Making day trips a learning experience

(WTNH) -- From your hometown to sites in Connecticut, planning day trips with children is not only fun, it's also the perfect learning experience for the whole family.

Jan Doyle, from Classroom Connections 365 , is sharing the following ideas for activities.

Create your own "passport."

• Pick up a sketch pad at the local craft shop. Let your child choose a specialty paper that matches their personality. Glue it to the front of the pad. Using stick-on letters, print "passport." You can add a child's or a family's name to make it more personal.

Where do you start?

• Go to the Connecticut's website for several suggestions. Make sure you take advantage of open house day on June 9th. Many places in Connecticut will be open and free for you to enjoy. Put it in your calendar now so you won't forget.
• Your local library has several free museum passes for the family. Check them out, and have an inexpensive adventure.

A great resource: The Big Connecticut Reproducible Activity Book by Carole Marsh.

• Affordable at $9.95, it's a time saver for busy families. You do not have to start on page one, but skim though and find a location that interests you. Let your child do this. Skimming is an important skill to master, and reading this book will be highly motivational because the destination is the reward. This book, loaded with child-friendly activities, will be a great way to keep the kids occupied during the car ride. Crossword puzzles, dot-to-dot and coloring are just a few of the fun projects.

A great companion to your passport: Maps of the USA., grades 1-6.

• Intended for teachers, doesn't mean that parents can't use it, too. Look for Evan Moor products at a school supply store. Each state has two pages devoted to it. So you don't ruin the book, copy pages from the book and paste them in your Passport.
• Wayne Dwyer states that "dreams are seedlings of reality." Why not dream of traveling the world. Create dream pages from the craft store's scrapbook collection. Symbols of Paris, England and Mexico are readily available. Leave space for dream travels in your passport.

With dream or reality travel, it is fun to find, make or collect dolls of other cultures.

• This is a great activity to introduce children to diversity. Look online, go to tag sales, create your own, all help children appreciate cultures from different countries.

Don't forget to map your travels.

• Children really need a sense of place. From a local tourist map to the world, use push pins to mark destinations.

Find games or puzzles that reinforce geography.

• Children need to discover the world. Interactive activities are available. Embracing technology, "Around the United States" is a wonderful tactile experience for younger children to travel around the United States, use as a game, or just to explore. Kids five and up will be entertained for hours.