Road Trip Progress Activites

Luckily, my children are still young enough that the inevitable “Are we there yet?” has not shown itself too many times so far.  I do however, remember using it myself many a time and as a parent myself now, I would just like to take a moment to apologize to my own parents.  Anyways, as I started looking for ideas for our road trip, one thing I wanted to address was a way show our progress and give the kids a way to know how far we have come and how much further we still have to go.  Here is what we have come up with.  Only the progress line is visual, but the others provide markers and give them something to look forward to along the way.

Trip Progress Line

Craft Time: Weekly Menu Planner

Well I am finally back.  I think that my brain took a little hiatus after Family History week last week…which I thoroughly enjoyed by the way and hope you did as well.

So, six years ago I thought nothing of planning meals only a day ahead and going to the grocery store every day.  Fast forward and enter two small children…today, the thought of going to the grocery store with the kids makes me break out in hives and gives me a nervous twitch.  Yes, it is in fact that bad.  So, a couple of years ago, I learned the value of weekly meal planning and only one trip a week to the grocery store.  I have tried lots of variations to help keep me on track, but the one I am about to share with you here is by far my favorite.  It is cute and functional and prominent enough that my husband cannot say “I wish you would have told me what we were having for dinner tonight because that is what I went out and had for lunch today” any more.

A Fun Family Tree Craft for the Kids

The Boy Child and I had a great time putting this craft together.  He has a blast painting and it was a really good chance to talk about our family too.  And now that it is done, he loves to look at and point out which leaf is mommy or daddy or grandpa or grandma.

 

What you need:

• Posterboard or foamcore board…something on which to paint.  I opted for a large piece of foamcore because I have found with little kids, bigger is usually better.
• Paint…greens, blues, and browns
• Scrapbook paper in various shades of green
• Twigs
• Scissors and glue
• Black marker

To start out, I drew a really loose outline of a tree and grass just to give him a place to start.  Then I squirted some paint onto a tray and let him go to town.  I did stick to one color at a time just to avoid a blobby brown mess.  To give him a few more options, I put out a couple of shades of each color though.

Craft Time: Family/Personal History Journal Jars

Monday I ranted on why it was important to tell your own story and today, I wanted to give you a way to help accomplish this.  So, I give to you, Journal Jars.  These are fun little jars filled with prompts to help you tell your story.

What you need:

• A medium to large size jar with a lid
• Scrapbook paper (the thinner stuff works best for this.  Also you need at least some of it to be white on one side.)
• Ribbon and other decorative items.
• Glue
• Scissors