Montshire Museum of Science

We recently got back from a trip to Quechee, Vermont, where we were pleasantly surprised at ALL of the really great things to do there with kids.  First of all, we stayed at the Quechee Pine Valley KOA Kampground (yes, they spell anything they can with a 'K' instead of a 'C'), and were very happy with the place.  We had a nice site, right next to the playgound (site 20 on Map), pool, and the fenced in area where our dog could run 'leashless' - how sweet is that??

We also have dear friends in the area, who we met up with 4 days while we were staying there.  Ticket to a smooth, kid meltdown-minimized time?  Gear the activities around them.  Thus, "the Montshire", where our friends have an annual pass and where my older son claims that "if we lived there, we'd HAVE to have a pass too".

Here's my husband and youngest son playing in one of the many bubble making tubs.  What we (as adults) loved about this place is that everything is interactive (and, despite some NOT-so gentle use by some kids there - EVERYTHING works and is well kept), and even though some of the things might not totally be understood by our kids, someday, they will reflect on how 'the bubbles'(for example) happen (because of surface tension)?!  Many of the displays illustrate complicated concepts in simple forms, helping to prove the importance of experiential, hands-on, away-from-the-books learning.

The other beauty of visiting Montshire during the summer, is the extensive outdoor 'water and how it moves' activity area - a perfect way to take the kids energy (and 'heat') outdoors for play and experimentation.  Here my boys attach various pipes together to channel water in different directions, or make it sprinkle, or spin and more.  A great way to stay cool and learn.  We were here for hours and could easily go back several days without seeing and interacting with everything.  AND, there displays change occasionally keeping frequent visits interesting.

If you are ever in the area, we highly recommend this Museum, or search your travel destination for Children's Museums - the perfect way to keep kids traveling happy!

Maine Maple Sunday - YUMMY! March 27th

Maine Maple Sunday is always the 4th Sunday in March (although some farms have activities, demonstrations and samples on Saturday as well).

Oh, wait, you're NOT from Maine? What is this we are talking about? Do you kids think that Maple syrup comes from the grocery store? (or, worse yet, they have never had 100% REAL boiled from sap syrup??). If this is the case, Maine Maple Sunday is a great time to get out, educate your kids (and yourself)

In a nutshell, this time of year, when temps are above freezing, sunny and "warm" (well, this is a relative term for Spring conditions here in Maine) during the day, and then dip back down below freezing at night. sap in maple trees can be (literally) tapped and collected in buckets. This sap is then boiled down (at a ratio of approx 40 gallons of sap to make ONE gallon of syrup), and made into syrup.

More info:
Maine Maple Producers Association

• great description for the sapping process
• Map of Maple producers
  
• history of maple syrup making
• making and storing syrup
• recipes (beyond just topping your pancakes!!)

Sites with "open farm info" for Maine Maple Sunday

• Get Real Maine's Listing
• Portland Press Herald's Listing (this one is by county)
  
• check your local farms and/or sugar houses, often they welcome any and all to check out the maple syrup making process and offer samples - YUM.

We're heading here on Sunday (last time we went to MMS here, our youngest was still in my belly!!)
A Wrinkle in Thyme Farm in Sumner (lots of fiber animals to see there too!!)

Card Capsules To Go

We LOVE these card sets for kids. Not only are they many of the classics (Spit, Go Fish, Old Maid, Slap Dragon) or "Tastes Like Chicken" a game of funny animals, they each come in a 'click' case, ready to go anywhere.

The fact that these (aside from TASTES LIKE CHICKEN) have an oval/unique shape, make them much easier for young hands to hold. Your kids still having trouble? Try our handy card holder it works like a 'charm'.

All of these sets are great for the whole family, and start a lifelong love for unplugged games. They also pack easily and safely in any purse (or jacket pocket) for that unexpected LONG wait at a restaurant, airport or doctor's office.

GO.... with Go Baggie Backpacks

The ultimate travel backpack that opens & attaches to a car seat ... ingenious! We feel as though this item was made especially for our site. It's a perfect combination of functional backpack that then attaches to the back of a car seat, opening up to an activity center.

Key features include:

• fastex buckles on shoulder straps release to secure to back of seat
• includes a dry erase board (in the sleeve that unzips to come forward), with a dry erase pen with eraser cap
• many pockets for supplies as well as pockets with crayon/marker/pencil slots to keep things organized
• insulated lunch bag section
  
• grab loop at top
• adorable patterns and colors
  
• 8 specialized compartments
  
• padded and adjustable strap for better fit
• comfortable size (11" L x 13" H x 7" W)
• Easy to clean lining
• made of high quality polyester
  
• Phthalate-free
• adjusts to fit most kids 5 - 12 years of age
• 15 pounds suggested weight

Mention "I read it in your blog" in the order comments and we'll take $5 off any Go Baggie Backpack purchase thru the end of the month of OCTOBER!

