Road Trip Checklist

Approximately 17 hours after we officially graduate into homeschooling, the girls and I are going to do one of the things that I've been most looking forward to doing as a homeschooling family.

 

ROAD TRIP!!!

 

The kiddos and I are going to tootle on over to St. Louis for a day, then spend a few days with my folks down in Arkansas, then hop over to Tennessee, and we'll meander our way up to Kentucky and back up to Indiana eventually.

 

This is going to be our first road trip EVER without my Matt, and here are just a few of the many changes that will have to be made:

• I'll have to actually figure out the GPS, because Matt's the only one who knows how to get anyplace.
• Bathroom visits will be strictly enforced, because when one person gets out of the car, EVERYONE has to get out of the car.
• Must find the wheely suitcases in the basement, because that huge duffle bag is something that only Matt can carry.
• Children's entertainment must be able to be completely child-operated, because no adult hands will be free to fetch ponies or open baggies of granola.
• Unlike in previous trips, most of the driving can't be done late at night, when little people are snoring instead of screaming, because I can't figure out the logistics of dragging two soundly sleeping children and our luggage into a hotel all at the same time. Maybe one of those wheely carts?

Long gone are the days when a week-long road trip meant throwing fresh underwear and a couple dozen paperbacks into my backpack on the way out the door. The logistics of this trip are...well, welcome to my life:

• Must move car seats over from minivan to smaller car that is slightly less likely to break down on the road. A roadside breakdown remains quite likely, however.
• The girls' unit studies on Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee, and Kentucky (more on this later) are organized and ready to be collated:

These kits include my latest masterpiece--a Cricut-cut set of matboard state stencils:

 

I'm VERY excited that I figured out how to make these, because large, sturdy, thick stencils (usually made of metal) are extremely important in Montessori young child work--absolutely more on that later.

• Necessary groceries include one jar of peanut butter, one loaf of bread, two boxes of cereal, and a batch of vegan carob chip brownies. 
• Willow successfully edited the stack of Hank the Cowdog books that she was insisting on taking down from about 30 to about six. Sydney, however, is taking every single toy pony that she owns, and the toy stable, and will brook no argument.
• The milk crate of picture books that they're allowed to bring is chock full, and the arguments over its selection have turned physical.
• For the first time ever, I'm letting the girls have full access to the portable DVD player (garage sale, ONE DOLLAR!). I plan to catch up on my podcast listening while I drive.
• Am waiting for the inspiration that I need to write all my Crafting a Green World posts ahead of time. Waiting...Waiting...
• Am also waiting with bated breath for the Elvis CD box set to be held for me at the library. Of COURSE the girls' unit studies include a downloadable activity book about Graceland.

And I haven't even gotten to the clothes packing. We'll probably just throw some fresh underwear into our backpacks on our way out the door.

P.S. Check out these free(ish) wooden building blocks that I bought the other day, over at Crafting a Green World.