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Travel Love – A Must-Have for Families Traveling to Europe

Disclaimer: I received this product from Travelove free of charge in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion. I only recommend products that I use and love myself, so I know you’ll be in good hands. 🙂 

Growing up I had the privilege to take multiple trips outside the United States. The experiences I had overseas broadened my horizons and (I hope) have made me a better global citizen. From the moment I found out I was pregnant with Goose – which occurred mere weeks after returning from a 2 week trip to France – I began to dream of sharing my love of travel with my own children.

Unfortunately the reality of parenting has made such a trip unrealistic for the past few years. Now that Nugget and Goose are both growing we have begun to plan their first visit to Europe. My husband is a bit airplane obsessed (see this post for proof!) so we are planning to return to France with the boys in 2019 for the 75th anniversary of D-Day. Of course that will just be one small part of our trip and I am eager to show the boys Paris, the Loire Valley and hopefully a bit of the Languedoc Region as well.

Eiffel Tower Paris

Knowing that this trip is in our future, I was so incredibly excited to have the opportunity to review the City Family Kit from Travelove. Guys – this thing is amazing! I hardly know where to begin because I’m so excited to share it with you all!

What is Travelove?

The City Family Kit from Travelove comes with all this and more!

Travelove was founded when an amazing woman named Katka decided to quit her job and combine her passion for her family and travel. As a native of Prague, Katka knew that she could share the very best parts of her city, far better than any outside travel writer. She used her knowledge to create the City Family Kit – an all in one kit to help entertain and educate children ages 4-7, 8-11, or teens while traveling through Europe. Currently Travelove sells kits featuring the following cities: Prague, Paris & Rome. More cities are already in the works, so if your destination isn’t currently listed keep checking back!

What Comes in the City Family Kit?

This is how the Travelove City Family Kit Arrives - So Cute!

I received a Paris City Family Kit for review and to be honest I wasn’t quite sure what I would receive. When I opened the box I was overwhelmed by the level of detail. There is literally nothing you will need that isn’t included – even a pencil sharpener!

The kit comes in this darling box, carefully tied up with ribbon. Before I even opened it I knew I’d find something good inside. Inside the box there are 2 books and a plastic backpack style bag full of goodies (more about those later!)

“My Trip to Paris”

Kids Activity Book Travelove City Family Kit

The first book is ‘My Trip to Paris’, a kids activity book. As you can see in the images below, the book is chock full of interactive activities and mini lessons. It’s designed as a companion to the smaller adult guidebook below, and the activities in the book correspond to one of the tours. All along the way there are fun facts about the sites you’re visiting and activities for the children to participate in.

“3 Days Paris with Kids”

These 2 Books are just part of what make the City Family Kit from Travelove Awesome

The second book is “3 days Paris with kids”. This is more of a traditional travel guide for adults with a special emphasis on family friendly activities and attractions. What makes these books so special is that they are each authored by a parent who lives in the city so you get a real insider experience. Honestly this guide alone is fully worth the cost! The guidebook features 3 self-guided tours through the city with lots of family friendly extras. This info alone is worth it because it recommends kid-friendly restaurants, parks and playgrounds!

The Activity Bag

The City Family Kit from Travelove is full of fun goodies to keep kids entertained and educated

Finally, there’s the bag of goodies. As I stated earlier, Katka thought of everything in this kit. Most of the contents correspond to the activities in the ‘My Trip to Paris’ book. So there is a fun pen (with multicolored inks!) for filling out the written activities, bubbles and balloons where suggested etc.

  • Reusable Drawstring Backpack Style Bag
  • Custom Paris Stickers
  • Blank Postcard to Decorate
  • Crayons
  • Colored Pencils
  • Pencil Sharpener
  • Scissors
  • Glue Stick
  • Magnet (you’ll have to read to find out what clever activity this is for!)
  • Oil Pastels
  • 2 Ballons
  • Pen with Multicolored Ink
  • Custom Landmark Stickers
  • Bubbles

If you’re like me, you probably could come up with your own educational activities to go along with your trip, but let’s be honest; planning an overseas vacation with kids is tricky enough. Why spend all your time planning activities for your trip when this kit will take care of it for you?

