After an entire year with little-to-no travel, if you’re like many Americans, you’re planning to go on a vacation this summer. Whether you’re taking a short road trip or a long getaway, creating a travel itinerary will help you and your family stay organized and get the most from your trip.
Two important factors will determine where and when you can travel: time and money. If you have a certain number of vacation days or a smaller budget, you’ll want to plan your trip accordingly. (The good news is that there are plenty of places for budgets of all sizes.)
2. Select your vacation spot.
Choose a place with the types of activities that you enjoy. Some people like to sightsee. Others prefer to relax on the beach.And some like to stay active, such as hiking and biking. The activities you want to do will help determine where you should go. Your vacation spot is the starting place for your travel itinerary.
3. Book your flights, transportation, and lodging.
Once you have chosen your destination, it’s time to make travel arrangements. Before booking you’ll need to make a few decisions. Will you be driving or flying? And are you staying in a hotel or renting out a location like Airbnb?
To stay organized during this step, record all of your information in one place on your computer or other device. (Microsoft Office offers free itinerary templates and so do Adobe and Google docs.) Include flight numbers, Airbnb or hotel addresses, rental vehicle information, and other confirmation numbers so you won’t have to search for them later.
This is when it gets fun! Check out the location’s history, food, family activities, and nightlife. Search for unique experiences at your destination. Involve every member of the family who is traveling with you to get their ideas. When you have your list compiled, rank your “must visit” spots and “must-do” activities.
Need help finding activities in your destination? Good sources of information include the local tourism office and online travel reviews on sites such as TripAdvisor, Expedia, Foursquare, Yelp, and Google.
5. Map it out.
Start with a map of your destination—either paper or online. Mark the location for each of your activities. Mark the place where you’re staying. Then, divide the map into sections. This will give you a guideline for grouping activities and help you time out your days.
6. Build the Itinerary.
Work in the same template where you recorded your flight and lodging information (in step 3). List each day that you’ll be traveling. Start with the first section of the map and assign activities to the first day. Determine how much time you will spend at each spot.Don’t forget to consider hours open, downtime between each activity, meals, and rest time. Continue through the trip timeline, and be realistic. If you’re traveling with a toddler or your pet, for example, you’ll need to be flexible.
7. Book your tickets and excursions.
Once you know where you’re going and when you can book your tickets. Keep copies of confirmations in your itinerary for easy access. Booking ahead will often save time but if you’re unsure that you’ll get to a certain activity that day, you can always make the purchase onsite.
8. Remember that less is more.
Your vacation should be relaxing, not stressful. Leave several hours free each day for interesting sidetracks or unexpected opportunities. You may find recommendations from a local that could be the highlight of your trip.
9. Plan for the unexpected.
Maybe it will rain, or you’ll miss your connecting flight. You might not have Internet access in the place you’re traveling. If any of these things happen, don’t get down and frustrated. Think ahead and have a “Plan B” in place when you are creating your itinerary. An alternate inside activity could help in inclement weather, know the steps to take if you miss a flight so you can board the next one, carry a book in case you don’t have Wi-Fi, etc. Remember this is your vacation and your attitude could affect your entire trip and those traveling with you. If something unexpected happens, go with the flow and don’t let it ruin your fun.
10. Travel safely.
Take the precautions you need to make it a safe trip. Make copies of your important documents from passport to driver’s license. Share your itinerary with a trusted family member or friend. If you’re traveling abroad, register with the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program. This will allow you to receive important information from the U.S. Embassy about the country you’re visiting.
11. Lastly, consider adding travel insurance.
Travel insurance provides a safety net in case your trip is canceled. Check to see if you need specific coverage. For example, you will want a tourist auto policy if you’re driving to Mexico and a recreational vehicle policy if you’re traveling in an RV.
A Little Help from an App
There are several websites and apps that are specially designed to create travel itineraries. These tools can be timesavers and many have free versions that you can use, including:
Tripit.com
Tripcase.com
TripHobo.com
Roadtripers.com
It’s exciting to plan a vacation, but it can also be overwhelming. Take a step back and consider why you are traveling. Then focus on the things that are important to you, such as spending time with loved ones. The rest will fall into place.
Remember life is all about the journey, not the destination. Safe travels.
This article is furnished by California Casualty, providing auto and home insurance to teachers, law enforcement officers, firefighters, and nurses. Get a quote at 1.800.800.9410 or www.calcas.com.
NEA Member Benefits recently added siblings to the list of family members eligible to access the NEA Auto and Home Insurance Program provided by California Casualty. Referred to as an NEA Member’s “Extended Family,” parents, in-laws, adult children, and now siblings can take advantage of the special rates, deep discounts, and personalized service available through the NEA Auto and Home Insurance Program.
