Summer vacation survival

As parents, I’m sure we can agree education is an essential survival tool for our children and their children’s children. But, did you also think of the benefits to your own survival? Summer vacation has long been the bane of peaceful parent/child and, core sensibilities coexistence, but it doesn’t have to be.

I’ve come up with some clever multi-level learning activities that I’ll be sharing over the next few posts to help combat boredom NOT the children over the lengthy summer break.

Let us begin with road trips:

Since moving to the Southwest from NYC, we spend quite a bit of time in our car and nothing cues loquacity and buffoonery like a lengthy trip in the car. Note: A school age child’s average attention span is between 5-12 minutes based on level of cognitive complexity and interest. To that end, most trips are considered lengthy to your child.

“Are we there yet?”

The siren song of the restless, which upon answering one too many times will lead even the most patient parent into a fissure of frustration. Teach them to answer this question themselves, in just a few moments and with even fewer tools.

First, map out your trip. If you can print a map (on post-consumer recycled paper) or already have one, that’s great; but isn’t absolutely necessary. Next, tell your child how many miles/kilometers you will be traveling and lastly, introduce them to your car’s speedometer and odometer; these tools will serve as reference points along the way.

Ages 4-8:

Use music as an incentive for younger ones. Every 20, 40 miles or so, agree to switch from Smooth Jazz to
Cacophony Ra …er I mean Disney Radio, Raffi (Is Raffi still around?) and the like. Call out the mile markers as you travel, “20, 40, 60…we’re half way there.” This strengthens their skip counting skills, creates a frame of reference for distance and introduces fractions. They will also be too busy waiting their turn to interrupt your Jill Scott jam!

Ages 8-12: This group generally understands fractions, multiplication,  and division well enough to estimate time of arrival with little help by using speed of travel found on the speedometer. “Yael, it is 10:15, if we are traveling 70 miles per hour and the hotel is 140 miles away, how long will it take/what time will we arrive 1/2, 1/4, 1/8 of the way?” Using points in between gives you an opportunity to hone inference skills and provide rewards; small amounts of cash, a healthy snack from a rest stop (good luck), stickers, tattoos; old, hardened, sugar-free gum from the abyss that is your purse (they will eat it, trust me) are all pretty good motivators.

13 and over: You can just yell at them to keep it down! I kid. When the teens are not in a growth hormone induced haze, they will join in on the challenge, particularly if there are younger children with whom they can compete. (Read: conquer and tease mercilessly) Providing teens with a map strengthens sense of direction and cartography. If you’re met with sneers and grimacing, remind said teens that they will be in the driver’s seat in the near future; works like a charm.

Until next time, educate to elevate.
Peace,
T.Allen-Mercado

*image: Blue Car necklace by Sushipot for Etsy.com