Preparing Kids for Your Grown Up Vacation

We just got back from the most amazing vacation. You can see pics over on instagram. I have had some questions about where we went, without getting too off topic, we had a great opportunity to sail in a catamaran around the BVI. It was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Because this was a trip that we knew we could never do on our own (a friend is a licensed boat captain) we knew we couldn't pass up the opportunity. However, our 3 year old daughter is pretty young to go on such a long trip. We have lots of family in town (so lucky, right?) but I worried about how she would handle us being gone. 

Time for me to dust off my school counselor hat at home! I created a calendar and called it "Zoe's Amazing Sleepover Week." This way she would know where she was staying each day. Just in case you're wondering, her class at preschool is called the Orca Whales. Each day, she got to cross off one block - I think this was her favorite part! The stars indicate the day we left and the day we came home. 


But I couldn't just stop there, right? I bought a sparkle folder and pasted our picture in it for her. Our kiddo is obsessed with jokes right now so I created little cards with jokes and clipart, added a handwritten note, and put in small envelopes. She could open envelopes each day to help her count down. Apparently, she loved her jokes and when we returned, she had put all her post-it notes on her headboard. 

It was a hit! She did great while we were gone and I felt much better that she was getting little moments of love to fill her bucket while we were away. Yeah, that was sappy. Moving on now...

Here's the joke page in case you'd like to use it. Might be a fun icebreaker for groups and lunch bunches too. You can even share with parents who may be going on vacation during the school year!