Family Travel Hints, Part E

Another important part of your family vacation is one that is often neglected or forgotten. You really should plan for at least one religious activity somewhere in your itinerary. You could attend a religious service, have a family devotional time, pray, and listen to sermon recordings and/or religious music.

Each person in the group should also have his own watch, so that someone is always keeping an eye on the clock. You would need to know when to leave, return, and when to meet up at a designated location.

A personal trip diary or scrapbook is another think you should consider for each child. Included could be daily entries, sketches and doodles, or a collection of shells, rocks, and even postcards.

Every vacation can be a complete learning experience. Before you leave, you can research the location, such as its history and people. During it, you can visit tourist information centers, and local people, vendors, and workers. After it, you can read up some of the materials you've collected during that exciting vacation.

Here's another little thought that never occurred to me. Why not take a friend of your child's along? Especially if your child is an only child, or if there is a great difference between ages of your children. Perhaps your child's usual babysitter or nanny would be a welcome, and sometimes necessary, guest.

When you return from the trip, or at the end of the day when you review the day's events, let your child take the lead in the conversation sometimes. In fact, some things children consider important or memorable are parts you just might have forgotten or thought of as unimportant.

There is so much to do before, during, and after a vacation with your family. I hope these past 5 entries really gave you some ideas. I'm already starting to use some in planning my next one. And I'll be doing that planning over at www.kingarthur.myttn.com !