June 2017

 

Planning for a long road trip can be a bit daunting for some and it’s no surprise that we are tempted to call it a day and just pop in the movies.  Now let me just say I have nothing against movies on the road.  It’s actually fun to plan which movies to surprise them with here and there, especially when night time arrives and sleepiness has not set in.  However, for me, a big part of road trip fun is the memories of reading good books in the car, looking for license plates from the 50 states and telling silly jokes.  I have to admit, I actually like planning for this.  So here are 10 more activities we tried so far this summer!  I hope this inspires your road trip planning fun!

Activity #1:  Moana/Paw Patrol Invisible Ink (Magic Pen) Coloring Book
Price: $3 each (5 Below Store also available online).
Hit or Miss:  Major Hit!
Recommended Ages: 2 and up
How Long They Played:  2+ hours
Pros:  Mess free, super fun and engaging!
Cons and Considerations: None found.
I actually hesitated in getting these but I’m so glad I got these!  The coloring book comes with an invisible ink “magic” marker that magically brings out the color in each page as they color over it.  I cannot believe how much they enjoyed this activity.  Each child completely colored each and every single page!  I don’t think they’ve ever done that before.  Each child, used it several times in the trip and they enjoyed showing each other their “revealed” artwork.  This was worth the $3 for a couple of hours of fun.

 

 

 

 

 

Activity #2: Travel Connect Four
Price: $5 (Walmart)
Hit or Miss:  Hit!
Recommended Ages: 8 and up (This is the recommended age on the product box.)
How Long They Played: 20 minutes
Pros:  Great game for two.
Cons and Considerations: Pieces can easily get lost.  I suggest bringing a small plastic ziplock bag to keep these in and then put away for a future trip rather than leave out with regular toys.

I was surprised that our 7 year old and toddler were the ones that ended up playing with this.  They didn’t play for long but really enjoyed it when they did.  I’ll put this on the worth a try category.  For our upcoming trip, I found a $1 version of the game to try since most of our pieces went missing after the trip (I should have put it away and saved it for future use).  Let’s see how this cheaper version turns out, it will fit perfectly in a ziplock bag.

Activity #3: Dry Erase Activity Board
Price: $1 (Dollar Tree) for dry erase board $1 for assorted colors of dry erase markers with felt eraser
Hit or Miss:  Hit!
Recommended Ages: 2 and up
How Long They Played: 30 minutes
Pros:  Great solo activity.   A variety of boards available based on interest.
Cons and Considerations: The kids kept losing the caps to the markers.

This was a good activity that also doesn’t take up much space. The challenge was actually all the times they dropped their markers and misplaced the caps for them (working on a solution for this for our next trip).  Each child found something on the board they enjoyed and it can definitely be used for a future trip. There were several to choose from at our local

store.

 

 

Activity #4:  Magnetic train set.
Price: $3 and up for various trains.
Hit or Miss:  Hit!
Recommended Ages: 2-5 years old
How Long They Played: 10-20 minutes
Cons and Considerations: None found.
Pros:  Great solo activity.   We already play with this at home. so it wasn’t an extra expense.  The cookie tray was a great play surface for the car.

The biggest pro to this activity surprisingly was that it was a familiar toy.  Look around the house for smaller toys that they may enjoy on the trip.  I used pencil zipper pouches for various toys for our toddler and I knew that many would likely be a miss but he is our only toddler right now and is also a boy versus when traveling with our girls when they were toddlers…very different.  Even if he is engaged for a few minutes at a time, it’s worth the effort.

Activity #5:  Scratch Off Art
Price: $1 (Dollar Tree)
Hit or Miss:  Hit!
Recommended Ages: 3-11 years (Recommendation on package).
How Long They Played: 15-20 minutes
Pros:  Great solo activity.   Inexpensive.
Cons and Considerations:  I wasn’t sure if our toddler would do well with this activity but after a little help and demonstration, he was off and determined to reveal the colors beneath.  He point on the wood stick was not a problem for us but definitely an activity to oversee if you think they might get into mischief.

