Taking a trip this summer? Whenever I travel with my family—whether near or far, for one night or two months—I always like to make sure I have a mix of books, open-ended toys, and activities to keep the kids occupied during downtime. Lucky for me, I can find all those things in our Knowledge Crates!
My family and I are currently in Spain for six weeks visiting family, and yes, we brought our summer crates! I thought I'd share some tips on how I decided what to bring, what to leave at home, and how we'll use Knowledge Crates during our time away.
First, consider your packing restrictions. I needed to be mindful of our luggage weight, so I left the hefty sensory rice and sand at home. If you're traveling by car, weight may not be a concern and you can pop the whole crate in your trunk. ☺️
Next, think about the place you'll be at and the potential messiness of the activities. I wasn't keen on bringing elephant toothpaste or slime into my in-laws' house here in Spain, and they don't have a backyard, so I decided to save those activities for when we're back home later this summer and we can go wild outside. Another example: personally, I wouldn't take playdough for a hotel stay (the carpet!), but I DO bring it to Spain where our house has hard floors and it's easily cleaned up.
Finally, think about how any of the beautiful creations your kids make would fare on the trip home ... we won't do the dioramas, the basket weaving, or the rain gauge here because I'm afraid they'll get crushed coming home. We ARE going to make the rain sticks and clay animals because I think those will be easy to pack safely.
So now you should have your crates sorted into what you want to bring and what will stay home. Don't forget to pack the Activity Guides! ☺️
At this point I compile everything into gallon zip bags and fit them however I can in our luggage. And we're off! ✈️
My last tip is, for me, one of the most important ... I keep the Knowledge Crates stuff out of sight and reach of my kids while we're away! You can see in the photo that I have them tucked away in a box in my closet. 😂 My kids love their crates sooooo much that they will want to do everything right away if it's available! However, I really like to save these activities and parse them out for those slumps in the day when my kids are having a hard time entertaining themselves or need to break a too-much-screen-time streak. Keeping the Knowledge Crates activities out of sight and out of mind lets me save them for when Mommy really needs a secret weapon. 😉
Are you taking Knowledge Crates on the road with you this summer? Snap a photo and tag us @knowledgecrates ... we love to see what you're creating!
