Overland with Kids

Education continued…..

Jessica’s main focus today has been learning about the river Rhine, it’s ecomonic importance and how the river traffic signs work which Jess tells us are the same all over Europe. We befriended a German man who helped explain some of it’s workings to Jessica which was really helpful. She then had the job of transposing some of this to text. Play quickly beckoned however followed by free time and a long walk in and around St Goar where we saw Steiff bears and Cuckoo clocks including the largest free hanging one in the world.

The Fun Side

The fun side includes lots of play, climbing trees, play parks as we find them, meeting other children, colouring in, puzzles, a portable swing ball, rackets plus a frisbee we brought along. Also a small bag of toy soldiers, cars, go-go’s and other bits we managed to stow away for AJ. If we are driving, we do some work in the car and we find pre-planning the night before the next day really useful. The day’s materials then get loaded in the car in preparation. The children have input and some choice also in what they are learning and it is sometimes dependant on where we are and what we are doing. A real downtime treat is a DVD at the end of the day when we want to relax. It’s still early days but the children are happy and we are pleased with progress so far.

Hints and Tips we’ve Learned

Empty glass jars are great for keeping tea candles in, as protected fom the wind

Plenty of small hand and head torches along with spare batteries have been proving invaluable

Marks & Spencer extra meaty tinned mince is great but there’s nothing like the real thing - buying fresh and saving provisions for later is best though we’re combining a bit of both. Fresh mince and onions and ingredients much tastier.

Visiting prime European sites though much cooler weather in Spring is much better than high tourist season. We’re pretty sure it’s cheaper too!

Plenty of choice and variety in education, play, discovery equals happy, contented children (and parents!)

Special treats now and again, especially with food is a must!

Next Stop

Heading for Bavaria along the ‘Romantic Road’ into Austria.

 

Diary (Blog)