10 Best Bargain-Priced Family Vacations

2. As soon as you have your trip tentatively scheduled, inform the teacher. Ask for the work ahead of time and suggestions of how your children can share the experience with their classmates. An oral report when they return? A photo journal?

3. Buy your children journals so they can keep a daily record of what they're seeing and doing.

4. Set aside "homework time" every day so they don't fall behind.

5. Bring some goodies back to share with the class from the region you're visiting.

Get the kids involved

1. Get out a map and talk about where you want to go and what you want to do. Even the four-year-old will have an opinion.

2. Make sure everyone gets at least some of their picks on the itinerary.

3. If the kids are old enough, suggest each one plan a day's activities.

4. Surf the Web with them to find where you want to go, the best deals to get there, and what to do once you've arrived. Often, the kids are the best Web browsers in the family.

5. Consider inviting a friend for an only child or for a sole preteen or teen in the family. He or she will be much happier.