Family Vacation Traveler's Journal
by Camilla
(Columbus, GA USA)
Being a teacher I love to give assignments and when we all pile in the car for a long road trip I give my fourteen and six year old boys a project to work on.
Several days before we are ready to leave, I carve out a few minutes to sit down with them and talk to them about where we are going and ask them what kinds of things they think we might see on the way. We talk about landmarks, types of structures that we might come across, the people and their occupations in the area, and then they get silly and try and think of funny things that they might see.
I give them a camera and they both get a pad of paper and colored pencils. This is the journalist kit. They are to collect information on our journey, both while we are driving and on pit stops. Take pictures and draw pictures and write down funny things that they remember.
During the road trip portion of our journey they look for things as we drive by and it is their job to let us know if there is a particular place they want to stop and explore. I usually look up a few places I know would be fun ahead of time. A giant trading post with an oversized teepee was a lot of fun when we were driving through New Mexico. Also a gator farm when we passed through Louisiana was a good stop too.
When we stop they take turns using the camera, often asking to take pictures with the locals and then when we pile back in the car they have their writing or drawing time to record what happened at the last stop. They love being in charge of the camera and helping to make decisions as we travel. The journaling activity each time we get back in the car also gives us a few minutes of peace.
When we get home I collect the drawings, writing, and upload the photos onto the computer. We have made books through Shutterfly and also made movies on the computer with the boys contributions. Not only do we have a project on the way to and from our destination, but we have something the boys helped to create "their kids-eye-view" of the trip to remember. We take the books and dvd's and use them on following trips as well. It's a win-win situation. I get some peace, the boys are working together, we are creating memories as a family, and they are learning something too. Shhhhh, don't tell them that last part.
