Summer roadtrip with my kids

This summer my family and I embarked on a different type of vacation. I wanted to learn about sustainable ways to grow food and my kids wanted to have fun at the beach. We charted a course that allowed us to do both.

To ensure that my kids did not get bored with farm visits, I created a “farm journal” with questions — such as what problem is the farmer trying to solve? what would you ask the farmer? — which required them to carefully observe things and even consider talking to the people on the farm. The journal gave them a purpose — like a scavenger hunt focusing their attention and enticing them to discover new things.

I am sharing examples of what my 8-year old and 13-year old wrote down.

The beach visits involved the typical playing with sand, but we also got in some kayaking and, in one instance, sailing lesson. Visiting many beaches — by Lake Champlain in Vermont, Newport in Rhode Island, and Cape May in New Jersey — allowed the collection of different types of shells. My 13-year old was inspired to create a shell collage, which is beautiful art and a great way to capture what they gleaned from different sites.

I will share our summer itinerary and highlights things that were especially kid friendly and fun. Hopefully some of this inspires you to take a similar roadtrip. Ours was truly memorable!