Activity 6: Wooly Willy
Price: $1 (Michaels Craft Store)
Hit or Miss:  Hit!
Recommended Ages: 3-11 years (Recommendation on package).
How Long They Played: 15-20 minutes
Pros:  Great solo activity, silly and fun!  It doesn’t take up much space and fits perfectly in the activity box.
Cons and Considerations: Once the wand get lost…the fun is over so try to get the kids to place the wand back in the little opening that holds it.

Wooly Willy (and its other variations) is a fun toy that features a magnetic wand that allows the kiddos to move the metal filings under the clear plastic cover to form silly hairstyles, beards, mustaches and more on the cartoon face.  Our toddler had the Wooly Willy and the girls had a more girly version (but I used the original as a child).   They love forming the silly hair-do’s and I heard lots of giggling.  This is great for the road!

 

 

 

 

Activity 7: Silly Xylophone 
Price: $1 (Michaels Craft Store)
Hit or Miss:  Hit!
Recommended Ages: 2-5 years
How Long They Played: 15-20 minutes
Pros:  Great solo activity, silly and fun!  It doesn’t take up much space and fits perfectly in the activity box….and not too loud.
Cons and Considerations: If you have a low tolerance for noise…this may not be the the best choice but it kept him busy for a while it was worth the noise.

 

Activity 8: Writing/Drawing Notebooks/Pens/Pencils/How to Draw Books
Price: $3
Hit or Miss:  Hit!
Recommended Ages: 2 and up
How Long They Played: Depending on the child anywhere from 20-60 minutes
Pros:  Great solo activity, fits nicely in activity box.  Can be used by each child in multiple ways.
Cons and Considerations: None found.

This is always a good one to add to the activity box.  I included a few “How to Draw” books which made it really fun for them.  We always have crayons, markers, pencils, pens, etc. for them to use.  Some used it for writing and others for drawing.  This is likely to get used by any child.

Activity 9: Library Books 
Price: $0
Hit or Miss:  Hit!
Recommended Ages: All Ages
How Long They Played: Depending on the child anywhere from 20 minutes – 2 hours
Pros:  Great solo activity, fits nicely in activity box.  Great variety available for every interest.
Cons and Considerations: None found…just don’t loose them.

I love to bring along library books.  Depending on where we are going, we might pick up books related to our road trip.  Since this last road trip was to Washington D.C.  The girls had plenty of books on different presidents and leaders whose monuments we would be visiting.  We also had options for books on the states we would be driving through and staying in.

Activity 10: DYI Coloring Cup and Coloring Book
Price: $1 (Michaels Craft Store)
Hit or Miss:  Hit!
Recommended Ages: 2 and up
How Long They Played: Depending on the child anywhere from 20 minutes – 1 hour
Pros:  Great solo activity, fits nicely in activity box.  Multi-Use.
Cons and Considerations: The cup is not super strong and probably not great for washing (water can easily get in) but great for holding their materials as shown in the picture below.

 

This was a great find!  They were really excited when they found it in their activity box for the roadtrip.  It brought three different papers inside for them to choose from and color, as well as a blank one for their own design.  It took them a while to do and then quickly began to use it to hold their markers for coloring in a coloring book they got from our classroom treasure box.  It was a win-win!

 

I was AMAZED at how long they were engaged in activities, talking and giggling without asking for movies.  When movie time arrived, it was a great choice for relaxing.  Everyone put all their activities away, got cozy, and relaxed until they fell asleep on the road.  I’m already planning our next road trip and will definitely be repeating some of the activities from these two posts and have found some new great ideas as well.  I would love to hear your road trip activity ideas below or email me at bernice@diapursity.com.

Happy Road Tripping!

 

 

 

With the official start of summer just a few days away, many of us are getting ready for summer vacations.  Whether planning a staycation, traveling by plane, or hitting the road, if you are traveling with kids, it’s tons of fun but also lots of work. Since we got our summer started a little early and already took our first road trip of the year, I wanted to share a few fun and cheap ideas to keep the kids busy on the road.  I’ll tell you how much they cost and whether they were a hit or miss. Since this road trip was thirteen hours of driving each way, we had plenty of car time.

