I expect the most popular idea is a portable DVD player or other device for playing movies. And that's great for occasional use. However, my children don't do well with endless hours of screen time, so I try to plan for other activities to interest them as we drive along.

When my children were babies and toddlers (from about 6 months to 2 years), I took along a bag full of baby toys. A mesh laundry bag meant for washing delicates with a zipper closure works great, because you can see through it, and the zipper keeps everything from spilling out. I collected plastic "busy" toys meant for babies at the dollar store and thrift stores. (Of course I sterilized those I bought second-hand.) As we traveled I would hand Baby one toy at a time. When she got tired of it and dropped it, I would hand her another one. I probably had 20 or 30 to cycle through. This worked really well to keep her interested in between naps and snacks.

As the children got a little older I was able to expand the selection of activities. Preschoolers enjoy lively children's music and recorded picture books to listen to, but they also enjoy something to do with their hands. I usually kept some of their toys put up just for traveling so they would be "new" and fresh. I also took along things like colorful pipe cleaners to bend and twist, stickers and paper to stick them on-- even a roll of scotch tape can be a lot of fun for a little one.

We made it a habit to stop at fast food places with playgrounds and kids' meals along the way. My husband and I would order our food and eat while the children played on the playground. We saved their meal for them to eat when we got back on the road. This gave them maximum time for running off some energy, and also gave them something to do (eat!) as we drove along. They were also always very interested in the toy that came with the meal. For traveling, it was worth the extra cost of a kids' meal to get that little toy. If the restaurant had more than one to choose from I would try to get different toys for each child so they could trade off later.

Once the children reached school age, planning for trips was a lot easier! Now they can read and write. I like to choose a special magazine and a puzzle book for each of them before we leave to give them in the car, and sometimes a fun pen or a new set of markers. I also encourage them to pack a tote bag with a book of their choice and things they might want to do as we travel. (Have you seen Sonlight's new Summer Readers? Great choices there!) They take along their digital players to listen to audio books. On some trips they like to keep journals of where we went and what we saw.

We enjoy traditional travel games looking out the car windows, too-- the alphabet game, watching for different states on license plates, counting how many travel trailers we see, and so on. A simple travel bingo game that I made up was a huge hit on our most recent road-trip. I just made a check-list of things we might see along the way-- from various types of vehicles and buildings to common fast food restaurants and animals. The children loved watching for things on their list. As soon as they completed one list, they would beg me to make them another one.

As our children have grown up we have discovered that we often have some of our best conversations as a family in the car. Traveling together has helped strengthen our relationship with our kids and created life-long memories.

Oh, yes. We do eventually get to where we're going. But you know the old saying, "Getting there is half the fun!"

Enjoying the adventure,
~Karla Cook
Lifelong Learner

Many years ago, when I was a little girl, my grandparents build a home in the Ozarks. Some of their children were still at home at that time. My earliest memories date back to when the house was under construction.

Fast-forward several decades. My grandparents are gone. Now my parents live on the "old home place." Every time I turn around I remember my grandparents. I see Granddaddy's hand in the carefully crafted stone walls. I can almost hear Grandmother sweetly asking me to do a "little job" for her. I think of the influence they had on their friends and neighbors. My grandparents were simple people. They didn't have much in the way of material possessions but the heritage they passed on to their descendants has eternal value that can never be calculated.

I've taken my daughter and my nephew for several walks all over the farm this week, regaling them with stories of "when I was a little girl." Many updates and changes have been made to the place since that long-ago time, but in my mind's eye I can still see the way things used to be. I remember the games we played as we learned to use our imaginations, the chores we were expected to do as part of the family, and the nightly family devotions.

The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places;
Yes, I have a good inheritance.
--Psalm 16:6

These are the things I want to pass on to my children by remembering and recording the heritage we have, the experiences that have shaped our lives.

This will be written for a generation to come,
That a people yet to be created will praise the Lord.
--Psalm 102:18

Enjoying the adventure,
~Karla Cook
Lifelong Learner

“Turn right,” the disembodied female voice intones. “Then, take the highway.”

So we turn right and take the highway.

No, we aren’t the Jetson family but we have come to rely on the GPS receiver mounted on the dashboard, especially when we are traveling across the country or in unfamiliar big cities. We have named our GPS “Rhoda” (because it sounds like “road”) and she’s practically a member of the family and keeps us company when we travel. Sometimes we laugh at her mechanized turn-of-phrase, but what amuses us the most is when we don’t follow her instructions.

“Off route!” squawks Rhoda in alarm. “Turn around when possible.” (We like to pretend she has emotions.)

