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As holiday trips approach, I would like to share some ideas to help keep your child entertained while on the go. Plane and train travel in particular offer an opportunity for intimacy and family relationship building; something that can be all too rare in our busy lives. Engaging in travel activities creates a context for laughter and learning to share with your child.
- As you put together a travel kit for your children, recall that Montessori activities for this age group focus on motor and sensory education, as well as language. Montessori's observations showed her that children are deeply engaged in developing these skills during this period. Try to pack items that satisfy these interests.
- A good idea is to pack individual items in smaller containers the child can open and close. A variety of containers can provide a thoroughly absorbing fine motor exercise, an outlet for curiosity, and an opportunity for surprises (what's inside!).
- In the Handbook, Montessori mentions the mats and rugs that define a child's workspace in Montessori classrooms. To extend this idea to travel, use a small tray that allows lap work to define workspace in a car. Even plane travel can be bumpy, so choose a tray with a deep rim that will help contain small items. On a plane or train a vinyl or rubber mat placed on the child's seat tray says "I'm working now" and also reduces movement and/or rolling of travel kit contents.
- For the youngest child, the destination may be no more than an abstract future idea whereas the child must immediately function in the here-and-now of the journey. Bring along variations of familiar activities that appeal to the child's tendencies toward motor and sensory development, and provide opportunities to acquire language for new things in the environment.
- Lacing and threading are satisfying and relatively compact activities. Shoelaces or yarn (with the ends taped) can serve as laces. Bring lightweight o-shaped cereal or macaroni to string. Bead stringing sets and lacing cards are ideal, too.
- Sorting shapes will exercise children's fine motor control and visual discrimination. A lightweight sorting activity for travel might include different kinds of pasta or dried beans, beads with different shapes or colors, or small geometric shapes. Bring a deep tray to contain small items (and expect to lose a few of them!) and a dish with compartments for sorting into.
- Any sporting activity can also be a rich language opportunity. Give the child the spoken "labels" (the words that name the characteristics) as he sorts. For color-sorting: "Those are red. These are blue." For shape-sorting: circle, triangle, etc.
- Picture cards that can be sorted and matched are lightweight and portable. If you have time, make up cards that name things in the travel environment. Simply cut out images from magazines or travel brochures and glue them to cards. Subjects for an airplane trip might include airport, counter, airplane, suitcase, pilot, flight attendant, window, sky, clouds, city (from above!)... For train travel, make cards for the station, conductor, tracks, platform, ticket, etc.
- To satisfy the thirst for language, bring books to read aloud and vocabulary cards; children will be fascinated with stories about children traveling and books or cards with photos of vehicles that will help them make sense of the travel environment.
I hope all this will help you in preparing for your holiday trips!
-Butterfly Teacher
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