Totally TOS~ Travel Kits Ebook

Wow... Summer-time is fully upon us, with hot weather, trips to the beach, and pool, visiting family and friends~ all those summertime activities that involve "together time" in the car. It is interesting how many blogs I've been reading in the past few weeks that have focused on the "Trials and tribulations" of taking those road trips with kids in the car. 

Some of the questions I've seen posed over and over:

• What to do with the kids in general? 
• How do I keep the toddler quiet and/or happy?
• Keeping Boredom and/or Bickering at Bay
• Is there any way to Enjoy rather than just Endure the Journey?

I am happy to report that there is help at hand! The Old Schoolhouse Magazine has come out with an ebook Travel Kits: A Simple Way to Bless Others**,  that gives one a wealth of information and ideas on making those travel times pleasant memory makers. There are ideas for shorter trips~ to sibling sporting events or regular orthodontic/ dental/doctor trips, and ideas for longer day trips and even mammoth "Road Trips". 

One emphasis that I especially appreciated was the idea of not only making these for your own family, but using them as the opportunity to bless another family, by creating a travel kit for their circumstances. I have to say that the idea is not new to me, as over 20 years ago a friend and I helped create a gift box for a neighboring family that was taking a month-long road trip with their two young boys. They were visiting a number of cities across the nation in preparation for moving. So we prepared and wrapped a "gift" for each day of the trip... sometimes a shared gift, and sometimes one for each boy.  It was the highlight of many of their days, and helped them to keep the attitudes in the car peaceful and happy.

The Travel Kit e-book takes this concept MUCH further with approximately 90 pages filled with some specific answers to the Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How questions of creating something fun, friendly, and functional to keep your family (or someone else's) happily occupied while spending neccessary time in the car. There are ideas that cover the youngest all the way up to Mom and Dad, and even Grandma & Grandpa!

For $12.45 you will receive  chapters  filled with inspiration and ideas (And how to implement them with your own twist) covering:

• The Basics (2 pgs)
• The Plan (12 pgs)
• The Presentation and Distribution (11 pgs)
• The Package (4 pgs)
• The Presents (14 pgs)
• Edible Gifts (2 pgs)
• More Detail about Books and Stories (10 pgs)
• More Detail about Games(5 pgs)
• More Inspiration(3 pgs)
• Variations on a Theme (4 pgs)
• Helpful websites for Traveling Families(3 pgs)
• Bonus Features (12)

Each chapter is filled with great pictures of prepared travel kits in addition to the information, to help get your creative juices flowing~ This is JUST the sort of thing that I love to read and glean from.

I really do have to brag on my two older kids kids for a minute here and say that they are VERY good travelers. Our "Travel Kits" in the past have consisted of books, clipboards, an ample supply of white paper, and a variety of writing utensils, along with our years-old leap-pads, and a variety of music and audio CDs. Believe it or not, that was ALL that they needed to keep them happy for an 8000+ mile road trip a few summers ago (aged 9 and 6). HOWEVER, I have the feeling that #3 is going to be a little more difficult to travel with, so I'm looking forward to trying some of the ideas in this book out with him the next time we'll be in the car for more than a couple of hours.

I will mention that in general this sort of "book" I have a hard time "Cuddling up with" electronically. I really like to hold it in my hands, highlight ideas I like, earmark pages, etc.... However, I did appreciate the ability to load the file on my itouch to peruse while waiting at dance class... I just had to print the pages (economy mode/grayscale and 2 to a page) to actually let my mind "Gel" with the ideas I was reading. Next I will have to let my daughter take a peek, because this sort of thing is right up her alley as well.

There are great "Dual purpose" gift ideas~ like making the container part of the gift! (We tend to do this sort of thing for birthday party favors as well~ like decorating pillowcases, and using them to bring home any other goodies.)

While I didn't have the need to create a kit just now, and most of our friends are "staycationing" as well, I am very happy to have this resource in my back pocket so to speak. I have some thoughts for future trips for my family as well as some gift options for extended family and friends. I'll be sure to post a follow-up with pictures when I complete a project in the future!

If you'd like to read reviews by other TOS Crew members (Some of whom I know have travel plans up their sleeves), and see what they have to say and how they used this ebook filled with great ideas, go to this post on the TOS Crew page, and scroll down to the   "Click here" link below the "Powered by Linky Tools" headline.

Hope you're having a great summer, that this review gives you hope for peaceful travels, and as always, I hope that this review helps you to figure out where your homeschool budget is most wisely spent.
Blessings~

 

 

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this/these item(s)/service for free as part of the TOS Crew Review Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."