Travel Journalling with Kids

We have recently been on a two-week trip to Adelaide, South Australia.  In a bid to keep my eldest son entertained on the plane and during down time (and sneak in some learning time) I created a travel journal for him.

It included some activities for exploring the airport,

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an activity to draw what he thought he might see and do on our trip,
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a passport to collect stamps from all the places we visited along the way.  You take this piece of paper and fold it to create a hotdog booklet.  You then ask at all the places you go to for a stamp in the booklet – for example, the airport check-in, any places you visit (for example, at the zoo) and anywhere else you like.

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and a map and round up of the important parts of our holiday.

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Thanks to Journey Jottings for the inspiration for the stamp passport and the single page journey map.

My son declined to share his hand drawn map (not quite finished as he lost interest), but here is a version I made up with some of our holiday pictures. 

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I think that as well as drawing the map children might like to make a collage-style map using pictures from travel brochures or by planning photos that they could include on the map (for example, if I had planned the photos in advance for a map I probably would have taken pics of the entrance signs for example, Adelaide Zoo).

[Note: You can now get a free pdf copy of this travel journal by subscribing to my newsletter.]

Do you keep a journal when you travel? Or encourage your children to do so?

Comments

Debi said…
This is such a great way for kids to remember their experiences. We haven't done anything this well thought out before, but we do keep a journal, add drawing & photos & other memorabilia as appropriate.
What a fantastic way to create engagement with the kids on holidays. Actually "my mum" does a great job of creating the same activity with our eldest when we send him for a weeks holiday on the south coast with is grandparents, he then has something for his show and tell when he gets back to school.
Lilly Rentals said…
A great way for kids to enjoy all that great experience! All that drawings and photos are a good way for all the family to save the memories from the journey together!
Unknown said…
I love it. A great idea - to remember their experiences as well as keeping them occupied and interested.
It looks like pretty exciting and invigorating trip you've had. And your son has some great potential to beecome an artist or architect may be. You should encourage him about that!