On the Road Again...Travel Fun!

As the summer months fly by, many families are taking a vacation before school starts. 

 As fun as it is to go places, the drive to get there can often be a bit stressful. 

Below are a few of the many activities that families can enjoy together while on a road trip.

  Travel safely!

1.  When traveling, let your child be the navigator. Teach them to use a road map.  Show them how to tell what town is next, how many miles to the next town, the population of that town.  Have your child read the directions to your destination and help look for street signs.

 

2.  Count railroad cars while waiting for a train to pass.  How many different kinds of railroad cars are on the train?

 

3.  Identify license plates—how many states can you find?  How many from each state? 

 

4.  Alphabet spy game.  Follow the alphabet A to Z (omit X and Z). Players must spy an object that starts with the letter of the alphabet before going on to the next letter.  You can also play this with signs.  Spying a sign that has the letter you are looking for. 

5.  Sing this modified version of an old song:   “100 bottles of soda on the wall.”

“100 bottles of soda on the wall, 100 bottles of soda.  Take one down, pass it around, 99 bottles of soda on the wall.”  Continue until there are no more bottles of soda.

 

6.  Play “Slug Bug.”  Each time you see a Volkswagen Beetle (or use another car like a SMART or Mini Cooper), yell out “Slug bug.”  The first person to find ten “Slug Bugs” calls out “Splat.”   (Source:  Parents  May 1988)

 

7.  Play “20 Questions,” or “I Spy”

 

8.  Add-On-Story.  Someone starts a story and then stops.  The next player picks up the plot and adds to the story.  Continue with several rounds of the players before stopping.

 

9.  With or without?  Look for cars with or without certain things.  Examples:  with passengers, luggage rack, whitewall tires, people wearing glasses or sunglasses, pets, no men, no women, four doors, two doors, without a front license plate, etc.

 

10. Count how many pickup trucks, semi trucks, green (or any color) cars, etc. within a certain time period or number of miles.

 

11.  Copy a lap size map of the United States before leaving home. Clip this onto a clipboard.Teach children how to make hash or tally marks.

 

 

Mark the state with a mark each time you see a license plate from that state. Younger children can color in the state as a license plate is spotted.

12.  What are YOUR favorite travel games?

 

This Blog Post is from page 107 in the book:

Miraculous, Magical Moments in Minutes:

Over 500 Quick, Easy Activities for Adults and Children to Share

by Becky B. Baxa

If you would like more fun ideas to share with your children

(that do not require batteries or electronics )

you can purchase this 180 page book,

full of color photos,

for $21.95

from Amazon.com or Etsy.com

Or

from the gift shop at Shaw Nature Reserve in Gray Summit, MO

Silver Dollar City General Store in Branson, MO

This book can also be checked out of the following libraries:

Scenic Regional Library - Union and Pacific, MO

First Christian Church - Washington, MO

Hawaii State Library - Honolulu, HI

Story City Public Library - Story City, IA

Ellsworth Public Library - Ellsworth, ME

 

Fruit Sparkle Ice Cubes

The dog days of summer are upon us.

 

Below are a few recipes that my kids loved (the whole family actually) that can perk up your day,

cool off a hot, weary body

and add a splash of fun and pep to a sizzling afternoon of high temperatures.

 

When the kids were little a neighbor gave us the Fruit Sparkle Ice Cube recipe below

that makes any day a party.

We "dressed" up our summer meals with these festive, colorful ice cubes.

You can use one color or a variety of colors.  Use whatever matches the occasion or mood.

My kids loved to mix colors and experiment with what color they would melt into.  For example red and blue ice cubes not only produce an interesting flavor combination, but when they melt the make a purple drink!  Now how cool is that?

 

Ice cubes made in specialty ice cube trays produce fun shapes. 

Hearts were our favorite!   

 

Fruit Sparkle Ice Cubes

"Mix one small package of powdered drink mix

with 2/3 cup of sugar and 4 cups of water.

Pour into an ice cube tray and freeze. Any flavor can be used. 

 

If several flavors are made you can put one of each flavor in a glass,

making it more festive.

Examples: red and green at Christmas, red for Valentine’s Day,

green for  St. Patrick’s Day, red and blue for Patriotic days,

pastel colors for Spring and Easter, orange for Halloween, etc.

 

Serve with a lemon-lime soda poured over the top of the cubes."  

 

For a healthier, refreshing summer drink add fresh fruit to the above recipe or

to plain water to make your drinks.  You can also experiment with your favorite juices.

 

Example: Place one raspberry, blueberry,strawberry or a mint leaf in each ice cube tray section filled with water before you freeze.

   

http://www.123rf.com

Another very fun, and healthy, summer drink is to serve low fat vanilla ice cream (or frozen yogurt) with orange juice!  Or throw in your favorite fruit, vanilla yogurt, some fruit juice or milk and ice cubes into a blender.  This makes a delicious, refreshing drink!

Have fun!  Experiment with the possibilities and stay cool!



 

This Blog Post is inspired from the book:

Miraculous, Magical Moments in Minutes:

Over 500 Quick, Easy Activities for Adults and Children to Share

by Becky B. Baxa

If you would like more fun ideas to share with your children

(that do not require batteries or electronics )

you can purchase this 180 page book,

full of color photos,

for $21.95

from Amazon.com or Etsy.com

Or

from the gift shop at Shaw Nature Reserve in Gray Summit, MO,

Silver Dollar City General Store in Branson, MO .

This book can also be checked out of the following libraries:

Scenic Regional Library - Union and Pacific, MO

First Christian Church - Washington, MO

Hawaii State Library - Honolulu, HI

Story City Public Library - Story City, IA

Ellsworth Public Library - Ellsworth, ME

Going, Going, Gone!