How Do I Get a Kit?

Just click here to visit the Travelove website where you can easily order your own City Family Kit. They’re even offering 2 free eBooks for download when you make a purchase! Whether you’ve already booked your trip or have just started planning I wouldn’t delay on ordering your City Family Kit. As soon as word gets out on how awesome these things are I expect the prices to go way up. It’s just too awesome of a bargain!

Paris Street Performer making Bubbles with Little Boy

21 Genius Ways to Get Your Child to Eat Better

Do you ever feel like there is so much pressure to make sure your kids eat healthy meals? I mean, I know how important a healthy diet is but let’s be realistic. Kale + Kids are NOT a match made in heaven. Of course your want to get your child to eat better, so what’s a busy mama to do?

Little boy eating corn on the cob, healthy eating for kids

Healthy eating is an issue that has been particularly heavy on my heart lately because Nugget was recently diagnosed with reflux. This diagnosis came after a 3 week bout of recurrent vomiting so it has not been a fun experience for any of us. Fortunately he seems to be improving with a combination of medication and diet modification. Unfortunately he can be pretty picky and his new diet has removed nearly all of his favorite foods from the menu. 🙁 Since I’ve been spending so much time researching how to help him eat these new healthier meals I thought I might share some of what I learned with you!

Toddler eating a healthy snack, picky eating solutions

  1. Be patient. Your child didn’t develop their unhealthy eating habits overnight, and the habits won’t be broken overnight.
  2. Offer the least desirable foods first. My boys love fruits and grains while vegetables and meat are a harder sell. So I being by serving their meat and veggies first, even going so far as to delay placing fruit and grains on the table. This forces them to eat the least desirable foods when they are the hungriest.
  3. Try to hide healthy foods in something your child is more likely to eat. One of our favorite swaps is to add steamed cauliflower to Annie’s Macaroni and Cheese. It’s almost impossible to detect!
  4. Get your kids involved! Invite your picky eater into the kitchen to help you cook a healthy new dish. The novelty of having cooked something yourself can make it more appealing.
  5. Don’t be a short order cook. Explain to your child that you are preparing a meal for the family and that is what’s for dinner. If you get in the habit of making a special meal for each child they will be unlikely to try anything new.
  6. Read about food. Get books from the library and learn about where food comes from and how it’s made.
  7. Respect your child’s wishes with firm boundaries. If your child chooses to be done with a meal, you can respect that but don’t let her have an unhealthy snack or desert a short time later because she’s hungry. When my boys leave the table with a full plate I often set it aside and if they come back an hour later complaining that they are hungry I offer it to them again. All too often ‘hungry’ means I want junk food more than it means actual hunger.
  8. Try a tasting tray. Use an ice cube tray and fill each compartment with a small amount of healthy snacks, then leave it out near your child while he or she is playing or coloring and let them explore the foods without pressure.
  9. Accept small victories. Your child might not eat the entire healthy dinner you prepare the very first time, but if she tries one or two new things that’s still a victory.
  10. Remember that hunger is the best seasoning. Anything tastes better when you’re hungry and kids are no different.
  11. Try to prepare a meal that includes at least one option that your child is likely to eat, one option that is new and different, and one to two options that your child may or may not enjoy.
  12. Don’t discount the value of peer pressure. If your child has a friend or cousin who eats very well invite them over. Sometimes seeing a peer eat something healthy can entice a child to try it as well.
  13. Get a special dish or spoon (maybe with a favorite character?) and make it the ‘try something spoon’ or ‘not-picky plate’ the important thing is to make it special. Then allow your child to use it when he wants to try something new. Turn the whole experience into something exciting and fun -and offer heaps of praise!
  14. Don’t give up. There will be some nights when your child just isn’t having it, stay strong and don’t revert back to the junk food habit. In the long run this will all be worth it.
  15. Try presenting food in new and fun ways. Pinterest is overflowing with creative bento boxes and more.
  16. Implement a rule that “You don’t have to like everything, but you have to try everything.” even if it’s something that your child disliked in the past remind them that our tastes change and that it’s important to try things again.
  17. Sometimes picky eating is less about the food and more about the attention they get. For some children even negative attention is still attention that they crave. Try to ignore bad eating and praise your child enthusiastically when she east well.
  18. Be realistic. If your child hates spinach serving nothing but spinach casserole isn’t really fair, but expecting him to try the spinach casserole is very reasonable. If serving a meal your child truly hates is unavoidable try to have a healthy alternative on hand.

