Tips, Tricks, and Sanity Saving Advice to Make Hiking with Your Kids Doable and Enjoyable
Figuring out how to hike with kids was a big learning curve for me. As a child I loved outdoor exploration, but my parents weren’t into hiking so my adventuring was generally done alone within the vicinity of home or wherever we were traveling.
As a young mom, it hadn’t occurred to me that hiking would be a good family activity. I loved the outdoors and missed things like outdoor exploration, climbing trees and finding hidden treasures. But the only things I saw other moms doing were short trips to the zoo, local playgrounds, or maybe a walk at the bay. No one was tromping through the woods. No one was finding caves, or hidden treasures. No one was looking for new places to play with creeks, frogs, and mud. Everyone seemed to be gravitating toward man-made fun where kids were told to wear shoes, never go up the slide, and douse themselves in hand sanitizer before snacking on their organic puffs.
What does the week of a homeschool family look like? Well that will all depend on the family. Actually you’d probably get almost as many different answers as families you ask. We tend to be a diverse bunch!
But you’re here because you’d like some adventure in your life, and maybe because you resonate with our sort of laid back style over here. So before I lay out what our week looks like, let’s take a minute to talk about our style of home education, because this plays a HUGE roll in how we’ve come to this current schedule.
How We Got Here: Our Homeschool Style
If you looked in on our week a few years ago, you probably wouldn’t even recognize us. Being parents who came out of public and private schools, we only knew the typical school model for education. I knew there was something else out there, but I didn’t quite know where to find it. Over time, with research and meeting other homeschool families I started to figure out what it was that really jived with what we wanted for our kiddos and family life. (Side note, this is an ever evolving process. A perk of homeschool is that you can always change, at any time to better suit your family.)
For one, our homeschool IS a part of our family life, and our family life is a part of our homeschool. We believe that education is what naturally happens as a result of experiences. And so we put our children in the way of experiences that will help them grow and learn (think unschooling/child-led learning). In addition, I really resonated with some aspects of the Charlotte Mason (CM) method of homeschool, and so we do the majority of our non-experiential learning through “living books” (think books that are regular stories that you can relate to… not text books).
CM is also where our practice of nature study came from, and the entire reason I realized that we could use adventuring as a whole aspect of our lives and education. One other practice popular in the CM world that we adopted and love, is “morning time” (also called circle time and morning basket. You can learn more about our morning time here). Lastly, we have followed a few formal curriculums over the years, but generally I prefer to make up our own (except for math… that is one subject I INSIST on outsourcing!).
So with those things in mind, here is a typical week for us when we are not roadschooling:
Monday
The first day of our “school” week, Monday is the day we set aside as our most important day. I am NOT a procrastinator, and for the sake of keeping anxiety at bay like to front-end load my work. And so Mondays are the day we most focus on accomplishing what I’d like for us to cover for the week. We spend about an hour, sometimes more, in morning time, and then we all split up to accomplish our own personal work. This includes individual study, study with mom, and chores. Usually the kids aren’t finished until after lunch-time, but once they are done they get a little bit of screen time and the rest of the day free to do as they like. (At the moment, the three older kids go to a class in the afternoon for an hour or two on M/W).
Tuesday
Free day. Sometimes we will use Tuesdays to get ahead on our work if we know we would like to adventure somewhere on one of our typical “school” days. This can also be a catch up day if anyone did not finish their work from the day before. If we’re feeling up to it, sometimes we’ll find a short hike, playground, or regular play date for the afternoon. Or grocery shopping. Because, you know, responsibilities.
Wednesday
The second of our three major school days, the flow is the same as on Monday. We hope to finish our work a little earlier than usual on Wednesdays because our public school friends have a half day, and we go to church at night, so we need to eat dinner earlier.
Thursday
Adventure day! This is the day I typically plan our bigger adventures, and so I make sure nothing else is on the schedule in case we want to linger for a while, or have a long drive (I’ve been known to drive 2 hours for a good time). However, if we plan a big adventure for Friday, then Thursday becomes a regular day like Monday and Wednesday. We like to keep our schedule flexible so we can more easily schedule adventures with friends, or work around the weather (HAH! Weather in San Diego? Well… yeah, sometimes. But that includes snow and tide charts).
