This Sunday, my family had the opportunity to experience Field Station Dinosaurs courtesy of MamaDrama Consulting . A full review is coming, but one of the highlights for my kids was getting to take pretend to be archaelogists and take part in a pretend dinosaur dig. Awesome.
My kiddo had his end of year Kindergarten Zimriah (Concert) last week. Sniff…that means he’s almost in 1st grade!
I’m typing this post into my phone with one thumb in a hotel room in Israel with intermittent WiFi…
Traveling with kids can be tough, routines get thrown off, familiar stuff is left at home (the favorite stuffed animal or blanket of the moment almost always turns out to be the one you left behind) and, often, changes in time zone wreak havoc on sleeping patterns.
I’m a big believer in traveling with a whole bunch of medication, toys, gear and especially snacks to make the change more palatable. I promise to share my other lists at some other point, but here are some easy to throw in a suitcase foods that can be ready to appease little mouths for your actual traveling time as well as for when you get to your destination and thoughout your stay:
For plane/car/bus/train:
*Refillable water bottle per child (if you’re flying internationally, empty it before you go through security so the TSA doesn’t bug you and have stewardesses refill on the plane)
*Empty milk cup/bottle per child (good to keep your cups for milk and other beverages separate, especially when you may not be able to wash them so well)
*Applesauce or other puréed fruit pouches–some good ones are Happy Baby, Plum Organics, Earth’s Best, Revolution Foods and GoGo Squeeze. These are great for older kids as well! Freeze a couple and pop them in your bag for slushy treats en route! They also make great ice packs for…
*cut up apples, pears, grapes, carrots, clementines, cheese sticks/cubes
*frozen single serving shelled edamame
*raisins, dried apricots or other dried fruit
*fruit leather
*cereal (either in small bags or snack cups)
*crackers, pretzels, rice cakes, cookies, cereal bars, yogurt drops
*For a plane–lollipops, sucking candies gum are essential for kidlets too big to suck on a bottle or to nurse during takeoff and landing. Toddlers under 3 should probably stick to the lollipops to prevent choking scares.
*small sandwiches, mini yogurts or yogurt squeeze sticks if it’ll be meal time
Note: if you are traveling between countries, you may need to leave any leftover produce on the plane so as not to have problems with agricultural authorities (particularly when entering the US)
For the trip itself:
*more of all of the non-perishable items from above
*if your children are avid milk drinkers, you may want to pack a few boxes of shelf stable milk–particularly if you prefer organic, which isn’t always easy to find. Milk tastes different in different places, and, you may not want to jeopardize this source of protein and calcium for a picky child.
And I thought applying for Nursery School was bad!
In order to apply to a private school for Kindergarten, you must first sacrifice at least one tree. The paper part of this process includes-test scores, recommendations, essays, application fee and some other odds and ends (more if you are also filling out a financial aid packet). Then there is the added joy of the school tour, child's playgroup, parent interview…
When, why and how did this process get so ridiculously complicated?!
Is this a New York problem or has this lunacy taken over?
Perhaps I'll move to a commune 😉
Last year at this time, I was wrestling with the concept that my 3 year old who had been home with me full time since he was born would be going off to school for the first time–dropping him off somewhere, no matter how nurturing and cuddly, seemed like the end of the world for me. Not knowing how my son would deal with his first separation, I read books with him about preschool–What to Expect in Preschool, The Kissing Hand, My First Day of Nursery School–we role played school, I bought him a new backpack (and filled with with stuff he didn't need)…and he adapted to a school schedule without a hitch.