You don't need to vacation very far away

We LOVE to go on trips, but with a business (KidsTravelHappy.com!) not even 2 years old, kids in soccer, swimming, and part-time work of my husband (he teaches during the school year), sometimes it's difficult to find bigger chunks of time to do things.

As a result, we've adopted a new strategy for the summer, and have had some great times taking our 21' Class C RV to somewhat local events and making a mini-vacation/weekend out of it.

Recently, we went to Bread & Puppet in Glover, Vermont. It's an incredibly talented group of folks, and admission is FREE (they do 'pass a hat' which is so worth contributing to). There is also 'cheap art' for sale, and tons of thought-provoking posters, postcards, books and other things to help the organization "cheap art and political theater in Vermont" (as they like to call themselves).

(part of the "pageant" in the fields)

This theater group has performances all summer, and although some of the messages are beyond the comprehension of young kids, the 'performance' is visually so entertaining, they won't even know they've missed something. We had our 4 and 7 year old boys there (along with 3 other families of friends with kids), and the kids did well for the first 3-4 hours (then, we decided to go). We were there on a nice weather day and being outside really helped the kids! Don't forget sunscreen, snacks, drinks, and activities for the kids.

The moral of the story? This was only a 2 hour drive for us, and we went over on a Saturday, camped on friends' land, then to the show all afternoon Sunday, and home that night. The kids (more or less) entertained each other outdoors at the 'camp' and the adults were able to enjoy some (periods of) adult conversation, tasty food and beverages.

And, next weekend? We're heading to a family-friendly Blue Grass Festival.... more on that soon! :-)

Yes and Know Invisible Ink Games

You remember the days, the back seat, nudging a sibling for the coveted "middle" part of the seat so you could comfortably tackle your 'invisible ink' activities. Those days are NOT over (well, maybe you are a prominent occupant of the FRONT seat), and you can share the fun and mystery of what this "magic pen" is all about.

We feel they are about as much fun as you can get for $2.25 (mini activity books such as BINGO, FLEET, MAZE, etc) up to $3.55 (for Rhyme, ABC, 123, and Occupation sets for 3 and up, and other Yes & Know for those 7 up to adult).
So much fun from a pen that doesn't even look like it will write! Won't leave a mess on skin, the car, the couch, a restaurant table, or the living room rug!

Packing with 'Multi-Purpose' in Mind (so there's room for the FUN stuff!)

My husband and I used to compete in Adventure Races (long story), where we usually had to carry everything we needed for a certain period of time(a few hours to more than a week at a time). The lighter our backpacks (see my tiny pack in photo for a race in the mountains of Switzerland), the faster we could travel. Thus, we analyzed every piece of gear we had, and we would do our best to bring things that had multiple uses – for example, we would plan to use the pad in our backpack as our emergency sleeping pad, or we would cut the handle off a toothbrush to save weight.

Well, we realized with kids that these measures don’t ALWAYS apply, and are NOT always practical, but the philosophy itself IS very practical.

When packing for a trip (a few examples of multi-use items)

• do your items have as many uses as possible?
• could you use the vinyl travel play mat as a changing pad in a pinch?
• the child soft carrier could make a great pillow if necessary.

When going on a trip (especially by air), we will lay out all of the items, then try to assess the need and uses for each item. Yes, sounds a bit overkill, but with all of the charges for luggage these days, it’s worth the savings. We also make sure each child has a reasonable carry-on bag that can be filled with (pretty much) whatever they want. A critical thing to think about with a child’s carry-on is that inevitably, the adults are going to have to carry it at some point (note in picture, my husband with 2 rolling bags, plus kids' Trunkis, and our then, 2-year old boy!). So, we recommend taking that into account when having a child choose a bag for the trip. Some kid-sized products ARE adorable, but when filled, too heavy for the child and too tiny for an adult to carry, thus becoming cumbersome during any layover, plane change, or even loading into and out of a vehicle. (we are all about making sure "adults travel happy too"!)

Why go thru all of this trouble? Well, in the end, it's the toys, games, and activities that are going to make the kids happy - they don't care about how many outfits they have (in fact, left to his own, my 6-yr old would wear the same thing day after day, clean or not). Plus, if you stay somewhere with laundry facilities be it a hotel, campground, any town will have one, etc.. you can just WASH the clothes and save the space! A little laundry detergent and a roll of quarters is MUCH cheaper than an additional bag, and take in the experience. Laundromats are alway a fun mix of experiences, and a good way to force some slow down time (go find a nice cafe while you're waiting....)

