We love to be sneaky — well, when it comes to sneaking “schoolwork” into life events without the children’s knowing about it. When I (Sonya) was looking through a bookshelf the other day, I came upon one of those sneaky projects: a trip journal. My thirteen-year-old daughter and I had fun laughing over her seven-year-old narrations, looking at the photos, and reliving the memories of that family vacation.

Now, lest this journal should sound intimidating, let me hasten to explain that it is a three-prong pocket folder that took about five minutes to create. You can easily make one for each child to take on your next family trip. We’ve added simple instructions under the Narration Ideas section. You can even download the main pages of the journal for free.

So go ahead and make a trip journal. It can include geography, narration, nature study, and even math. But don’t let your children know it counts for schoolwork!