TOS Review: Travel Kits

We are right smack dab in the middle of travel season. I am so thankful that I no longer have to trek seven hours one way (ALONE most years) with my boys to see our family in Georgia during the summer break. After moving back home to Georgia last year, those trips were shortened to less than 30 seconds to see my husband's parents and less than three hours to get to my mom's. We did, however, make the trip this year back to Mississippi to attend a wedding and visit friends. I am happy to report the trip was much more bearable than years past. Enter:The Travel Kit.

Travel Kits: A Simple Way to Bless Others from The Old Schoolhouse is a concept that allows both the giver and receiver to really have fun! The giver creates a travel kit to keep the kids happy with small trinkets (think DOLLAR STORE!!) snacks, books, games - the sky is the limit. It can cover all ages, all budgets and does not have to be super fancy! There were list upon list in this full-color eBook to spark ideas and get you going. I could not get over how many pictures were in the eBook showing samples of different kits! And if you know me at all, you know I love pictures! I was in heaven! :) I love the themed travel kits, too, such as a family traveling to the beach!

Traveling is often very stressful for parents (at least in my household!) since the kids are confined in a very small area without much to do.Travel Kits offer fun before the fun of the actual destination.

I had only a little time to prepare our travel kit before we left for Mississippi. We were also in a much smaller vehicle than what we were used to on a daily basis. I chose to keep the "happy bag" (as I called it) in the front with me and gave one item out every 60 miles. Usually when we stopped, I would get back to the car a few minutes before my boys and then place it in their booster seats. They never knew when I was going to put something in or hand them something as I did not present the Travel Kit to them before we left.

The Travel Kit allows for a lot of creativity and it turned out to be the best thing we ever did! I don't know that it would have been something I would have thought to purchase from The Old Schoolhouse Store, mainly because the pricetag of $12.45. However, I can tell you that it would have been worth every penny for my sanity years ago!! I had read on several occasions about putting together a bag with new fun items for a roadtrip, however, this takes that one step further in laying out how to present the items, when to give them and oh there are so many ideas I never would have thought of on my own!(Sometime one needs a little more direction than "get a few new toys for the road!")

In the future, I will definitely wrap the items as that would add to the excitement (I meant to for this trip but ran out of time!) In our kit for this trip from GA to MS: Rand McNally's Road Atlas for Kids, paint-your-own-pirate puppet with markers, yummy snacks, wooden shape bender, plastic snake, car bingo (printed from a travel website.)  I also had a list of kid games like BUZZ and I'm Going on a Bear Hunt - things I had not yet done with my kids since they are only at the age to enjoy those things now. I hit the jack-pot at a local craft store and found many of the items 50% off on the $1 table! Look for those kind of sales! You can also add library books or books on CD. Maybe even go in with another homeschool family and purchase some nicer things to share - things that are just for trips!


I received this product free of charge from The Old Schoolhouse  for the purpose of review, no other compensation was received.

Doorposts: Free If-Then Chart with any order! (EXPIRED)

Doorposts - Bible-Based Parenting and Character Training Material
As part of their ongoing 20th anniversary celebration, Doorposts is giving away their If-Then Charts for free with any size order! This offer ends July 31st!

From their website:

We wanted to be more consistent and more Biblical in the way we disciplined our children, and this was the solution. Three columns list ten common misbehaviors, relevant Bible verses, and space to write in agreed-upon consequences. With this tool, you'll know what to do, and your children will know what to expect!

To get your free chart, just use the coupon code FREECHART at checkout, and place your order by July 31st!

Doorposts - Bible-Based Parenting and Character Training Material

Draft

Photo by Lori Greig, on Flickr

The dog days of summer at in full swing and it is sizzling in Georgia! Our garden is kicking along, school is "in review" and we are relaxing as much as possible! (We school year-round dropping down to reading and reviewing during the summer so we don't lose all the ground we covered during the regular school year.) We live in a farmhouse with no HVAC so it gets toasty this time of year. I have saved no less than 20 (20!!) drafts in my blog about various things I have found on the 'net. My intentions were to go back and actually post them, however, I haven't gotten motivated in the heat around to it. I am going to attempt in the mornings to work through some of these awesome resources I've found and attempt to schedule them (and clear out some of my drafts folder!)

I will also attempt to post some of the wonderful things we have done this summer, including
1. trip to Mississippi (where I took very few pictures!)
2. our garden (of course)
3. Atlanta Braves Baseball Game
4. visit from my BFF from Mobile, Brittany Mothershead of All Heart Photography

and several other things that I'll just leave you in suspense about! :)

The masses are rising in the house. Time to get off of here and start my day!

A Blog Walk with the TOS Homeschool Crew!

I was on vaca the last week and not checking the TOS Homeschool Crew Boards. I came home to find I was listed in this week's Blog Walk! This blog walk lists ten fellow Crew mates from the TOS Homeschool Crew and features their reviewer blogs. Without further ado, here is the list:

1. Buckaroo Days
2. Our Homeschool Reviews
3. Reed, Party of 6
4. Training Hearts at Home
5. Along The Way
6. I Love Science!
7. Through the Calm and Through the Storm
8. Created for Home
9. Tractors and Tire Swings
10. Guiding Light Homeschool

I am excited to see these new blogs (and to now know it is going on! :) Thanks Crew Mates for stopping by! I will be visiting you soon!