OK, so that's really just my opinion, here are a few links to other sites and specific ideas for packing LIGHT to travel with children.

• Family Road Trip Packing - Car Vacations with Children
• 13 tips for Packing Light with Small Children (More air travel oriented)
• How to pack light for a Family Vacation
• Some useful Basic Packing Lists

The above links will surely lead you to even more info, and once you've 'packed small' don't forget to visit us for to keep you children busy and 'traveling happy'.

a KABOOST "little kids sit like big kids"

Have you seen this? (the GREEN thing in the photo to the left). This is one of the coolest inventions we've added to our 'travel gear' offerings, and we're proud to have them at KidsTravelHappy.com.

What is it exactly? Well, I'd call it a spring-loaded, 4-pronged single piece contraption that fits on most types of chairs. SO, instead of boosting the child IN the seat, the whole seat is BOOSTED.

Best of all, it folds, and the DELUXE version comes with a Travel Bag (or is sold separately, if you are partial to a different color).

We carry the GREEN (in the first photo), a NATURAL, and the CHARCOAL (which is the color that comes with the DELUXE KABOOST).

We just HAD to get one, and trust me, you'll be happy to get rid of the high chair, psyched you can pack it to grandma's house, or throw in the car for any trip to a restaurant. No more small child peering above the edge of the table (no mouth in view... we KNOW where that food is going), and no more "but I want a seat like BIG brother/sister". Brilliant!

A few last "quick facts"/selling points

• sets up in seconds
• improves chair stability
• holds up to 300 pounds
• stays attached even when you pick up the chair to move it
• portable - lightweight and compact
• easy to fold and carry
• ready to be taken anywhere!

Elaborating on some practical 'traveling with kids' advice

I can honestly say I have no recollection of where I saw this (You Tube, linked from some other blog or forum? my apologies to the original idea 'generator'), but thought this bit of advice was hilarious...

It went something like this;

Before boarding a plane with a child (or children), purchase a variety of $10 gift cards. When you are settling your child and/or family into their seats, hand out gift cards to any other unsuspecting adult in a seat adjacent to yours. The idea being, now you, the parent/guardian of a potential meltdown, spiller, seat kicker, etc.. now have the upper hand in making peace with those around you. I thought that this idea was brilliant, along with the suggestion that one traveling with a family always boards a plane with a handful of foam ear plugs (they are MUCH cheaper than the gift card option), and similarly, hand them out to those seated around you.

The problem with this approach, however, is that it does nothing for the entertainment of your child or children. That's where Kids Travel Happy comes in.

Here are a few ideas really inexpensive ideas from our site that we are pretty confident you will get many miles out of (literally)! click on item to see more info on our site
- Water Games $6.95: adults will remember these games. Best of all? They come empty, so bring them through airline security, and fill up once through!

- Fifteen Puzzle/Frog Slide Puzzle $9.95/$4.95 (respectively); the frog puzzle is designed for 4-5 and up, and the fifteen puzzle is great because it comes with a travel case and a booklet with 40 or so other games to play

- Magnetic Board (letters NOT included) $3.95 (9" x 11.5") or $7.49 (12" x 16") then add Magnetic Poetry and other magnetic games and save taking the fridge (check out this BLOG for more info)

- NAMiTs Flash Cards on a ring: $7.95 - Junior, Original, and Challenge Versions: compact and durable, these ringed flash cards provide over 150 categories for naming, and brainstorming, award winning and developed by a mom in Maine

- Are we THERE yet? (Auto and/or Air editions) - cards in English and French to keep you bilingual and keep you and your family entertained for travels by car or plane. Many of the activities are "I Spy" themed - perfect for layovers, rest stops or en route.

- FUN on the RUN: 324 Instant Family Activities (BOOK) $8.95: perfect for car rides, doctor's waiting rooms, restaurants - an 'essential travel tool'

- Set of 2 Sandtimers: 1 minute and 2 minute times $3.50 for the set: we've had lots of fun with these, how many things can you spot in a minute, or, do you need the 2 minute timer?? Make up your own games and watch the time sift by!


- Word Rally: a word Search Game, $1.95
A handy little game, self-contained, pair it with the sandtimers, and have a timed, fast-paced word search game!

- Caterpillar Spillers set of 7, $5.95 - stack, sort, nest, count, connect, NOT your ordinary stacking cups (AND great for the toddler bath!)

There are many other fun, inexpensive items on our site, you can search by 'under $10', or browse the entire range of items. Many fun and high quality products at all price ranges.