, that it won't be nearly as good. Forgive me of that!
We at the Circus love to travel. However, traveling with 6 kids is often cost prohibitive. We have to do a lot of things to make sure that it stays within the budget - pack food, save up "points" throughout the year to redeem as free hotel rooms, find coupons or homeschooler discounts for attractions that we want to visit, and most cost effectively....drive instead of fly. It's not uncommon for us to spend 16+ hours in the car instead of purchasing 8 airplane tickets - it's just a huge cost savings. As long as we have enough time to spend in the car (and it's not just a quick weekend trip somewhere for an event), we choose to drive for all of our vacations.
Along the way, we've picked up some survival tips that have helped to make the trips run more and more smoothly as time goes on. I thought summer vacation was the perfect time to share them with you all! Pick and choose what will work for your family, and come back and let me know how it went. Add your own survival tips below, too!
Keeping the Kids Entertained
We're a no-screen family in the car. For the longest time, we'd borrow DVD players from friends or pass around an iPad in the back of the car....but then I realized that I was setting our kids up to fail once we got to the hotels or our final destination. You see, for some reason, God has decided to bless us with Circus clowns (well 4 of the 6) that turn into crazy, out-for-blood monsters once the screen gets turned off. I don't know what happens - it's like their brains go haywire and they turn into meanies. I'd find myself chasing grumpypants children around a teeny-tiny hotel room, constantly nagging at them to change their behaviour. And you know what? Looking back now, I realize they couldn't change it, even if they'd wanted to. The stupid screens just shut down their critical thinking skills somehow. Or their impulse control. I don't know. Their brains were allergic.
Once we realized that, we started going back to traditional methods of keeping the kids entertained in the car. Here are some of the winners:
Personalized Binders
When I made these 5 years ago, the kids were super into Angry Birds. We still use them on a daily basis, so they definitely held up well. Basically, it's a 1" three ring binder, and I drew a design on regular old computer paper. It's attached to the binder with a sheet of clear contact paper. They actually look exactly the same today as they did when I took this picture - you'd never know that they're 5 years old and have gotten a TON of use! (almost daily use!)
Inside the binder are two plastic folders - one holds blank printer and construction paper for their own creative use. The other one holds cheap workbooks, and puzzles that I've created or printed from online (there are TONS of free puzzle generators online - you can make crosswords, wordsearches, whatever you want. I've also printed out free sudoku puzzles, coloring pages, and the hidden pictures from Highlights online).
Treasure Chests
This is an alternative to the binders, or can be used in addition to them. Every year about this time, Target's "Dollar Spot" is overflowing with cheap school supplies. I pick up some of these expanding file folders for a dollar or two, and fill them with puzzles (actual cardboard puzzles, emptied out of the boxes and put into ziploc bags so that they lay flat inside the expanding file folder), foam shapes/stickers for craft projects, thin books, and usually paper lunch bags to make into puppets. I usually label each one with the child's name and "Treasure Box", and that's what we refer to it as.
Magnetic Lap Trays
Otherwise known as cookie sheets. No joke. I buy the $1 cookie sheets at Walmart, and voila! You now have a magnetic lap tray. Paint one side of it with chalkboard or dry erase paint, and you've got an interactive lap desk!
None of these things need to cost a lot of money - honestly, after making the binder or the treasure box or lap desk the first time......I "restock" it with things from around the house before each trip. Kids are funny like that - I can pull the magnetic poetry off of the fridge that they walk by every.single.day, and they react like it's a brand new toy that they've never seen before when it shows up in the car with their magnetic lap desk. Same goes for books that I find buried on bookshelves, or puzzles pulled out from the back of the puzzle drawer. They take on a whole new life on a road trip.
Audiobooks
Audio books have become our new weapon of choice in the car. There's always Audible that you can purchase them from, but don't forget about your local library. Our little, "small town" library has TONS of audio books right on their shelves, and if they don't have what we want, they can usually get it from another branch with just a little advanced notice. If you don't want to take a library item with you somewhere, or can't get to the library in time before your trip, check out the selections on Librivox. They're free for download, and there are oodles of options.
Keeping the Kids Fed
This is the biggest part of a road trip for us - trying to keep the kids from getting hangry. We all know how easy it is to munch in the car as an adult, but for some reason, our kids don't do the same. We have to make sure that we're aware of how much food their getting and how long it's been since the last time they ate. There are obviously a lot of us, though, and food costs can quickly add up if we're stopping at restaurants or even gas stations all of the time. Instead, we bring a lot of stuff along with us.
While we're in the car, each of the kids gets one of these containers.
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I color code them, so each kid knows exactly which one is his/hers, and I can pack them according to eating abilities and preferences. In it, I pack a lunch (if it'll be lunch time for them), or if we're going to be on the road during a non-meal time, I'll pack three snack options for them. They can keep the container next to them in the car, or in their backpacks, and help themselves as they get hungry.
We stop every two hours, even if it doesn't *seem* like anyone needs to stop. It might seem like that's a waste of time, but I promise you, a little bit of proactive stopping will pay off in the long run. Letting them get out, remember that they're hungry, and stretch their legs will make a WORLD of difference. And, don't forget to make them go pee during those every-two-hours stops!
When we are on the road for lunch time, I often pack picnic lunch fixings. We stop at a rest area, make up a mess of sandwiches and fruit/veggie snacks, and let the kids run around after they eat. Make sure to keep a bag of "fun" stuff to play with at a rest area. I tend to grab a football and bubbles - both keep the kids relatively close (learned the hard way that frisbees lead to children running OFF OF THE SIDEWALK without looking - they seem to be able to aim better with footballs).
Keeping Everyone Happy
It seems to work best for our family if everyone is somehow involved in the planning of the trip - I'll often pass out maps to the oldest kids so that they can follow along with our progress. They go shopping with me to pick out the snacks and any new toys/books for the car. As much as possible, we involve the kids in the planning and preparation process.
When they were really little, we often drove through the night, and let the kids sleep on the way there, but that doesn't work so well now that they're older. Maybe it would work for you though - give it a shot!
To keep the Circus happy, we have to make sure there are opportunities for entertainment, regular meal/snacks, and lots of leg stretching. Mike and I are always happier with lots of coffee, too. ;) Definitely budget your time and finances for coffee stops!
My number one piece of advice for people considering road trips with kids?
Just get out and do it. Stop a lot. Take lots of pictures. Stop at random places (we have a tendency to stop at weird tourist attractions and saint shrines). Go easy on yourself. It's one of those things that gets easier with more practice, so don't give up. It will be worth it in the end!