California Casualty offers policyholders special benefits, such as:
Rates good for a full year, not six months like many insurers offer
Auto insurance that covers $500 for non-electronic items taken from your vehicle
$0 deductible for accidents in a rental car
Broad policy protection for anyone they allow to drive your vehicle
Free ID defense
Free pet injury coverage up to $1,000
Holiday or summer skip payment options
Exceptional towing and roadside assistance availability
Plus, as an NEA Member, you have more exclusive benefits, including:
Waived/reduced deductible for collision or vandalism while parked on school property
Educators excess liability coverage for protection in the classroom
Fundraising coverage with $0 deductible for goods/funds valued up to $500 while under your care at school
And more!
Tell your family (and colleagues) about the NEA Auto and Home Insurance Program. Members who switch see an average of $423 in savings.
This article is furnished by California Casualty, providing auto and home insurance to teachers, law enforcement officers, firefighters, and nurses. Get a quote at 1.800.800.9410 or www.calcas.com.
We have amazing employees at California Casualty. The NewEmployee Spotlight is a series aiming to highlight the talented individuals that are brand new to our team. Please help us give them a warm welcome!
Today we’re spotlighting New Customer Service Specialist, Joeseph Burruel
Let’s get to know Joseph!
What California Casualty office do you work in?
Arizona
What is one interesting fact you want us to know about you?
I’m a proud father of 4 children
If you could eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Nachos
What do you like to do on the weekends?
Sports
Make music
Video games
What made you want to start your new career with California Casualty?
I was interested in establishing a career and had learned this company has been around for more than 100 years. Also had amazing employee reviews so I thought it was a win-win.
If you want to learn more about Joseph or are interested in a career at California Casualty, connect with him on LinkedIn! Or visit our careers page at https://www.calcas.com/careers
Get your kids up and moving this summer with some fun summer-themed brain breaks!
Theseonline games are all free and great activities to do with your students during those last few days of school OR for parents to help get their child’s wiggles out when they are at home this summer. Check them out below.
This Energizer Game is a Summer-themed Would You Rather? from UJU Videos. Kids will have 10 seconds to choose between 2 Summer activities, then 20 seconds to do the matching activity. Get ready for fun! Click here to play.
Your kids will have to find out who is the imposter! Have them move to complete the levels and find out who is the imposter. Get started by clicking here.
FORTNITE! Kids LOVE these fun dances! There are at least 10-15 dance choices on this video! You choose between 2 different popular dances and get your groove on for 30 seconds! You then get a 10-second rest. Keep moving, all the way to the last round, as it has 8 choices on one – click here.
It’s time for some fun in the sun so grab your shades and get ready! Have your kids follow the moves on-screen of which summer activity they would rather choose. Click here to get started.
Have kids try and guess who will be the fastest Super Smash character in each round by performing a fun activity! Click here to get started.
6. Water Balloon Battle
Have your kids get ready to battle Roblox style with this epic Water Balloon Battle Fitness Activity! Dodge, jump, and duck under the water balloons and throw them at the Roblox characters to win! Click here to play!
Your kids will head out on an epic summer adventure! (Nothing screams summer more than backyard BBQ’s and days at the beach) Level 1 – Race through town and grab all the ingredients for your backyard BBQ Level 2 – It’s a burger battle showdown. Find the grills and try to flip as many burgers as possible. Level 3 – Head to the beach! Watch out for all the sand. Bonus Round – Get your beach volleyball on. Click here to get started.
Kids will duck, dodge, and avoid sea creatures in this exciting journey through the ocean! When they get to land what will they see? Click here to find out.
It’s time for kids to grab their lightsabers and train along with a Star Wars workout! Let Rey help them complete their Jedi training with this tough Jedi Workout. Click here to begin.
Kids will help SongeBob look around Bikini Bottom to find Gary. Find Gary and earn a point. Most points win (or for 1 player, try and reach a goal of 8 points!) Click here to play.
If you are looking for something else to do for your kids to do this summer, here are some other great summer-themed activities for kids on YouTube to check out. They may not get kids up and moving, but they are every bit just as fun!
This article is furnished by California Casualty. We specialize in providing auto and home insurance to educators, law enforcement officers, firefighters, and nurses. Get a quote at 1.866.704.8614 or www.calcas.com.
Let me say it louder so you can hear me… 2 million words! This is huge for the young developing mind, but having two or more months off from school makes this very difficult to maintain during summer break.
What can you do as an educator or parent to help close this reading gap?! The answer is simple… give them a ton of opportunities to pick up and book and make it FUN!
Make Reading Fun!
Whether you grab a flashlight, a stuffed animal (my students call them “stuffies”), or build a fort, you can engage in fun ways to get your child reading each and every day!