Friday
Our final regular school day. Yes you’ve read that right, we only do our “formal” schooling three days a week. The fun thing about our Friday morning time is that we can incorporate any interesting things we found from the previous day’s aventure into our studies. Often this means researching our findings and questions using books, internet, or TV. For example, after noticing an orb weaver web, we spent a morning looking up spiders and learning about their lives and how they make their webs. The kids recorded their findings in their nature journals.
Saturday
If needed, we will do work on a Saturday, but that’s usually for the weeks that we did a LOT of adventuring and completely neglected our indoor studies. Saturday is typically a day for friends, fun, errands, and cubing competitions or any other sports or clubs the kids might be in at the time.
Sunday
God’s day!
So there it is! Our week summed up. If you want a deeper look into what we study, or how I manage homeschool with 5 kids and a variety of ages, you can find that here. In the meantime, let me know in the comments what you think and what questions you have!
Morning Time: An Adventure Homeschooler’s Best Friend
Morning Time: have you heard of it? And no, I don’t mean the time of day. “Morning time”, also called circle time or morning basket, is a part of your homeschool day when your family gathers together to learn and share. And technically, it doesn’t have to be done in the morning. But that’s just what works best for us.
There are plenty of ways to do morning time, and a TON of learning you can cover in it. In fact, for some families this is the bulk of their homeschool. So what is it exactly?
What is Morning Time?
Morning time is when we all sit and learn together. It’s an opportunity to cover some subjects with all of your children, and to connect with one another. It’s the more enriching part of your day, when you might cover subjects like famous artists, composers, folk songs, and poetry, but it can also be history, geography, vocabulary, grammar, math or even just reading a good book together. (And don’t under estimate picture books. Even with big kids, they’re a real winner!). For a fantastic list of activities to include in your tool box, head over to Read Aloud Revival to see the list that Sarah MacKenzie put together.
Morning time is also a great opportunity to incorporate games into your learning. Because yes, games can also be educational and there is even an entire method of homeschool built around it (it’s called gameschooling).
Why Morning Time?
So why is morning time such a great tool for those who look to adventure for their education? Because this is the time we get to FOLLOW UP on the amazing things we find! Were the trees changing colour? Research why. Did you find scat? Look it up and learn how to identify different types in your area. Found an animal den? Learn all you can about that animal. This is also a great time for talking about safety and stewardship in the outdoors. Morning time can include practicing setting up a tent (then you can spend the night in it). It can be a time to record findings in a nature journal and learn more about those things and add extra notes. It can be used to research new hikes and places to explore, schedule it onto the calendar, and plan for it, including a packing list, budget, and mapping out the journey.
In our home we’ve dabbled in a bit of all of these things, depending on what we’re most interested in at the time. But the thing we always begin our day with is the Bible. We always come prayerfully before God as we dive into the study of his word. Sometimes this is also accompanied by a hymn that we learn, or worship music to set the mood. We also like to share prayer requests and spend time in prayer for one another. Then we move into whatever subjects we’re into at the moment.
What Does Morning Time Look Like?
Now you might be trying to envision this, and seeing my children all sitting quietly and happily around the table listening to the words that poetically drip from my mouth. If thats what you’re picturing… erase it. Afterall, I do have five BOYS and two of them are rather wild and loud.
Figuring out how to make morning work for us has been a journey – one that we’re still on. But I have found a number ways to make it flow more smoothly and to encourage the younger children to hang in there with us for while, and to be reasonably (sometimes) quiet. For one, I’ve used a “morning time tool box”. This was literally an adorable giant wood tool box filled with all sorts of quiet activities. There were puzzle books, colouring, scissors and glue sticks, paint by sticker books, play dough, regular sticker books, water colour paints, calligraphy pens, lots of sketch pads, etc. The kids could also grab puzzles or any other quiet things they were currently working on. At other times we’ve taken our studies outside so they could move their bodies through the yard, bounce on a ball or trampoline, or just hang upside down on the furniture.
But my personal favourite (and theirs, too) is a tea party! This one is a total hit. Typically I will try and bake something special and serve up a couple different types of tea in cute teapots. Since downsizing, we rely more on tea bags, but it’s not really the tea or treat that matters so much. It’s also perfectly acceptable to serve up cups of juice and a plate of cookies. The point is that they get a special treat that keeps them happy while you read aloud to them. (Just be sure to have napkins ready to go for the inevitable spill so that interruptions are minimal.)
So, my fellow adventure loving home educator, if morning time isn’t already a part of your homeschool, I highly encourage you to give it a try. There are endless possibilities, and just the fact that your whole family is together makes it a complete gem.
