Road trips can have a tasty, Catholic flavor

By Dawn Cusimano, NolaCatholicParenting.org

So many teachable moments happen in the car. Whether it’s carpooling to school or sports practice, packing up the family for a scheduled vacation to the beach, or a less-fun “hurrication” trip out of town, we love to take advantage of the time together to grow closer to God and each other.

Some memorable moments include praying the rosary as a family, belting out praise and worship music together or listening to Bible stories at the beginning of our travels.

Of these, my favorite family prayer is the rosary. What better way is there to ask for protection on our journey than by asking for Mary’s intercession?

For my older kids, I like to spend a few minutes explaining each mystery, putting it into terms that are easy to understand and suggesting some points to ponder as we recite the prayers.

For the younger kids, I’ve been eager to try out a special “rosary trail mix” that will keep them entertained. Cheerios for the Hail Marys and marshmallows for the Our Fathers sounds like a winning recipe!

A close second to the rosary is listening to my kids sing praise and worship songs.  While listening to my kids singing pretty much anything makes me smile, when I hear their sweet little voices praising Jesus through song, I’m so happy that my heart could possibly burst.

If your church is blessed to have a parish library like ours is, I recommend downloading or checking out at least one Bible-based DVD for the kids to watch during the ride.

We recently borrowed “Joseph King of Dreams” by DreamWorks and then had a great follow-up discussion about forgiveness. CCC of America also has a great “Saints and Heroes” DVD collection.

What a fun and entertaining way to learn and grow in virtue while simultaneously passing time on the road. It’s a win-win for me.

Dawn Cusimano loves sharing her faith with her growing family. She is happily married for 12 years to David, and living in a semi-clean home, with four kids who eat lots of cereal. Baby No. 5 is due in January. In her free time … no, wait, never mind. This is her second year on a homeschooling adventure involving multiple extended international family trips with, hopefully, more to come.  Dawn enjoys swimming, reading, traveling, baking and playing games with her kids. She is a columnist for NOLACatholicParenting.org.