Travel Kit review

Thursday, July 22, 2010

The Old Schoolhouse Travel Kits: a Simple Way to Bless Others is an informative guide to prepare travel kits . A travel kit is assembled with items meant to fill the time and make the trip go faster for children. In turn this should make the trip less stressful and more fun for the adults as well.

 

When I was a child, my family traveled a lot.  One fond memory is a time someone gifted us with a travel kit when I was about 10. The kit given to us was a large ball of yarn. We unwound  a section at certain times until we came to a joke or an idea for a game or a piece of candy. It was a great memory, a lot of fun and a very special gift.

 

So, I was very interested to review this Travel Kit ebook that is produced by The Old Schoolhouse (TOS). TOS offers a large selection for the homeschooler through their store.

 

The 93 pages initially intimidated me a little. I also doubted I would be organized enough to pull it off. However, the clear layout, simple instructions and readability made this review easy . The guide includes great suggestions of what to pack and how to pack an entertaining kit  for your family or another.  The more ideas I read and pictures I saw, the more interested I became in assembling my own travel kit.  I ended up with so many ideas and I found myself on the lookout for items to add to my travel kit collection everywhere I went.

 

I assembled my kit for a big trip we plan to take in the fall. Originally, my thought was to use items from around the house or collect small items for  free. However… I started browsing  websites geared towards teachers. Needless to say, I got a little carried away. My theme was animals. Each kit I make for my own family will be a different theme.

 

 If you are creative, I am sure, it would be possible  to assemble  a kit without any extra expense. Books, CDs and DVDs can be borrowed from a library ,  activity sheets  can be printed from the web, and collecting little toys or making small items wouldn’t be too hard. Snacks can be made instead of bought. I found it is important to plan ahead for the maximum you want to invest before beginning.

 

Since I purchased extra items, I hope this means I can quickly assemble kits in the future. It is my hope to send kits off with friends when they travel as well.  My plan is to prewrap all items I plan to use in the kits and place in labeled grocery bags so I know what is in each. I think my children will be slightly less likely to get into the gifts ahead of time if they are already wrapped.  

 

 I suggest - if you make a kit for someone else- that you  make  a checklist for the adults before planning the kit. For instance: Will the family take scheduled breaks? Will those breaks be at rest areas? Are the children allowed to chew gum? Does the family eat snacks in the care?  Are there any allergies? Are markers and crayons OK? Also, of course, be careful about small pieces if toddlers or infants are in the car.

 

I did enjoy this ebook and am glad for the chance to review it. It is not what I would  consider to be "simple", as claimed in the title . For me, the word "simple" implies something that can be thrown together quickly. That seems unlikely for these travel kits.  I guess that is partly because I do not routinely keep snacks, candy and  toys available.

 

 $12.95 is more inline with what I would pay for a hard bound book with this content.  So, the price is high for me. Some of what is included seems self explanatory as well. So, the length doesn't seem completely justified. I do recommend this ebook, however. Obviously, there are distinct advantages to an ebook. I did not print it out because I did not find necessary in this case.

 

This ebook was given to me free of charge in exchange for my honest review.

 

Update: Last weekend (7/24) I sent my first travel kit off with a family who came to visit on their way to somewhere else. The Mom thought it was a great idea. I hope to hear soon if it made the trip go easier or not.

 

 

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