OK! The vacation has been booked. Itinerary confirmed! And, kids have been told! (See our fun video below on how we surprised the kiddos about our trip to Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge.) My daughter has been frantically asking me about how long we will be on the airplane for. Though she has flown cross country, she still gets nervous about the “In-Flight Entertainment,” and frankly, so do I. From experience, I have learned to have the older kids (once they reach 4 or 5 years old) to pack their own Entertainment Bag (with guidance, of course). My biggest fear is that from 35,000 feet up, stuck in a cabin, they are gonna get bored and people are gonna get annoyed. So, I also pack extra things in my own bag…new toys, travel games, fun snacks, things they are not expecting so the flight goes a little easier.
But just in case in your stuck, I found some additional resources from some real Travel Pros!
APPS for your SmartPhone– I researched and found some pretty cool Free Las Vegas Apps that would be beneficial if you are traveling to Las Vegas this summer, and wrote about it on the TravelingMom website, which is a great resource for all your family traveling needs. I also came across these fun drawing apps, iLuvDrawing*. They were created by a mom with young children in mind. there are three to choose from, Draw Animals, Draw Monsters or Draw People, and are available in the iTunes store from $.99 – $2.99 depending on which device you download them to. My daughter loved the Draw People while my son loves the Draw Animals. If your kids are into creating and artsy apps, then I would suggest biting the bullet and purchasing at least one to try out. It kept my kids pretty busy, and the end result is that they will be able to take their learnings from the app and apply it to an actual paper drawing. There is a sweet voice that walks the kids through the instructions as well, so it’s something they will remember while drawing on their own.
The running joke in our family is that Mom makes the kids do “Stations” all through the summer. One day, they’ll thank me, I’m sure of it, but for now, I have to find ways to keep it interesting. By the way, my Stations are mobile, so it doesn’t matter where we are in the world, the kids still have to practice their lessons. As these TravelingMoms point out though, there is still plenty to be learned during your summer escapades.
I love what Connie Roberts, Disabled Traveling Mom, writes about how to incorporate education into your summer travels through language, culture and more. For those taking a road trip and want your kids to still read, check out Audio Books for Your Kids, by Traveling Mom, Elizabeth Rodgers.
Do you have any great tips for traveling with kids? Would love to hear them!
*iLuv Drawing provided me the codes to download and try the iLuvDrawing People, Monsters and Animals. All thoughts and opinions are 100% my own.
