First I feel the need to tell you a little bit more about where I am and what I'll be doing this week. It seems impossible to go the week without wanting to reference and share some the excitement of what I am doing and the people I am meeting. You'll appreciate it more if you understand the context.
This entire week is about creativity, because for the next six days I will be working with 60 college-aged students to do a couple of things.. (1) facilitate their thinking about what they are passionate about and how they can use their passion to improve some aspect of the world; (2) teach the basic leadership skills necessary to implement a vision statement; and (3) make the connection between successfully executing our visions and committing to leading with integrity. It's an ambitious agenda, but it is nothing short of inspiring and creative.
Students taking serious time out of their busy lives... sequestering themselves and spending concentrated time thinking about how to improve the world in which we live. Let there me no misunderstanding... we are in good hands. Our future looks bright, because there are a healthy number of young people willing to give of their time and energy. This program I work with (Leadershape) is about harnessing that creativity and energy and channeling it into something purposeful.
With that as the back drop... great ready for an exciting week. My goal is to either share some aspect of the curriculum, introduce you to someone I meet, or share a creative thought I have. We'll see where it goes...
But for today, let's start with my four hour drive from Dallas to Austin. I am happy to report that is was somewhat uneventful. I kept waiting to pass some great site along the way... something of which I could take a photo and post as creative idea. There was nothing. So, where there is nothing creative... create your own!
A couple of years ago family friends drove from Georgia to visit us. Before embarking on their return trip, I presented the kids with a scavenger hunt list and a Polaroid camera. The goal... gather the actual items or snap a picture on film. Mail them back and earn a prize. Items included things such as an apple pie box from McDonald's, a picture with a truck driver, a photo from a "scenic point" along the way, a picture of an Alabama license plate, the signature of someone you met along the way, a cow, a Wendy's straw wrapper, and the front page of a newspaper from a state other than Kentucky (where we lived at the time) or Georgia.
How about you? What other ideas can you help generate for a Road Trip Scavenger Hunt? In addition... feel free to share any other ideas you have for making time in the car fly by having fun.
Signing off until tomorrow...
Posts
12 comments:
After driving from NY to Florida at least once a year I have learned a few things:
1. Nobody ever has to go to the bathroom at the same time or even at a convenient time...
2. Leave for a long trip (with kids) at about 9PM so by the time they start to get on each others nerves they are almost ready for bed..... They then sleep for a big part of the trip.....
3. DVD players and video games become your "salvation" when "creativity" is no longer a word in your vocabulary.....
4. My daughters bring their cameras and take pictures along the way and make scrapbooks of our trip from leaving the house to returning home..
5. I have also made cd's of everyones favorite music and played them when all else fails... I put the best behaved childs music on first. Unfortunately its either Michael (18) and we get to hear RAP music or Melissa (10) and we get the Jonas Brothers.... I wish Krysten was better behaved... HA HA she has better taste in music.... She just has no patience to sit anywhere longer than an hour.....
When I drove from Utah to Texas with a 4 and 5 year old- the only thing that truly saved me was the DVD player. We stopped and played at McDonald playlands to get some of their energy out.
I have to admit, I am not the most patient mom-driver. I can't stand bickering in the backseat. My head starts spinning and I feel like I need an "ejector button". I prefer the music playing and playing loud. I sing my way down the road. JB would be perfectly happy doing this. Drew, not so much.
Whenever we stop (and sometimes it's just me that really needs the bathroom), we all go. That's the rule.
I prefer "in car" activities. When I'm on the road, I'm on mission. A mission to get there. Maybe it would be different if I had another adult helping with the driving but it's just little ole me. So- Gameboys, books, small toys, coloring/activity books are all good. I have learned that flashing light toys, toys that make noise (like toy guns), and the such are not so good.
Claudia, I love Austin!! That town is so ALIVE! I lived there when I graduated from college and it's just a great place to be a young adult! I hope you have a great week!
Okie-dokie, enough rambling. But one last thing- I know you're working with college-aged students discovering who they're going to be but what about us old-timers that maybe have not grown up to be what we thought we would be... one of my favorite quotes by George Eliot is, "It's never too late to become what you might have been."