We ignore her and keep going our own way. She tolerates that for a few minutes and then she’ll nag again. “Turn around when possible.”

So we fill up with fuel (which is usually the reason we get “off route”) and return to the highway. Rhoda gently directs us in which way to turn to get headed in the right direction and then tells us, “Follow the highway for 63 miles.”

And we don’t hear from her again for 62 ½ miles.

We have discovered, though, that Rhoda doesn’t always know the way to go, especially on some of the forest service roads here in northern Idaho. She thinks she does. She’ll tell us to turn left, and if we followed her directions we would end up hurtling off a cliff! So once again we ignore her and follow our own good sense.

Rhoda reminds me a little bit of Sonlight's wonderful Instructor's Guides. In general, they are very handy tools to have "on board." The daily schedules tell me what to read when, what assignments to give my children, and how to tie it all together. Every now and then, though, I have to follow my own instincts. Maybe it's time to take a break or go a different direction. Just as our common sense can tell us when not to follow Rhoda's directions, so my own "mothering instinct" can let me know when it's time to deviate from the Instructor's Guide to best facilitate my children's learning.

I love that Sonlight is flexible that way!

Enjoying the adventure,
~Karla Cook
Lifelong Learner

This past weekend was my first homeschool convention of the season. It was a busy two days. By the end of the conference I was tired. My feet hurt and my voice was giving out. But as I began to pack away my display, an older lady--another veteran homeschool mom--stepped over from the next booth to speak to me. She complimented me on the display and said what a good job I had done for Sonlight. Apparently she had been watching all weekend. She asked how long I had been a Sonlight Curriculum Consultant. I had to think back... let's see, I started in 2000... so I guess that means this is my 13th year. Wow! Time really does go by so fast. I thanked her for her kind words, and we both returned to the job at hand. As I packed I thought about all the reasons I enjoy representing Sonlight at conventions.

• I love talking to new homeschoolers and helping them see how Sonlight might work for their family.
• I love it when someone who was new to Sonlight last year comes back and tells me what a great year they had.
• I love visiting with families who have been using Sonlight for years.
• I especially love it when a Sonlight veteran stops by and brings a friend. Usually the veteran does my job for me, demonstrating all the reasons she loves Sonlight to her friend.
• I get excited when someone tells me they used to use Sonlight, but for whatever reason they tried something else last year, and now their kids are begging to go back to Sonlight.
• I enjoy speaking with parents of special needs kids, and helping them find ways they can incorporate Sonlight into their child's education.
• I love it when kids come through and point out some of their favorite books to me.
• I like displaying my microscope and showing kids how to use it.
• I love giving away cool prizes. I usually have a drawing for a bag of books, as well as other giveaways.
• It's fun to hand a pen or a bookmark to the little kids who are generally just so bored to be tagging along. It makes their eyes light up to receive a small gift they can take home.

When we get together, I want to encourage you in your faith, but I also want to be encouraged by yours. --Romans 1:12 NLT

Enjoying the adventure,
~Karla Cook
Lifelong Learner

Years ago, when we were first starting out with Sonlight, I chose to make a wall time line following the directions in my Instructor's Guide. I wanted my children to "see" history initially with the years equal distances apart. I knew I wouldn't want it on the wall permanently, so I laminated my time line, and then just used a small piece of rolled tape on the back of each figure so I could easily remove them later. At the end of the year, my children and I took the figures down and permanently mounted them in our Book of Time for future reference. We did that for a couple of years before we started using just the Book of Time.

I decided I wanted an easy way for us to remember what figures we had studied each year, so before mounting them in the Book of Time, I stuck them to a piece of Astrobright paper to match the label paper Sonlight assigns to each Core package. For Core B, the color is red, Core C is orange, and so on. Then we carefully cut out around each figure so that just a small margin of the color was showing. We used a glue stick to mount them in the Book of Time.

I found it hard to remember (or be bothered with taking the time) to mount the timeline figures as we went through our Core. Instead, we would usually sit down a couple times a year to stick in a big batch at once. It was a good review for the kids. A friend of mine cut out all the figures at the beginning of the year and then paper-clipped them to the books they went with. When they started reading that book they would add the figure to their Book of Time.

Just for fun (as well as for learning) we included some family events in our Book of Time with tiny photographs-- the year Mom and Dad got married, the year each of the kids were born, the year we moved to Idaho. If you're into genealogy or family history, you could also add in events from previous generations. Tying "history book" events in with our family events makes history seem more "real" somehow.

