I think it’s great when kids can pack for themselves– and enjoy it!
My kids have used this new packing list and provided feedback… which we incorporated back in. And they REALLY liked it. (downloadable pdf here)
It was also incredibly effective, which was a win for us all.
It reduced our time spent on packing prep (and packing) tremendously because they no longer had to write out their whole list which used to take so much time/energy that they’d often run out of gas before the actual “packing part” even happened…which was frustrating for all. Ugh. Using this, they were able to start and basically finish packing in one go, which was AWESOME.
Filling in the info at the top around travel length and weather was also a hit.
Our discussions about those topics were fun, educational, and got them thinking more realistically about their trip, which was exciting for them. They clued in on things like the number of travel days impacts how much stuff they need to bring, which made them ask questions like: “Should I bring underwear for each day? Or will we have access to a washing machine? (great thought!) . They really enjoyed discussing the weather and what that meant for their packing too.
They also just innately started to draw hair, a face, and clothes on the outline of the kid on the page too, which is exactly what I was hoping/assuming they’d do. And they liked that forward-thinking aspect of being prepared for what they’d wear on the day they traveled, rather than having to think of it the night before or the day of. They could proactively find and save out the clothes they’d wear– so that removes friction around the “out the door” process also! Woohoo!
Hopefully this packing list will help your kiddo(s) too. Feel free to leave feedback if you see room for improvements! I may make a version with pictures too as I think that would help some 3/4/5 year olds a bit more. My kindergartener could muddle through, but images of short sleeves, long sleeves, etc could have helped. Stay tuned for a younger-version!
Enjoy! Hope this helps reduce packing time and friction… and helps your kids learn and enjoy the process more!
PS. You may want to take a picture of your child’s paper when it’s done to add to your family photo album of the trip. It can serve as a hilariously sweet reminder of their current writing, spelling, and drawing skills 🙂
One Comment
Stu
Very neat, will give this a try!