Reading should be something a child is interested in doing, not forced. You want to give them the opportunity to build a love for reading. During the school year, students are often made to read on a specific topic. Summer is a great opportunity to read topics that they are interested in, so they can discover a love for reading. To do that, you’ll need to find out what topics those are. Have them “taste” or try a wide range of different genres of books.
To help you out, I’ve created this Summer Reading BINGO that you can introduce to your students/children this summer! The challenge is for them to either complete as many boxes as possible or complete a BINGO (Vertical, Horizontal, Diagonal, postage stamp, or four corners).
(click to download!)
I encourage my students to complete their Summer BINGO over their summer break and then give them an opportunity to turn it in the first week of school to SPIN THE WHEEL!
What’s the wheel!? Well, I live to make everything a game so I use my Prize Wheel to show what prizes they could win if they complete the BINGO sheet over the summer!
I use small prizes such as glitter slime, fidgets, lunch with the teacher, pencils, stickers, bubbles, stress balls, V.I.P. chair, chalk, and erasers. The pure joy of watching a student spin the wheel is worth it alone! If you would like to check these favorite classroom items out, check out my page of favorites here.
Engagement is KEY!
This prize wheel is from Amazon and I use it for so many different reasons. The middle section is a simple circle so I design different labels for each wheel spinning occasion. I created a Summer Fun prize wheel FREEBIE here, simply print and tape onto your wheel.
Don’t have a prize wheel yet? Check out my favorite two here.
Parents, you could also easily do this at home as well. If you don’t want to purchase a wheel, just put a list of prizes in a random generator like this one!
There are also other ways to excite your students with a summer full of reading…
Free books
Extra recess
Eat outside with a blanket
Ice cream or specials treat
Just the pure enjoyment of the BINGO! (you don’t always have to have a prize)
I kick the Summer Reading BINGO off by giving each student a printed copy of the BINGO board, a Summer bookmark (BONUS FREEBIE), and a summer-themed chapter book they can keep!
For books, I use Scholastic Book Clubs to buy the $1.00 books each year. This is a cheaper way to give your students a book on their reading level. If you have not signed up for Scholastic Books Club yet, use this code (00091 – Casey Keyser – 2473029383) to earn an Extra 250 Bonus Points to redeem for FREE books!
I have also gone through my own classroom library books and weeded out ones that I can give away. This allows my students to pick their own book to take home.
Preparing our Students for Summer at Home
My class then discusses ways to be able to access FREE books from the local library and school and how to read books online for FREE.
Here are some of my favorite online book websites!
Epic Books! – Unlimited access to hundreds of high-quality kids read-along books.
Capstone Reading – The perfect Capstone Interactive eBook is waiting for you! Choose from different subjects, genres, and levels to find just the right book.
Vooks – Vooks is a streaming service for kids, where storybooks come to life!
Noggin – Noggin’s ever-expanding library of downloadable eBooks feature your kids’ favorite Nickelodeon stars.
Time to get started; we cross off the first box together! This way all of my students get to start with one box already crossed off — it’s like a FREE space! You can pick any that work for your classroom but I do “Read on the Dark with a Flashlight.”
I have a class set of mini flashlights from Amazon and I have the students crawl under their desks and read in the dark with their flashlights for 20 minutes. It’s such a fun and peaceful way to get them excited about reading!
Summer Favorites
I love so many different books, but here are four of my favorite summer reads. I love to select and focus on books that are thought-provoking and entertaining. “Be You!” By: Peter H. Reynoldsis a book about being all the things you were born to be. “Do Unto Otters”: A Book About Manners By: Laurie Kelleris a book to remind students about manners and how to be a good friend and a good neighbor. “The Legend of Rock, Paper, Scissors” By: Drew Daywalt is a witty fun adventure about the classic game Rock, Paper, Scissors. I always challenge my students in a battle of this game and it’s a great time to review the rules of playing fair. Lastly, I love the book, “Unicorn Thinks He’s Pretty Great” By: Bob Shea. This book is about a goat who thinks he wants to be a unicorn. Join him on his adventure to discover himself and why he is great himself.
Helping your students or children find a love of reading is so very important, for more blog posts on Summer fun, head over to Fair Winds Teaching.
Thanks for reading!
– Casey Keyser
Other Favorite Summer Products
Summer Minute to Win It challenge – Grab a one-minute timer and have some fun. Includes the directions and materials needed to play 13 different Summer/ End of School themed Minute to Win it games! Living those summer vibes! Use this digitally, at summer school, during the summer with your own kids, or at school at the beginning of the year! Check out my YouTube channel here for 3 free games now!
Casey Keyser is a third-grade teacher at Butterfly Ridge Elementary in Frederick County, Maryland. She was recently recognized as the national winner of the NEA Foundation’s 2021 Teaching in Excellence Award. Casey is the proud owner of the Education Resource Blog, Fair Winds Teaching, and loves to connect with her education community through her TeacherPayTeacher’s business.