After we completed all the Cores from A to H, our Book of Time was pretty full. I've been displaying it at homeschool conventions for several years, and by now it's getting somewhat battered. So I decided to make a new one. My younger daughter hadn't had much of a hand in putting together the first one, so I recruited her to assist me with the new one. It's been a great way to review history for her, and now each of my children has a book to save as a keepsake to help remind them of many of the interesting people and events we learned about through our years with Sonlight.

How have you used your timeline figures?

While we always have plenty to do to keep us occupied these winter days, sometimes I find that we get "cabin fever" and a change of scenery does us good. That's when I like to load up the kids and head for the library. Our library has several branches in the area. Naturally, the one closest to our home is the one we usually go to, but I like to visit other branches sometimes just for fun.

I've always loved the library. All through my childhood and teen years my mother took us to get fresh books just about every week. Back in the day before internet it was the go-to source for any research a person needed to do. Patrons were expected to converse in whispers and it was all very staid and formal. And never very busy. Even then, I loved it.

Libraries today are bustling far more than they were when I was growing up. With computer stations in every available nook and corner, many people take advantage of free access to the internet. Various activities are regularly scheduled as well. Our library has Preschool Story Time, Homeschool Time, a Teen Book Club, a Family Movie Night, and even a Lego Club to name a few. There are lots of opportunities for "socialization" if that's a concern for your family.

My favorite thing is to just browse the racks for books, like I've always done. First I check the New Fiction shelf, then I look through my favorite genres of fiction and biographies. I also like to look at the crochet and knitting pattern books, or cookbooks. I use the library catalog to find books to go along with the history we are studying. We especially enjoy detailed picture books, such as the DK Eyewitness books, to enhance our learning. My daughter likes graphic novels, which she can find in both the children's and the teen's sections.

Audio books are another wonderful resource. I've been able to find quite a few "Sonlight books" in audio format which saves me time in reading them aloud. Our library has an extensive collection on CD, and quite a few still on cassette tape. They also have a handy little device called a PlayAway which is a small digital player preloaded with a particular title. I like the PlayAways for exercising because they will fit in my pocket.

The library has movies, music CDs, and video games available to check out. It's great to be able to borrow and return these electronic materials just as we've always been able to do with books. In my opinion, "going to the library" is half the fun, but I have to admit I'm also loving the resources now available online from our library. We can download MP3 audio books or e-books right from home.

The best thing of all? It's all free!

When's the last time you took your kids to the library? What is your favorite thing to do or check out? Please share!

Enjoying the adventure,
~Karla Cook
Lifelong Learner

As the New Year approaches I like to think back over the past year as I consider the possibilities for the coming year. Since homeschooling is such a primary focus of my life at this season, naturally my thoughts turn to our educational goals as well. Now is a good time for a "parent-teacher conference" with myself... and with my husband.

• How much did we complete of our curriculum in the fall?
• How much do we have yet to do for this school year?
• What will our schedule look like for the spring semester?
• When will our last day of school be?
• What is working well for us this year?
• Do we need to make any changes to our schedule?
• What areas of weakness do we need to spend more time on?
• Do we have time to add any electives?

Those are just some of the things I am thinking about this week. I'm sure you have your own list. I love how flexible Sonlight has been for my family, so we can make any necessary adjustments and still continue on with the same curriculum.

If you're brainstorming this week, too, and need some extra encouragement check out Sonlight's General Homeschool Helps. If you need to bounce your ideas off someone else, be sure to visit our forums or contact our advisor team.

We're all in this together, you know.

Maybe you could fit in a trip to the library. Fresh books are always welcome at my house. The Christmas break is also a great time to listen to some just-for-fun audio books. Our library has DVDs and video games for check-out, and though I don't really want my kids in front of a screen for hours on end, those are fun diversions for a short period.

I remember one year when I was a little girl, my mother was doing a lot of sewing for Christmas. We needed to stay out of her bedroom where she was working, but it was oh-so-hard to keep ourselves occupied. A friend of hers brought us an early Christmas gift that week. She had a giant coloring book and a small box of brand-new crayons for each of us. She hadn't spent much but we thought that was just wonderful. I remember sitting around the dining table with my siblings happily coloring away for hours on end. Now, as a mom, I suspect my memories aren't quite the same as the reality, but I do know my mother was very appreciative of her friend's thoughtfulness. Perhaps your children would enjoy a Christmas coloring book with some new crayons to keep their hands busy while they listen to Christmas music or audio books from the library this week?

Another year, my mother presented us with a big package of construction paper, several tubes of glitter, glue, and scissors. Oh, the lovely mess we made creating "beautiful" paper ornaments for the Christmas tree. We were so proud of our creations, and my mother actually saved them and re-used them the next year... and the next... and the next... until we got old enough to be embarrassed by them and made her stop.