For further ideas and inspiration for your morning time, I would highly encourage you to give a listen to Pam Barnhill’s “Your Morning Basket” podcast. She is a treasure trove of information and was my go-to mama for getting our morning time rolling.
What if I told you that there is freedom in homeschool when you drop all the expectations of society. That you can leave the walls of home in search of adventure, and that you don’t need a curriculum.
Could you imagine an education where text books aren’t used, tests aren’t given, and grades don’t exist? Where worksheets aren’t required and subjects aren’t formally studied? Can you imagine an education so far from what the “experts” have said it should be, and that instead places family, experiences, and imagination at its center? Can you completely let go of what we’ve been shown is normal and reimagine education steeped in the light of truth, beauty, and goodness?
How to SurviveEnjoya road trip with your kids (without screens)
Does the thought of strapping your kids into their seatbelts and making them stay there for an 8 hour road-trip give you a little anxiety? Yeah, that was me, too. But since then I’ve learned how to not just survive a road-trip but to actually enjoy it. And now I want to share my tips and tricks with you!
Our First Road-trip
Years ago road-trips weren’t a thing around here. Our second kiddo had awful colic it felt like just looking at his carseat made him scream. Even the 15 minute drive to church was unbearable – a long car ride to somewhere fanciful was simply not an option. Flash forward a few years and with colic behind us, road trips were put back on the list of possibilities.
Road-trip along a long dirt road leaving Badlands NP
The first roadtrip I ever took with my kiddos, I did it solo. Just me, 5 kids from infant to age 8, a minivan with no tv, and 6 hours of drive time. Was it crazy to start with something so big? Maybe. (Probably.) But whatever, I did it and I don’t regret a thing!
We were headed to visit a friend who had recently moved away, so I knew we would have a few days to recoup after the long drive, before having to head back home. I also did a TON of research and asked a few friends for advice. I went into this journey feeling super prepared to have to drive, navigate, AND keep all the kids happy enough to not make me regret my decision. I also made sure that my kids were strategically placed in seats where one of the older boys could grab anything I handed him and pass it out to the rest of the crew. We prepared with discussions about why I needed good helpers, and what my expectations were for behaviour. Next up was packing the entertainment.
The Entertainment/Tools
We don’t always use each of these things on every long drive, but this list will give you an abundance of ideas to choose from when you’re on the road. Ready? Let’s dive in.
Mileage Count Down
This is probably my favourite things to do on road-trips. Look up how many miles to where you are going, and divide it up into equal parts depending on how far you’re driving (think 25mi, 50mi, 100mi… we usually do 50). Then write out the miles on little strips of paper and tape them on the dashboard or somewhere easily visible. Each time you reach a new mark, take down a piece of paper and do a little celebratory dance. Not only does this make it fun and celebrate your progress, but it also gives the kids a visual of how far they have left to go. Bonus tip: print out a map of your journey and have the kids trace along the route as you go.
Road-trip games
For our first road-trip I printed out a bunch of road-trip games and had them laminated. The games were things like ‘count the cows’, ‘find every state license plate’, ‘roadtrip bingo’, etc. A few dry erase markers and napkins to wipe the sheets clean and this bought me a lot of time! Plus the kids could use the back to just draw. You can also keep a bag of other non-messy manipulatives like pipe cleaners, sticker books, color-wow books, sketch pads with crayons (just make sure the kids aren’t drawing on the car walls), play dough, rubiks cubes or other puzzles, etch-a-sketch, shoe laces, and washi tape or painters tape and our personal favourite, paint by sticker books.
Audio entertainment
My kids are SUPER into audio books because of roadtrips. Audio books are a wonderful way to keep the entire family entertained (even parents love them!). If you don’t have the budget to purchase audio books, try downloading an app like Libby and connect to your local library for free. You can also use a podcast app to find lots of free classic stories. Just type in the name of any classic book and you’re bound to find a reading of it. Speaking of podcasts, there are tons of podcasts available and many that are child friendly, too. You can also listen to your favourite music, or just sing together as a family. It can also be fun to create songs about what you’re seeing or play games, like “Pass the Story”.
Favourite foods
Eating is a tricky subject depending on how clean you like to keep your car. My advice? Give them their favourite foods and just plan to hit the carwash later. Snacks are always a great way to keep kiddos happy. Just avoid meals that are too heavy and might not settle well, or that are exceptionally messy, or exceptionally sugary (because hyperactivity). Also, be stingy with the beverages. Nothing is less fun than having to stop for 3 potty breaks in 40 minutes. Seriously. Really frustrating.
