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Taking a family vacation is the perfect time to work together with your children on a special vacation-related project. Depending on the age of your children, and the technology available on the journey, you could write a journal together, make a scrapbook, or even make a web page or blog.

When I traveled around Europe with my family as a 9 year old, my mother had numerous projects to keep me occupied and interested. Not only did these projects stop me from being bored or disgruntled, they also left me with momentoes like journals and scrapbooks that I still cherish. You can do the same with your kids on a family vacation. Here are some tips:

1. Collect everyday things from your travels. In a foreign country, especially, these will be fascinating for children: wrappers from food, receipts from shops, small coins and colorful brochures in other languages are all examples of interesting things to collect.
2. Create a scrapbook with your child while you’re on the road. Be sure to take scissors, glue and other stationery items to help make fun and creative pages. Help your child to organize the collection by themes or by destinations.
3. In a foreign country, explore the language with your child. I kept a small notebook where I’d write down new words I heard or saw in each different European country we visited. Usually it was things like the words for “open” or “closed” on shops, or vocabulary from a supermarket outing.
4. Draw the route you’re taking on maps and encourage your child to learn about the geography of wherever you’re traveling: talk about the population, the currency, help them draw the state or national flag, and so on.
5. Have your child fill a sketchbook with drawings and impressions of their new surroundings. Not only does it provide an interesting memory later, but it encourages them to focus their attention better on the new things they’re seeing. For example, if you visit an art gallery with your family, find a comfortable place to sit near your child’s favorite painting and suggest that they draw a copy of it in their sketchbook.
6. Older children can keep a diary or journal, writing about each day’s experiences. Remind them to write about everything they saw and did that was new, as well as how they felt about it. It might turn into a precious book that the whole family can use to reminisce about the trip in years to come, or your child might want to keep it private.

(Photo via flickr cc)

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 13th, 2007 and is filed under Assorted Travel Tips.