6 Tips on How to Survive a Road Trip with Kids

How to Survive a Road Trip with Kids

Travel activities for a road trip with kids

 

by Kerrie McLoughlin

I’ll never forget the year my husband and I drove 22 hours one way with four small children. We were headed to Phoenix from Kansas City because my husband was working there for weeks on end, and we wanted to be able to see him every now and then! Not only that, but each weekend we would drive five more hours one way to San Diego. That is a LOT of time in the car with kids, folks, and people thought I was nuts. While that may be true, I consider myself to be somewhat of an expert on surviving a road trip with kids. Want to know how to keep your sanity while in the car with little ones? Read on …

Beasts of the Southern Wild

Beasts of the Southern Wild

by Drew Davis

My four-year old is the worst storyteller.  He includes details that are superfluous and leaves out details that are necessary to understand the conclusion of his story. At the same time, there is something marvelous about learning the details he notices and those he doesn’t.  I love seeing how his embellishments seamlessly become a part of the story.  It is this flawed but charming way kids tell stories that is at the center of the movie Beasts of the Southern Wild.  It sounds cute doesn’t it?

Why is Math so important to teach our children?

Child Counting Change

by Ashley Parks

I must admit, I’m a bit biased.  See, I was that child who actually enjoyed math class.  Math was this wonderful new tool I could use to solve problems.  Whether it was addition and subtraction, multiplying or dividing, I was able to solve every day problems with this new way of thinking.  There was a new game that my sister and I had to share equally.  Well, there are 60 minutes in an hour so I got 30 minutes and she got 30 minutes.  Convincing me that I get to spend 20 minutes on the game was not in the cards since I knew how to divide by two.  Take money for example—you need to know how to make change, count, earn interest and so forth.   The “Rule of 72” in finance refers to the concept of how long it will take for money to double.  Divide 72 by an interest rate, say 6, and you get that it would take 72/6 = 12 years for your money to double.  With interest rates currently at fairly low levels, see that 72/2 = 36 years for money to double at a 2% interest rate.  Now that can come in handy!  The thought of Algebra can send many people running in the opposite direction.  Truly, I use Algebra all the time.  Here’s a real world example:

You want $1,000 after taxes and your tax rate is 20%.  How much do you need to earn before taxes?  Here’s the Algebra:

$1,000=x-.2x

$1,000=.8x

($1,000/.8)=x

$1,250=x

You need $1,250 before taxes to net $1,000

Using Memory Lists to Remember Your Summer Vacation

One of my favorite blogs that I follow is KimandJason.com. Their whole life is about escaping adultitis and putting more fun into your life with your family. Jason gave me permission to share this great post about using Memory Lists to remember your summer vacation, freeing you to enjoy the moment more! I hope you enjoy this guest post as much as I did!

Memory Lists: The Simplest Way to Remember Your Vacation Forever

Kim and I are all about collecting experiences over stuff. The challenge with experiences is that they are fleeting. Which is why we normally try to make them tangible in some way, in order to relive them again and again.

Some common methods for “tangibilizing” memories are taking photos, shooting video, scrapbooking, and journaling. These are each excellent in their own way, but they also have downsides. With photos and video, you can easily spend more time looking through a camera’s viewfinder than actually enjoying the experience firsthand. And others require a lot of post-event work that doesn’t always get done, as is the case with video editing, scrapbooking and journaling.

How to Encourage Kids to Make Friends at Any Age

Forming Friendships from Toddler to Teen

 

by Kerrie McLoughlin

As parents, we want our kids to make good friends, friends who they have fun with and in whom they can confide. Of course, not all kids are social butterflies, so how do you encourage friendships at every stage of the game from toddler to teen? Read on to learn!

Toddler Play Date

I envy the easy way in which the tiny crowd makes friends. They can plop down next to any random kid at a park, daycare or preschool, start chatting and … BAM! … they are instant pals. Taking your child places and providing chances for him to be around other kids is what it takes for him to make new friends during this special time.