Okay- for a week-long family road trip– homework stays at home! But for a month-long road trip, like the one we took a few years ago to the Western US, I felt that we needed to do some summer homework. Because while traveling the country and experiencing so many new places is an education in and of itself, I still wanted my kids to read, write, and keep up with math practice, so as to avoid the “summer slide”. Here are some ideas to keep up summer homework while on a road trip!
Summer homework doesn't have to feel like a punishment! It can actually be fun!
Download the Junior Ranger Workbooks!
Each US National Park has its own Junior Ranger program, and if you are headed to one this summer, you can go to their website and download and print a copy of that park's Junior Ranger workbook for each of your kids. (Scroll to the bottom on the Junior Ranger page to see a listing of each national park's programs).
When kids read the instructions and complete the activities contained in the workbook, they can earn a patch at each National Park- which is a really cool souvenir!
And more importantly, it gives the kids really great information as to what animals are in each park, what there is to do each park and what makes it so special and unique.
Planning a family road trip?
Then be sure to check out this list of the Best Travel Games This is an affiliate link: MomOf6 earns a commission if you purchase, at no additional cost to you. for kids and my list of Road Trip Must Haves This is an affiliate link: MomOf6 earns a commission if you purchase, at no additional cost to you. over on my Amazon influencer page This is an affiliate link: MomOf6 earns a commission if you purchase, at no additional cost to you. !
Download Some Educational Apps
There are awesome educational apps that kids can use on their iPads- that make summer homework fun (or at least tolerable!)
One of our favorite apps for math review is IXL. Our school has set up accounts for each of our kids In IXL to practice math skills throughout the school year and they will be able to continue to access it throughout the summer to keep up with what they learned during the school year.
Epic is a great subscription-based reading app, where kids can access thousands of books (for kids 12 and under) for one low monthly fee vs.paying to download each book individually! And the best part- is that 4 family members can access the books through the same account- so one low price for the whole family!
Books and Audiobooks
The absolute best way to keep kids thinking and learning all summer long is by reading! And time spent in the car is the perfect opportunity to tuck into a good book- especially if you can find books with stories about the places you will be visiting!
But if reading in the car makes you or the kids queasy? Try Audible This is an affiliate link: MomOf6 earns a commission if you purchase, at no additional cost to you. ! Again- for a monthly subscription fee- can you listen to all of the books that you want!
Keep a Travel Journal
Keeping a travel journal is a great way to get kids to write and reflect on what they're seeing and doing.
Our jeans pocket notebooks are perfect for this (but of course, any notebook will do!)
Planning a Family Road Trip?
You might want to check out these other posts that offer tips and advice on planning and packing for road trips:
- Printable Road Trip Planner– a free printable and planning guide to help you plan your next road trip!
- Free Printable Road Trip Packing List
- How to Plan a Great American Road Trip
- Packing for a Road Trip: How to Pack the Inside of Your Car
- The Best Car Coolers for a Family Road Trip
And if you are looking for some cool family road trip destinations:
- 10 Great Things to Do in Atlanta with Kids!
- 10 Great Things to Do In South Dakota with Kids!
- Things to Do in Williamsburg with Kids!
- Things to Do in New Smyrna Beach Florida with Kids!
- 5 Reasons to Visit Mammoth Caves with Kids
- 7 Great Things to Do in Lake Placid with Kids
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