A tradition we had when my children were little was to keep their Christmas story books and videos in a basket under the Christmas tree. After Christmas, when the seasonal decor was packed away so were the holiday books and movies. The next year, when it was time to put up the Christmas tree, they were happy to re-discover the Christmas stories from the previous year. We also tried to add to the basket each year. That gave them something "new" to do during the "endless" wait for Christmas to get here.

And, of course, kids always love to help with the Christmas baking-- especially making and decorating cookies with cookie cutters. (There's a great recipe on page 150 of Sonlight Cooks-- which just happens to be on sale right now and would make a great last-minute gift!) One kid-friendly option my mother-in-law taught me was to make "egg paint"--raw eggs colored with food coloring--to paint the cookies with before baking. No frosting necessary!

How do you keep your children occupied as they wait for Christmas?

I remember the first year I was away from home at college, my parents invited my future husband home with me for Thanksgiving. I told my mother to be sure and bake lots of pies because I had told my boyfriend how we always had many different kinds of pie at Thanksgiving. Mother laughed. Turns out we had only done that one other time (the previous year), but in my mind it was a tradition. She obligingly baked lots of pies that year, and she still does when we have the rare opportunity to have an extended family Thanksgiving dinner-- though, due to distance, those times have been few and far between in recent years.

Yesterday we were discussing plans for Thanksgiving with the children. It looks like this will be one of those years when we will be by ourselves. We were making plans to fix a nice dinner, and talking about other things we would like to do that day to celebrate. My youngest daughter had an idea: "Daddy could play 'Turkey in the Straw' on the piano after dinner!" (My husband is not a pianist. "Turkey in the Straw" is one of two songs he knows how to play.)

I wondered why she came up with that idea, but then I got a sneaking suspicion. "Is 'Turkey in the Straw' a Thanksgiving song?" I inquired.

"Well, duh!" she said. "It's about a turkey!"

There ya go. I think we have a new tradition that will be fun to explain in years to come when the grandchildren come along!

I've discovered that the most important tradition is that we remain flexible and just enjoy each other, regardless of who or what that might include.

What unique holiday traditions (or non-traditions) does your family have?

Counting my blessings!
~Karla Cook
Lifelong Learner

Finally, it was on our Read-Aloud schedule--and it was every bit as good as I remembered. What surprised me was what I got out of it. Even though I had read it several times as a young person, this time through I was reading it through the eyes and life experience of a mom.

For those of you who haven't read the book, it is based on a true story. Caddie is a young girl (about 11, I think) who was permitted to pretty much grow up as a tomboy running "wild" with her brothers. She had a sister who was sickly and died when she was younger, and her father thought that she might grow up to be healthier if she was allowed to run outside in the fresh air with the boys rather than have to stay in the house doing "girl" things all the time. But then, one day, the children were rude to a visiting cousin and Caddie got into more trouble than the boys. She was sent to her room without supper. After she had been there for several hours her father came to her room to talk to her. I love what he had to say to her:

"Perhaps Mother was a little hasty today, Caddie," he said. "She really loves you very much, and, you see, she expects more of you than she would of someone she didn't care about. It's a strange thing, but sometimes we expect more of girls than of boys. It is the sisters and wives and mothers, you know, Caddie, who keep the world sweet and beautiful. What a rough world it would be if there were only men and boys in it, doing things in their rough way! A woman's task is to teach them gentleness and courtesy and love and kindness. It's a big task, too, Caddie--harder than cutting trees or building mills or damming rivers. It takes nerve and courage and patience, but good women have those things. They have them just as much as the men who build bridges and carve roads through the wilderness. A woman's work is something fine and noble to grow up to, and it is just as important as a man's. But no man could ever do it so well. I don't want you to be the silly, affected person with fine clothes and manners whom folks sometimes call a lady. No, that is not what I want for you, my little girl. I want you to be a woman with a wise and understanding heart, healthy in body and honest in mind..."

As a young girl, that passage went right over my head. I didn't remember it being part of the story at all. As a mother with young daughters, it brought tears to my eyes.

That experience helped me realize that the differences in how a person interprets or is a affected by a book are not based on age or grade level, but rather on life experience. Later I re-read Jane Eyre, and the same thing happened. I was amazed at how much I got out of it as an adult that I had either forgotten or didn't register when I read it as a teen.

Think about a book you enjoyed when you were younger. If you read it again today you would take very different things from that book, because of where you are in life today and because of your life experiences up to this point. That's what makes Sonlight so flexible for using with multiple ages--and what makes read-aloud time so rewarding for the whole family.

What childhood favorites have you re-read lately?

Enjoying the adventure,
~Karla Cook
Lifelong Learner