Get Your Child to Eat Better - Little boy with lemon loves healthy eating for kids

Try these 3 Games to Make Trying New Foods Fun

19. Blindfolded your child and let him taste a food and attempt to identify it. This also builds vocabulary as they learn words to describe different flavors and textures.

20. Go to the grocery store together and let your child pick an interesting fruit or produce then research together how to prepare and eat

21. Try a taste test! Pick something healthy like broccoli or carrot sticks and then test out different dips (ranch, hummus, BBQ sauce)

Did these tips help to get your child to eat better?
Do you have any advice of your own? Share it in the comments!


52 Books About Space for Kids

Does your family love to read? It’s one of my favorite things to do, and I have worked hard to instill that same love of reading in my boys. My hubby hasn’t always shared my passion but even he is coming around lately. I firmly believe that anyone who doesn’t like to read just hasn’t found the right book, and that brings me around to today’s post; 52 Books about space for kids. This selection of fiction (and a few nonfiction!) books about outer space will entertain your child as they learn, and includes several of our favorites!

Usborne Books

Some of our favorite Space Books are from Usborne (have you checked out their books – so amazing!!) but the links below will take you to a site where you can purchase them, and help out a friend’s budding business 😉

What are your kids favorite books? Comment Below!

Do your kids love all things outer space? This list of 52 books about space for kids will keep them entertained for weeks!

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which means that I receive a small percentage of your purchase price for any of the books I link to on Amazon.com. The post also links to several books available through the Usborne Books website. I do not receive commission from these sales, however this is a direct sales company and the links in question will generate commission for a friend. If you have any question about these policies please contact me.

 

 

Nugget & Goose Take to the Skies

Tot School isn't just about sitting home doing art projects - it's about embracing learning anywhere and everywhere. Even on vacation! Trave lto educate your children!

Today’s post is a little different. Instead of the usual crafts and activities I would like to share with you how we choose to make our family vacations educational and enriching. Tot School isn’t just about sitting home doing art projects and studying flash cards. It’s about making education a priority for your children, anywhere and everywhere you go. I believe that using travel to educate your child is every bit as important as the lessons they will learn in the home or classroom.

Years ago hubby and I decided to purchase a camper trailer as a way to spend more time together as a family. When Nugget arrived I wasn’t sure if I would have what it takes to camp with a baby (although a camper with refrigerator, microwave and bathroom is hardly roughing it!). Fortunately we decided to give it a try and things actually went very well. Since then we have taken the boys camping several times a year.

I think it’s fantastic to have a week or more where we talk and play without any TV. The only time the boys get to use electronic devices is during particularly long stretches in the road. After all, Nugget isn’t even 2 – anything beyond about 4 hrs is pushing it with him.

Travel to Educate your Children - Anything can be educational, so get them out of the house and let them explore their world!

Most recently we visited Oshkosh, Wisconsin for EAA Airventure – billed as the “World’s Largest Aviation Celebration”. The boys have loved seeing every model aircraft imaginable flying above and Goose has participated in several hands-on lessons. He has learned about aerodynamics, radar, and even construction methods for early aircraft. It is so rewarding to see the lessons we learn at home reinforced in a real world way.

Even the littlest Nuggets can learn about aviation in the right environment.

Of course Nugget and Goose rarely do things halfway, so their Papa decided they would need an appropriate “stroller” for the air show. After much research he decided to construct an electric F-82 Twin Mustang for the boys to ride around in.

Guys. This thing is no joke. Seriously it ended up being too heavy to push so he had to motorize it just to get it around! So here we are toodling around as the boys perfect their air show wave. I try to explain just how lucky they are. If I think it will take a few years for that lesson to click. In the meantime they are learning plenty of lessons about the importance of family, togetherness, and of course; aviation 😉.

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