This isn't necessarily a conducive idea for a family road trip, and more and more families with little ones are traveling in SUV's with tinted back windows ... and this also really favors people on the passenger side of the car ... and it teaches some potentially unsafe driving ... BUT ... at least for making road trips pass when you're traveling with friends ...
... we like to catch up to semi's (transport trucks, 18-wheelers ... they go by so many names) and the driver of our car matches their speed, while the person riding shot gun has their window rolled down (works much better in nice weather - so a summer time event for NY) ... and quickly pumps his or her arm up and down to try and get the trucker to pump his horn. Then, we keep track to see how successful we are. One 4 hour trip we were 36 horns for 42 trucks ... we considered that a successful trip!
We used to do that as kids! My boys try it sometimes but those truckers are not as cooperating as they used to be!! :) Aw- that was a fun childhood memory.
When we took a road trip FL and OH to visit family, I ordered 2 trip tickets from AAA where they map out the road trip for you. I gave each of my children, Luke and Victoria one and they loved following along on the map. They were excited to reach destinations along the way and it was a good lesson on "miles per hour" and geography. I also packed a little care package for each of them with their favorite things. There were markers where they could circle things on their maps and write in their journals about interesting things they saw.
On our drives to Florida from NJ, after passing the many "Pedro" signs we always stop at "South of the Border." If they have behaved on the trip they get to pick out a souvenir from the gift shop there. Positive incentive (or bribery) for good behavior!
We also play the game that begins "Concentration, are you ready? Lets go. Starting with names of..." Pick a category such as girls names. As you go through the alphabet, each person in the car takes a turn naming a girls name starting with the letter of their turn. There are many categories to go through! It's always a fun way to pass the time.
Happy traveling,
Laura
Heather - I LOVE the hair...too cute!
When Treye and I take long road trips we always play one of two game.
First the license plate game. We have a printed sheet of all of the US and Canadian license plates. Each of us gueses the number of plates we'll see that day and write it at the top of the sheet. As we see them on the road we mark them off. Whoever's guess is closest to the actual number of plates seen has bragging rights!
The other game we play is the ABC game. We look in billboards and signs along the road and go through the ABCs. You have to start with A and work your way to Z. The words you see have to begin with that letter. For example: A - Applebees, B - Burger King. For X we allow words that begin with EX because not too many things begin with X. Q is a very tough letter so watch out!
Happy traveling!
I agree with the other moms about the DVD player. It totally made our trips to MN and ND better. Also, I am a big fan of Sirius. There's no commercials, hundreds of channels (including kids channels). We would switch periodically letting everyone get a chance at their favorite station.
Thanks for everyone posting their favorites. We'll be taking a road trip to SD this summer and I know that these suggestions will come in handy.
Some bad news for those of you, like Claudia, who use Polaroid cameras for various projects.
Polaroid has announced that they will stop selling the film some time next year.
The travels tips reminded me. Sorry. Perhaps a blog on favorite uses for a polaroid is in order.
Claudia,
Can you send me your email and phone number(s). I occasionally see job info I think you might be interested in and want a place to send it.
Hope leadershape is good and recharges your professional batteries.
:) Crystal (cmclaug@emory.edu)
Hi - This is Susan, one of Claudia's friends from Ga. Also, it was my family that she sent on the traveling scavenger hunt. We had a great time and it really helped pass the 8 hr. drive home.
On other road trips, portable DVD players and Ipods have been our salvation.
Oh and - Heather, your haircut looks great! Don't hesitate to splurge on yourself once in awhile....you're worth it!
Susan
Have coloring books gone by the wayside? I remember my sister and I would spend hours coloring during our long road trips. I also stayed busy playing with my action figures. I do recall being bribed some with promises of gifts along the way.
We also looked forward to snack breaks. My favorite was a pack of peanut butter crackers and a yoohoo.
I think it helps to have siblings. while sometimes we would fight and argue a lot of the trips we entertained ourselves.
Fun, everyone! I am sitting in the staff meeting room right now reading all your fun comments to the Leadershape staff.
LAURA! You are a great addition to this blog. I love your ideas and will certainly tuck them away. Tera.. you too. The better question, Laura, is when the heck were you in Ohio and why didn't you stop in Kentucky to visit?
Crystal... THANKS for thinking of me. My email is cbeeny@lslog.com.
Post a Comment