21 hour flight with 3 children!!!

[ga girl]

We will be traveling for almost 3 weeks. They will have a gameboy and ipods. I HATE thinking about 10 + hours playing games!! We will be in Africa - no tv, no radio - you get the picture. I am looking for easy - pack, take alongs for entertainment. My children are 8, 10, and 12. I've thought of books, but there's no way I can take enough books for them for 19 days.

 

HELP!!

 

Connie

 

wife to most wonderful husband, almost 16 years

mother to dd 12, ds 10 and last, but not least - ds 8

[Amira]

When we were in a very similar situation, we did audiobooks and card games and we were okay. My boys also like to draw, so we had some art supplies too, but not too much that it was a mess.

[ga girl]

Did you download the audiobooks to an Ipod or take books on CD? I'm trying to decide which would be the least trouble - I have no idea how to download to the Ipod.

 

Connie

[Laura Corin]

We will be traveling for almost 3 weeks. They will have a gameboy and ipods.

 

My 8yo likes to colour and draw too. I always try to take crossover books - ones that both my boys can read (or listen to being read). I tend to buy one or two of those cheap sets of action figures (cowboys and indians, or soldiers) for engrossing games. I sometimes take a big ziplock bag of lego or bionicles.

 

Buying a ball when we arrive also works - having a ball to kick around gets rid of some energy. Ditto frisbees. A ball also tends to attract playmates, which is fun.

 

Best wishes

 

Laura

[TwinMominTX]

For the plane flight and down times while in another country my kids love sprial notebooks and colored pencils. They draw, write, color, etc.

 

When you arrive, balls and/or jump ropes are great. Like Laura said, balls always attract playmates.

[ga girl]

we will be out in the bush - no other playmates. But, we could maybe pack a baseball and glove. A soccer ball would be to big to pack.

 

I've already thought of the journaling/drawing aspect. I am trying to keep us all from going crazy. It will be an experiance for us all. My children will learn the true meaning of "making do with what little resourses you have."

 

Thanks for the suggestions!

 

Connie

[Brindee]

We went to Fiji for 3 weeks when my kids were 8, 11 and 14. It took us 32 hours from home to our final destination there. It was an overnight flight, so that helped. We had a wait in the airport in Fiji, so we watched the sun rise, walked around, ate, played little games--one being getting quarters and spinning them, seeing whose quarter could spin the longest (really, that lasted quite awhile with them! :001_smile:).

 

We also found Fijiian words and wrote them down. We had looked some stuff up on Fiji before we left, including info about Fiji, and some common words.

 

Once we got to the place where we stayed, they spent time making friends with the local kids and helping out where needed. They kept quite busy!

 

The long parts of the flights will be overnight, won't they? The kids were tired and slept on the overnight flights there and back. Well, the oldest didn't sleep as much, but he didn't require that much sleep. The flights we were on had a screen on the back of the seat in front, and they were able to watch movies or play a couple of games. That helped keep them busy as well.

 

While you're there, take lots of pictures, get your kids involved as much as you can in the culture, have them write journals, point things out. They shouldn't have to be entertained all the time, and are old enough to not whine and complain, so I think it will be an exciting trip!

 

Take snacks and books, and word search, sudoku or crossword puzzles, plain lined paper to write on, journals, cards and little travel games (magnetic so pieces aren't as easily lost), and other little things you know they like. But YOU should fill their back packs, and THEY shouldn't know what's in there until after the plane takes off. There's enough going on that they can be entertained for that amount of time without looking inside their backpacks! Well, I'd let them have one thing in an outside pocket that they can use/do during wait times before getting on the plane.

 

May I ask what you're going for and where you're going? Sounds like a GREAT field trip for the kids! :001_smile: I was in Kenya for a mission trip for 3 weeks in 2006, so I'm actually a bit jealous! ;)

[ga girl]

 

YOU should fill their back packs, and THEY shouldn't know what's in there until after the plane takes off. There's enough going on that they can be entertained for that amount of time without looking inside their backpacks!

 

May I ask what you're going for and where you're going? Sounds like a GREAT field trip for the kids! :001_smile: I was in Kenya for a mission trip for 3 weeks in 2006, so I'm actually a bit jealous! ;)

 

A surprise backpack! Love it!

 

We are going for a safari for my husband. We'll also go to Kruger National Park. We'll be able to have a guide take us into the nearest village ( however close that may be) and give us all a tour. They will also get to watch/help with day to day living - food prep, etc. I want my children to come away with a heart for missions and a realization of how blessed they are to be Americans.

 

I am very nervous, but excited for my children.

 

Connie

[Brindee]

A surprise backpack! Love it!

 

We are going for a safari for my husband. We'll also go to Kruger National Park. We'll be able to have a guide take us into the nearest village ( however close that may be) and give us all a tour. They will also get to watch/help with day to day living - food prep, etc. I want my children to come away with a heart for missions and a realization of how blessed they are to be Americans.

 

I am very nervous, but excited for my children.

 

Connie

Then I bet they'll keep busy while they're there! What you want from this trip for your children is what my dh and I wanted from our trip to Fiji! It really DID open my childrens' eyes! It was a beautiful blessing, and they really appreciated warm showers and nice beds when we got home, let alone all the other things Americans are so spoiled with! And all three of them DO have a heart for missions! My oldest ds wants to go back to the same place in Fiji as a student missionary for a year when he's 18 or 19! He picked up a LOT of Fijiian words while we were there, and the local people gave him a big conch shell for learning so much of their language! He's good with languages, so I know that if he DOES go there for a year, he'd be speaking fluently by the time he returned!

 

It'll be a WONDERFUL experience for your children! I'm sooo excited for them, and thrilled that you've managed to help them have this experience!