For the past two years our family has gone on a week long road trip, yes that's right our family of 5 are in close quarters for a full week (usually 10 days) in the car and hotel. Some tips I would suggest to make a trip more enjoyable are:
- Bring along books (that goes for everyone, from our toddler to the teenagers and even my husband and myself), these books are great for the car but also at the hotel when we need some down time or even at a resturant well we are waiting for our food. The books should be a wide variety that will keep everyone entertained.
- For myself I like audio books because I find it hard to read in the car so I download at least 1 or 2 books from Audible to listen to well traveling. I also like to do Sudoku books so I make sure to have a few pencils and erasers handy.
- For Jay I like to make sure he has crossword puzzle books, we have even all worked on one before well traveling, Artist will read out the questions and everyone will do their best to help her fill out the puzzle.
- Monkey who is now 15 is not really into books and prefers to just stare at his Iphone or sleep in the car. For our next road trip I want to make a trip with just him and myself to Chapters and have him pick out 1 or 2 books to bring along to read.
- Artist loves her books and usually brings along a few chapter books and she also uses the Sudoku and crossword puzzle books we have in the car. Coloring and drawing is another hobby of hers so we try to include an adult coloring book and a sketch pad that will keep her busy for hours.
- For Baby boy I like to bring books with texture in them such as the That's not my... touchy-feely books from Usborne or Never Touch a Monster book that I picked up at Wal-mart. Coloring books are also helpful as baby boy has been working on his fine motor skills and now enjoys coloring. I also want to pick up a few books that will help with letter and number recognition so we can continue with school work in a fun way well on summer holidays.
- Fidgets! If you know our family then you know how much we love fidgets, we have them everywhere, at home, in the car and in our sensory bag that goes with us when we go out. Some of our favourite fidgets to bring with us are:
- Tangles are used by everyone in our family but Artist has recently switched from tangles to Loopez which are very similar in the way you play with them except they are must smaller.
- When I put together our big sensory purchase this year I am planning to purchase a Simpl Dimpl, we do not currently have one of these but I think this would be a great tool as long as it is not too loud.
- Water beads, if you read my post from last week you know all the fun ways that they can be used. In the car I like to put them in a large Ziploc bag that is taped closed to contain the mess.
- Stress balls, there is something about stress balls that well relieve stress. When you have 5 people in close quarters for long periods of time you can build up some frustration and since we don't have a punching bag or an inflatable bop bag the stress balls are our next best bet.
- Pipe cleaners are great for fidgeting, you would be surprised with the many different things you can make with them.
- Make sure to have a couple weighted items in the car, these items can be home made such as beans in a sock or bought such as weighted animals. We usually have both in the car to help avoid fights over who gets to have the weighted item.
- Bring along something for push and pull and heavy work, we like to bring along a sensory tunnel we had made, the tunnel easily fits into a suitcase and has so many different uses. Check out my post on heavy work to see how we use our tunnel. https://oursensoryhome.blogspot.com/2018/05/heavy-work.html
- Have snacks, this one may seem simple but is very important, nobody wants to deal with someone when they are hungry. I like to make sure I have snack for everyone, I usually make a container for each person and that is what they get for the day, I remind them that the snacks need to last them the day and that we will be stopping for lunch and supper so not to each to much an hour or two before.
- Take lots of car breaks, plan some time when you can just stop at a play ground or get to a hotel early so the children can run around and wear off some energy. The first year we took a road trip we did a lot of driving and by the end Baby Boy was crying because he didn't want to get back in the car. We then decided to stop after a few hours on the road and get a spurge on a suite at a hotel that had lots of room for everyone to move around and also get away and have some alone time.
- Headphones/earmuffs are another pretty important item to bring, the headphones allow you to listen to your audio book, music or a movie without disturbing others and the earmuffs help block the noise of others.
- Blankets and pillows!!! Oh my have these items come in handy, one year well on a long drive Monkey developed a fever and was freezing so he kept turning the heat up and sweating everyone in the back of the car out. We then all gave him our blankets to keep him warm so we could turn down the heat to help save everyone else. Having blankets and pillows also work for deep pressure if you have pile them on, it's surprising how just cuddling with your own blanket and pillow from home can help relax you. Also if you are going to have a long day in the car if can be nice to take a nap.
We are looking forward to having another road trip this year as we start our planning. The struggle this year is trying to figure out where to go on our trip.