How to Have a Fun-Filled and Educational Vacation at Home This Year

The economic news doesn't seem to be getting a lot better, causing more and more families to decide their vacations this year will be spent close to home, and several trips I made past my local gas station this last couple of weeks made it easy for me to understand why. The price per gallon of gas seems to change daily, and sometimes even during the 30-45 minutes I am down town. At least the young man who climbs the ladder to raise the price is getting plenty of exercise whether he can afford to go on a vacation or not.

No matter how dire a situation seemed to be, my Mother would always say, "Let's look at the bright side of it." Maybe this is the time for us to do just that. Since we are probably going to be staying at home this summer instead of taking a long vacation, why don't we look at it as an opportunity to do something almost as much fun, and maybe even more interesting, and worthwhile.

Here are a few suggestions for some things you can do with your family if you are among those destined to spend the summer at home this year.

1. Concentrate on improving skills your family members already have.

We certainly hope that, economically, things will improve by next summer, so why not spend this summer learning how to survive in as many ways as possible before you finally do set off on that long delayed vacation?.

For example, is every member of the family a good swimmer? If not, get them into swimming lessons immediately to make sure that by the end of the summer, the answer to that question will be yes. The rest of the family can get involved by going to the pool for a "swim night" every other night or so to help the ones who are taking lessons practice what they are learning, and not give up until every last member of the family is capable of surviving a boat upset in the middle of the lake. A celebration with ice cream as soon as this goal is reached would be a great finish for this activity.

2. Enroll in a first-aid course.

Even the adults in the family who have already had a first aid course can use a refresher. New methods of CPR have come out in the last few years, and of course every parent needs to know how to make a bee sting quit hurting, what works best to repel mosquitoes, and what strength of sun block to buy.

And even very young children can learn to splint a broken limb, treat burns, and apply ointments and band aids. Doing these things with Mom and Dad makes it even more fun and interesting.

3. Take a conversational foreign language class.

Many parents are hoping, once the economy improves, to vacation in a Spanish-speaking nation. So, why not use this summer to prepare for it? Most of us have a Latino neighbor or two that might be willing for free, or for a nominal fee to teach conversational Spanish to your family. Moms and Dads will need to work hard at this in order not to be shown up by the younger family members as they say that young children often pick up a language very easily.

Provide your instructor a list of words that you especially want to learn and tackle them first so you will be ready when the opportunity to use them arises. I once visited Tijuana and spent over an hour trying to find a rest room. Most people I encountered just shrugged and walked off totally confused by my attempts to make myself understood. I finally stumbled across someone who could speak English and who pointed me in the correct direction. My advice is to put that particular word at the top of your list, followed by, "food," "help," and maybe "gasoline."

4. Go on "One-Day" treks.

Get out the back packs and fill them with supplies you'll need for the day, before taking off together for the nearest hiking trail, bike path, or just for a walk to the library and park across town. When you reach your destination, sit down to rest and bring out those snacks and cans of soda. Yum.

If you've hiked to the top of the highest hill near your town, spend some time looking at the view and identifying landmarks in the distance. Can you locate your house? If your trek consists of a ride on the bike path along the river, stop at intervals to wade a bit and turn over some rocks to find out what kinds of creatures are hiding underneath. Take pictures-lots of pictures, using the camera that Mom is sure to have hidden away in her own backpack, along with ointment, band-aids, and other necessary supplies mothers usually remember to bring.

If your trip ends at the library door, take time to go in and wander around for a while. If you brought your library cards, there's always room for one more book in a backpack, right? Then, after the stop at the library, it's time to head for a leisurely lunch in the park-and if your park has lots of play equipment or a basketball hoop, so much the better. If someone has managed to drag a basketball along, that is.

"One-Day" treks are not only fun, but they teach your kids that you don't have to go to Disney World to have a good time---or even on a camping trip. There are lots of things to enjoy and explore right in your own vicinity so take advantage of it. You might even give each member of the family a "One-Day" trek day of his or her own in which all the planning of where to go, what to take, etc. is left up to that person.

5. Learn survival skills.

This is somewhat like taking a first-aid class, except that you don't have to wait for a class to join. You can actually learn survival skills on your own. Just recently, a 9-year-old boy who got separated from his family managed to use skills he had picked up from a TV program on survival techniques to help him stay calm and take steps which led to his eventual safe rescue as well as making his ordeal safer while he waited.

Even very small children can learn basic survival skills. Pick up some books at your local library and spend some time reading about these skills and practicing some of them in your own back yard. Take short trips into a nearby forest, if possible, to do some hiking and talking about what we should do if we got lost at this spot, or fell into the lake at another spot. See if there is any edible food in the area. Are there clues as to which direction would be safest to travel? Are there materials that would be useful in building a shelter?

Back at home, talk about hypothetical situations that might arise and how they should be handled. Discuss stranger abductions. Talk about what kids should do if they get separated from the family at the mall, at a train station, at the park. Check out some video tapes on survival at your local library and watch for TV programs that offer good advice on the subject.

Learn, as a family, the importance of having emergency food and water supplies on hand in case of a trucker strike, a natural disaster, or just being unable to go shopping for an extended period of time. Let the kids put their math skills to work figuring out how large a supply a family the size of yours would need for 2 weeks, or 30 days, etc.

There you have 5 ideas for things your family can do in place of taking a regular vacation this summer. There is no end to other interesting activities you can find with just a little effort on your part. Become artists complete with easels in the back yard; turn into photographers recording everyday life in your neighborhood; go fishing in a local stream; visit historic buildings in your area, etc.

Vacation actually means doing something different from what you usually do, and you can do that no matter where you happen to be.