Spring Break Staycations: Create Meaningful Family Memories

Thursday, 2/25/2010

Family Staycations

Hard to believe but true - while it’s still snowing in some parts of the country, school spring breaks are upon us. With the difficult economy (not to mention inclement weather), this year you may be considering a “staycation.”

Staying at home during spring break provides an incredible opportunity to create meaningful, fun family memories.

Simple Mom recently meditated on how to create rich and valuable experiences for children. The blog suggests that a rich experience is not an expensive one; combine learning, engaging activities, takeaway values and lots of laughter, mix with a few surprises, and your best family vacation is on its way.

We’ve put together 7 family adventures that just might inspire you to create your own rich family memories:

Day 1: Visit a Local Museum

Local museums are a great way to combine education with fun, and many have discounted child rates. Once you’ve selected a museum to visit, go to its website; most have activity guides that you can print off to help prepare kids for the exhibits and concepts they will see.

The Smithsonian offers these tips when taking young children to a museum:

“The attention span of young children can be very short. They may find a security officer, a long flight of stairs, or a decorative foundation more interesting than the exhibitions you had in mind. Visit the exhibitions or galleries that the youngest children want to see first.
Talk about the exhibition being visited. Encourage their imagination. Ask them to pretend to be that object, animal, or person. Or pick a theme—like animals—and have the children find animals in the museum,” (via Smithsonian Education)

Day 2: Movie Day

Movie days don’t have to be lazy days – they can be the absolute opposite!

Select a Walden film, all are family-friendly. After you watch the movie, download its corresponding activity guide at walden.com/education, and try some of the fun activities.

Don’t stop there – consider visiting your local library to rent the book version of the film you just watched. Compare and contrast the two.

If it’s nice outside, go dig for your own worms after seeing How to Eat Fried Worms, or create an imaginary world of your own after watching Bridge to Terabithia.

If it’s too chilly for outdoor activity, you can make Turkish Delight after watching The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe or make your own robot after watching City of Ember.

Day 3: Celebrate Sibling Day

While there technically isn’t a “national sibling day,” make one up of your own. In the morning, challenge siblings to work together to complete a “sibling day test” to prove that they love each other and can get along. Consider creating a backyard obstacle course or a puzzle that requires teamwork. If they pass the test, sibling day begins!

The best part of sibling day is the surprise. Keep the day’s activities a secret to keep the kids guessing. Consider taking them out to lunch or for ice cream sundaes. Continue the fun with a visit to a local park, library or tourist attraction.

Remember, the theme of the day is family and sibling love, so the fun activities can only continue as long as the kids show some love for their sibs and for you – you may just be surprised where the day takes you.

Day 4: Family Picnic Day

A great way to create a memorable family day is to share a meal together. Involve your kids in the meal planning and preparation of the picnic; there are some great kid-friendly recipes on Parenting.com.

Mix it up by packing up the picnic and going on a hike or to a local park. If you prefer to stay home, consider a backyard safari, a bedroom tea party or a living room fiesta.

Invite your kids to make suggestions as to games to play during the picnic, or come up with a fun craft to make once the meal is over – Kaboose.com has some fantastic ideas.

Day 5: Take a Scenic Train Ride

Traveling by rail can be a fun and unique experience for the whole family. Amtrak has routes all over the country; consider taking a short trip to a nearby area, stop for lunch and maybe a little sight-seeing.

While on board, relax and take in the passing scenery or consider reading stories to your children about trains and transportation. Everyone will enjoy playing “train bingo” with traditional “car bingo” boards.

Day 6: Around the World Day

Before around the world day, let each member of the family pick a favorite country (2-3 max). Throughout the day you can travel “around the world” exploring the culture, food and fun of the different countries you have selected.

For each country, read about its history and culture with the National Geographic Kids World Atlas. Learn common phrases in the country’s native language; open up the dress-up bin, and put together outfits native to the country. Consider finding a craft or game that originates in your country of choice.

Finally, the entire family can prepare a meal traditional to the chosen country. Epicurious.com has a great International section with recipes broken out by country. Around the world day is fun for the whole family and educational too.

Day 7: Visit Animals at the Zoo or Aquarium

Similar to visiting your local museum, visiting the zoo or aquarium can be a fun inexpensive day for the whole family. Before your trip, go online to learn about the animals you will see. Encourage kids to check out books about these animals at the local library.

After your trip, visit websites like the National Wildlife Federation or NOAA’s National Marine Sanctuaries program to learn what you can do to help protect the animals’ natural habitats.