- Part 2

Taking Teens Out of School for Family Travel — The Recovery Continues

Apr 092012

The question about whether to take kids out of school so they can travel always evokes a firestorm of discussion in the family travel blogsphere. Parents of younger children often feel the kids learn more while traveling than they do in the classroom. For some parents, family travel is such a high priority that they embrace homeschooling or even unschooling so the family can travel year-round. Still others plan a year off to travel the world and figure their kids can pick up where they left off when they get back. Alternatively, for many of us more traditional traveling families with teens and tweens, family travel options often get squeezed by the demands of school, sports, sleep away camps and the pull of teenage friends at home. Our family has a standing rule [...]

Visit The Hunger Games Movie Filming Locations in North Carolina

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Mar 202012

Visit The Hunger Games Movie Filming Locations in North Carolina

Our high school freshman and her friends are counting the hours until the release of The Hunger Games movie on Friday, March 23rd. The Princess spent most of her Winter school vacation week reading the trilogy from cover to cover, and we have spent hours discussing the plot and characters. For those who still don’t know much about the series, it tells the tale of a post-apocalyptic North America where an oppressive government forces teens and tweens to battle one another to the death in a nationally broadcast ritual known as the Hunger Games. What we only learned recently is that The Hunger Games movie filmed many of its outdoor scenes on location in western North Carolina. If you are going to be visiting the area this spring or summer you can [...]

We’re Going to Nationals!! For a Price!

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Mar 182012

In a case of be careful what you wish for, we were thrilled last weekend when the Princess and her U14 ice hockey team qualified to compete in the USA Hockey Tier II Girl’s National Championship Tournament being held in Dallas at the end of March 2012. The team has worked hard all season and the 15 girls and their parents are so excited and looking forward to some top National level competition in the Lone Star State. So, while the good news is that we are going to Nationals, the bad news is that we are going to Nationals on 2 weeks notice. Mary T knew this team had a chance to qualify and had blocked off her work calendar months ago just in case. Beyond that however, everything [...]

The Best Recent Family Travel with Teens and Tweens Articles on the Web

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Mar 152012

The Best Recent Family Travel with Teens and Tweens Articles on the Web

This is another in our semi-regular series of round-ups featuring recent articles by some of our favorite family travel writers who are exploring the world with teens and tweens in tow. This time around we learned about some great museums sure to hold the attention of this crowd. We also had the opportunity to read about some truly awesome once in a lifetime adventures and ponder jealously how we could line up one of those gigs. Finally, we read with admiration about the doings of those traveling families who have taken the homeschool or unschooling route in order to show their teens and tweens the world. We hope you enjoy these articles as well. Great Museums for Teens and Tweens Sandra Foyt of Albany Kid shared her experiences of visiting [...]

Know the Special US Passport Application Rules that Apply to Kids,Teens and Tweens

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Mar 082012

Know the Special US Passport Application Rules that Apply to Kids,Teens and Tweens

March 10th is Passport Day in the USA. All US Passport offices and many other passport acceptance facilities will be open for you and your teens and tweens to apply for a passport without an appointment. You will be able to apply for standard processing (4-6 weeks) or pay an additional $60 for expedited processing (2-3 weeks, door-to-door). If you’ve been putting off getting your teen or tween a passport – or renewing the one they have - this is a great opportunity. The State Department recommends renewing a passport 9 months prior to expiration. Since minors under the age of 15 have to renew passports every 5 years, the deadline can sneak up on parents who don’t realize that the shelf life of a child’s passport is half that of an adult. [...]

When Should Teens Pay for Their Own Travel?

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Feb 202012

When Should Teens Pay for Their Own Travel?

As teens get older and start to travel on their own the question arises as to when should mom and dad foot the bill and when should the teen pay for himself? We’ve been asking this question as the older teen’s spring and summer travel plans are adding up. Specifically we are talking about: A week in Italy on a school sponsored trip A week in Florida on a church sponsored service trip Revisit travel to anywhere from 2 to 5 colleges for accepted student days A family trip to the beach in July A trip to Disney with classmates to celebrate the end of High School And thats just what we know about at the moment….. Clearly family trips are on mom and dad, we’re lucky he still wants to join [...]

Yellowstone: Top Five Reasons Why Families with Teens Must Visit ASAP

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Jan 242012

Yellowstone: Top Five Reasons Why Families with Teens Must Visit ASAP

We recently asked the teens to think back on all our family trips and choose the one they would most like to revisit. Without blinking they said it would have to be Yellowstone National Park. Yes, Yellowstone beat out Disney, Hawaii, South Dakota, the Jersey Shore, San Diego, Bermuda, a cruise, the Bahamas and many other destinations. Why? Because it truly is a one of a kind experience that can’t be had anywhere else. If you haven’t been there yet, make sure you take your teens and tweens to Yellowstone before they go off to college. Yellowstone is the stuff that lifetime family memories are made of. Established as the country’s first National Park in 1872, Yellowstone is located in the northwestern corner of Wyoming with small tracts of adjoining land in [...]

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