 

It was a very hot summer day. White fluffy clouds on a background of clear blue,

 and a hot blazing sun filled the sky.

She was bent over intently looking at two tiny water spots on the sidewalk. 

It wasn't raining.  Curious, I watched and waited. 

She skipped a little and putting her hand inside a foam cup, pulled out something and dropped it.  Then the watching and intense study began once more.   

Her smile radiated almost as brightly as the sun that day.

 

My little friend was dropping ice cubes!  We began to chat and I presented her with a few challenges.  We dropped a piece and then counted.  It was gone in 63 seconds!  That was cool! 

We dropped different sizes and guessed how long it would take each piece to melt.  How much longer did it take the big pieces to melt compared to the smaller pieces? 

We were amazed at how fast the sidewalk became totally dry once more.

 

 

 

 

 

 

It wasn't a long interlude, but it was fun!  Not only did we learn a little bit about melting and evaporation, our friendship grew a little that day also.  I made a connection with my young friend that I'm sure she will remember next time she sees me creating a bridge for future communication. 

 

 

Is it hot today? 

Why not get a cup of ice and head to the nearest piece of cement (driveway or sidewalk)? 

You could even do this on the boards of a deck.  

 Make sure you take enough to eat a little too! 

Then have fun experimenting and cooling off!

 

 

 

 

This Blog Post is inspired from the book:

Miraculous, Magical Moments in Minutes:

Over 500 Quick, Easy Activities for Adults and Children to Share

by Becky B. Baxa

If you would like more fun ideas to share with your children

(that do not require batteries or electronics )

you can purchase this 180 page book,

full of color photos,

for $21.95

from Amazon.com or Etsy.com

Or

from the gift shop at Shaw Nature Reserve in Gray Summit, MO,

Silver Dollar City General Store in Branson, MO .

This book can also be checked out of the following libraries:

Scenic Regional Library - Union and Pacific, MO

First Christian Church - Washington, MO

Hawaii State Library - Honolulu, HI

Story City Public Library - Story City, IA

Ellsworth Public Library - Ellsworth, ME

Color Changing Flowers

A mile from our house, I stopped at a stop sign and sucked in a breath of wonder at the colorful feast before my eyes.   The ditch was filled with white lacy Queen Anne's Lace, bright yellow Brown Eyed Susan's, and pale cornflower blue Chicory.  It was if an artist had spent the evening painting a masterpiece right there in the ditch.  Now to the Master Gardener it would have been a batch of unsightly weeds.  But to me it was candy for the eyes!

As I continued my drive, my mind went back over the years and I smiled. It was the Queen Anne's Lace that tickled my memory and filled my mind with joy and laughter.

I suppose it was my mom who first introduced me to this fun summer activity.  I later continued this summer ritual with the children I babysat as a teen and later with my own children.  I look forward to carrying on the tradition with my grandchildren.  I remember lining up an  array of various size bottles and jars on the top of the stove filled with water.  Mom's stove was next to an eastern window in her tiny kitchen and the morning sunlight always provided a spotlight to whatever botanical treasure we would find and display.

Next we would add different colors of food coloring to each bottle of water.  A search of the pasture and yard always produced armloads of the frilly white flower we called Queen Anne's Lace.   Then we would fill each vase with as many flowers as we could and wait for the magic!  Sometimes as early as that evening, if we looked really close we could see the water color seeping into the veins of each tiny petal.  As the days unfolded our bouquets became red, blue, green and yellow.  It was so exciting as we monitored the progress each day.  Little did I know that a science lesson had been done, we just enjoyed the JOY of the activity.

Of course, each year Mom would tell me the folklore of how a princess was held captive and forced to produce lace.  One day she pricked her finger and a drop of blood fell on her work.  To this day, a tiny spot of dark red can be found in the center of each Queen Anne's Lace flower to remember her story.  Now, I have no idea where this story originated from or if there ever was a Queen Anne with a sorrowful tale.  But, this storytelling would accompany our search each summer.

Here's how you can try this activity.

 

Dye a flower.          

"Pick white daisies or wild Queen Annie's Lace (usually found along the side of roads, in              ditches, along fields or anywhere that has been left to grow wild).  Fill several bottles/jars or vases with water.  In each container of water add a different color of food coloring.  Blue and red work well. Insert several flowers in each container of  colored water and observe over the next several days.  The colored water will flow up the stem and turn the veins and petals of the flower the color of the water.  Very cool!"

 

Older children could chart the progress, even measuring how quickly the dye travels up the stem.

 

 

 

This Blog Post is inspired from the book:

Miraculous, Magical Moments in Minutes:

Over 500 Quick, Easy Activities for Adults and Children to Share

by Becky B. Baxa

If you would like more fun ideas to share with your children

(that do not require batteries or electronics )

you can purchase this 180 page book,

full of color photos,

for $21.95

from Amazon.com or Etsy.com 

Or

from the gift shop at Shaw Nature Reserve in Gray Summit, MO,

Silver Dollar City General Store in Branson, MO .

 

This book can also be checked out of the following libraries:

Scenic Regional Library - Union and Pacific, MO

First Christian Church - Washington, MO

Hawaii State Library - Honolulu, HI

Story City Public Library - Story City, IA

 

 

 

Creative Family Fun Resource

Are you at a loss as to what to do when your child claims boredom?

The Pinterest site listed below was originally created to support

parents, children and families.

 

It is inspired by the basic concepts presented in the book:

 Miraculous, Magical Moments in Minutes: Over 500 Quick, Easy Activities for Adults and

Children to Share by Becky B. Baxa

available from Amazon.com and Etsy.com

Check out these Pinterest boards for creative ideas:

 

 "Fun for Kids", "Make Learning Fun", "Think Before You Toss" and "Children's Issues"

 

http://pinterest.com/hiddensplendor/boards/