Category Archives: Trip

Trip

Road Trips and Your Child – How to Deal!

With the weakening economy, more and more families are forced to trim the fat off their yearly vacation plans and instead choose a more economical getaway. Although many families this past year chose to stay at home, some families bravely headed out in the family car with their children crammed in the backseat. The first hour or so may pass by swiftly – but as any parent knows who has gone on a long road trip, each hour can feel like an eternity with tired, cranky and bored children in the backseat!

If your vacation plans have you taking the long scenic route towards your destination, you’ll be saving plenty of money in airfare, but you’ll need to think ahead in order to keep your kids happy and entertained. So how can you keep your children distracted during those multiple hour road trips? Simple: just use these tips and tricks, and your children will be happy for the entire trip!

1. Break out classic road trip games – they were invented for a reason! Have your kids try to see if they can spot a license plate from every state, and keep score – this will keep them interested for a prolonged period of time. Another great road trip game is “I Spy”, in which everyone takes turns guessing at a certain object or landmark using only the clues provided by the person who is “it”. However, objects that are in the car or on the horizon for a few minutes (like a large landmark) are the only acceptable objects; it’s not fair to guess for an object that passed by on the highway seconds ago!

2. Bring your child’s favorite electronics. Although electronics like video games can have a bit of a negative impact on your child’s health (for example, interrupting sleep schedules, causing a lack of exercise, etc.), they’re practically lifesavers on a road trip. Buy a portable DVD player and brings lots of movies that will keep your children distracted. You’ll be so thankful for the peace and quiet!

3. In addition to electronics, bring plenty of fun snacks. Many kids get cranky on long road trips due to hunger, but you can nip this problem in the bud by bringing along fun and healthy snacks to keep them over until lunch or dinner. Crackers and granola are great snacks that are healthy and delicious too!

4. Of course, no child, no matter how much he or she likes road trips, is able to stay in a car for a prolonged period of time. Once you recognize this, you’ll be able to better handle your child when he or she becomes cranky or restless. Plan on making lots of side trips along the way – in fact, why not make them part of the overall vacation itself? See if there are any fun landmarks en route to your final destination, and use the opportunity to stretch your legs. Your kids will be grateful for the rest, and you’ll enjoy avoiding yet another cranky mood.

5. Heap loads of praise on your children for making it through hourly blocks without making a fuss. They’ll be so proud of themselves that they’ll continue their behavior in order to earn more compliments!

But above all these things, what’s the most important thing to bring along on a road trip with children? Easy: the understanding that no matter how much you plan ahead, you’ll never be 100% prepared for everything. Children have a wild and wonderful way of turning an itinerary into a free-for-all; yet that’s just part of the adventure that is raising children.

Trip

Delhi: A Dream Destination for Geography School Trips

For students of geography, there is plenty that can be learned in the classroom and from textbooks, but school trips are a great way to consolidate and expand learning – especially for a subject that is all about our planet, its natural phenomena, its populations and societies.

For its natural and historical wonders, its ever-growing and adapting civilisation, and its position as a forerunner of knowledge and technology, India is a dream destination for geography-based school trips. A huge country, full of many distinct cultures, not to mention all its varying terrains, it would be impossible to see everything – luckily, there’s a world of knowledge and discovery within Delhi. Here are some of the ways this great metropolis could help boost your students’ learning.

Explore the Metropolis

Geography encompasses the study of urban centres and the way they develop to reflect expanding populations and interaction with the rest of the world. School trips to Delhi offer the perfect illustration of a city that has been doing just that across many ages. Although New Delhi was only made India’s capital in 1931, the area is known to have been continuously inhabited since the 6th century BCE, and Delhi itself has been a key city in regional trade and politics since the founding of a walled city (now Old Delhi) by Mughal Emperor Shahjahan in 1639. With an area of 177 square kilometres and population of over eleven million, the metropolis balances the ancient with the cutting-edge, and offers a unique study in human growth and urban development. Spending some time in the grandeur of New Delhi and the bustle of Old Delhi is a great way to begin exploring these topics.

Monuments and Museums

Anyone with an interest in how different groups interact can learn plenty from Delhi’s multicultural, multi-faith population. With Hinduism in the majority, the city is also home to communities of Muslims, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis, Christians and Jews. With monuments and temples from all groups, many of them open to visitors, there is plenty of opportunity to explore. Other historic sites of interest include the magnificent Red Fort, the Jama Masjid, and the national monument India Gate. Museums include the National Museum, the National Museum of Natural History, the National Rail Museum.

Green Delhi

One important concern for geographers studying urban areas is the increasing importance of integrating ecology into our cities. Although it has been a densely populated urban centre for centuries, Delhi has never forgotten the need for green spaces and nature, and today’s ecologists are continuing to explore the potential of Delhi’s parks and its animal populations. Students on school trips will be able to observe a unique urban ecosystem, and a visit to Buddha Jayanti Park will provide a great space for discussing how biodiversity can be preserved in an ever-growing city.