Take breaks
I know the temptation is to get where you’re going as fast as possible, but taking breaks is a great way to refresh everyone. If you’re a planner, look along your route and figure out where there might be a good playground or park to stop and run around for a while. You can also plan a longer stop for lunch. As for bathroom breaks, we try to keep these to when we also stop for gas. That way we don’t feel obligated to make a purchase at a convenience store, because we have already paid for their services at the gas station.
Treat stash
Okay, I know I just said not to give your kids sugary treats BUT this is where I make an exception. I keep a stash of small treats and try to only pass them out when things start getting dicey. It’s a guaranteed cure for crying kiddos. Some of my favourite treats are ones that are either lower in sugar (and don’t contain food dye) or that will last a little while. We like to stick to things like organic lollipops (this is the most loved treat), mints, a hard candy they can suck on, dark chocolate, and my personal favourite: gum. If your kids can handle gum, it can keep them happily chewing for a quite some time.
Final Thoughts
If screens are what you need to survive your road-trip, then by all means go ahead and use them. While over here we believe that the drive is part of the adventure, we have also used movies to pass the time when we’re traveling long distances multiple days in a row. However, we still like to make sure our kids have time to look out the window, take in the scenery and geographic changes, and to have time connecting with other another.
Overall, just know that with the right attitude and some fun activities to do along the way, your road-trip with your kiddos can be not just survivable, but enjoyable!
Let’s cut straight to the meat of it… You want more adventure and excitement in your life, but you have kids, a job, and little free time. The days of wild and fancy free went out the window with the birth of your first child and now you’re feeling stuck in a life of minivans, sports practices, and short people who rage when given the exact snack they just asked for.
How could you possibly find the time (and energy, of course) to travel to all those Insta-worthy destinations that are taking over social media?
Friend… it’s time we had a talk.
What I have to say might sting, but hang in there with me. There is something that’s holding you back from experiencing a more fulfilling life with your family, and I don’t want to see you miss out. So here it is, and it’s just one word.
Priorities.
It’s all about your priorities. You see, the things that we prioritize are the things we make the most time for. For example, if eating dinner together as a family is important to you, you might spend an hour or more cooking a homemade meal from fresh, whole ingredients and linger at the table to foster connection. This takes a lot more time than throwing ready-made pizzas at your kids as they run out the door for their next activity. If reading is important to you, perhaps you spend time shopping for great books, reading to your babies and visiting the library. These are all good things, and if they are important to you then they are worthy of your time. But what other things consume your precious minutes and hours of the day? Scrolling social media? Shopping? Shuttling kids to and from classes, club meetings and sports practices? Hours of researching new recipes, or the perfect family vacation? Perhaps your schedule is filled with LOTS of worthy practices, but because you place such high value on all-of-the-things you’ve left yourself little room for anything else.
Here are a few questions for you
Hike with toddlers to waterfall
If you limited the number of less important activities, or the amount of time you spend doing them, do you suppose you could find extra time in your schedule? What if you shifted a few different activities and were able to free up an hour? Three hours? Suppose you dropped an entire sports season and had NOWHERE to be after 3pm? (gasp!) Or you only did formal lessons 3-4 days a week instead of 5? And here’s one more… what if you DIDN’T enroll in (as many) classes or co-op?
You may have heard it said that every “yes” you say is also a “no” to something else. If all your yeses go to these good and worthy activities, there is nothing wrong with that. But if you’re wishing you had more free time, more time for travel, more time for adventure and fun, then perhaps it’s time you reassess your priorities.
And so we traveled
When we decided to travel the country for 4 months, we knew that we would have to say “no” to some of the things we enjoyed. It meant no sports, no rock climbing class or chess club, not seeing our friends in person for a while, and the hardest of all: not being physically present in church and fellowshipping with a regular body of believers. But our temporary “no” to all of those GOOD and WORTHY things, was a YES to some of the most amazing experiences of our lifetime.
Friend, you don’t have to walk away from your life for a few months to experience something wonderful. Can you just find an extra weekend? A day of the week? Even just an afternoon? Any amount of time at all can get you outside with your family, enjoying God’s creation together. You might have to start small, but that’s perfectly okay. What matters is that you just start.
You can do it. It might take a little adjusting and some hard decisions, but you wont regret the experiences you’ll have together and the memories you’ll make.