I wanted to make it as much fun as possible for everyone while minimizing the screen time.  I built excitement towards our car activities leading up to the trip and allowed them to decorate their own activity boxes.  There were many activities for them to choose from so I’ll share them throughout the next few days.  I hope this sparks some easy and fun ideas you can use on the road with your kiddos too.

Activity #1:  Reading a new fun surprise subscription to a kid’s magazine!
Magazine:  National Geographic Kids

Price: $12-15 for 10 issues
Hit or Miss:  Hit!

Recommended Ages: 6 and up (This is the age recommended by the magazine, however one of mine is 5 years old and she enjoyed it just as much since she is already a reader.  They do however, also have National Geographic Little Kids, recommended ages 3-6 which is $10 for 6 issues.   I like that they get theirs at the same time and have the same amount of issues in store- something to consider if you have more than one school aged child).
How Long They Read:  An hour+
Pros:  Interesting content, learning fun, gift that keeps on giving  each month.
Cons and Considerations: None found.

This activity was a complete hit!  It was actually a surprise gift from their uncle and it arrived just in time for the trip.  They received two magazines each (not sure how that happened for their first delivery but it was perfect).  They oohed and aahed, giggled, and read to each other for about an hour.  That is a definite hit! Fun and learning all at once! If making the investment, it’s totally worth it because it is the gift that keeps on giving every month!

Activity #2:  Beading:  Making Necklaces and Bracelets
Price: $6-10 total (Michaels Craft Store/Dollar Tree)
Hit or Miss:  Hit!
Recommended Ages: 5 and up
How long they played:  An hour+
Pros:  Super engaging, potentially a longer activity, requires creativity
Cons and Considerations: Can potentially be very messy if beads start falling on floor and seats but the cookie tray worked well to keep it together.

This was also a hit!  We used a metal cookie tray as our activity “mat”.  It kept the beads from going all over the place and it had plenty of room to place the materials. I precut different colored strings and gave them each a bag of beads.  The five year old quickly organized hers in a little case she had from a previous toy (great idea!) and the older one followed her lead and found something to organize it in before we left.  They were excited to make jewelry to wear for their outings.  Since they’ve done beading before, I made sure to surprise them with some new exciting beads and fluorescent colored strings. I bought beads at the Dollar Tree as well as some interesting ones at Michaels Craft Store (using a 40% off coupon from the store app).   This activity is reusable for home and future trips.

Activity #3:  Sticky Mosaics Sticker Art Kits
Price: $1/kit (Dollar Tree)
Hit or Miss:  Hit!
Recommended Ages: 5 and up
How long they played:  30-60 minutes
Pros:  Fun, cheap, passes the time!
Cons and Considerations: None found.

This activity was fun and cheap! Yaay for mom! I got these at the Dollar Tree and the girls were excited to “bedazzle” their art.   The kids can follow the pattern suggested or give it their own flair.  This is easy and fun.  It was such a hit that I picked up two more for the road trip back home with different designs. The second time around they decorated their art and then each other’s faces.  This was fine with me!  We have cute silly pictures to remember the occasion. That was part of the fun too!

Activity #4: Puzzles
Price: $1/puzzle (Dollar Tree)
Hit or Miss:  Hhmm….Neither
Recommended Ages: 5 and up
How long they played:  30  minutes
Pros: Interesting and great to pass the time.
Cons and Considerations: If pieces fall on the floor it can be frustrating but we did well using our cookie trays.  As stated below, choose how many puzzle pieces wisely.  We’ll do better next time.

Ok…let me explain.  Puzzles are always fun for my kiddos but the girls really

wanted to try puzzles with more pieces than they usually do because it was a long road trip.  This seemed like a good idea at the time but with the many stops that are often needed with small children (and adults who drink too much coffee 😉 we found the puzzles never really got done.  This activity would have been much better had we chosen simpler puzzles.   So for our next road trip, we will definitely include puzzles but with this experience in mind.  So this activity still kept the girls busy for a while but they were not inclined to try it again during the trip and never really got to finish the puzzles.

Activity #5: Darice® Wood Masks
Price: $1.29/mask (Michaels Craft Store)
Hit or Miss:  Hit!
Recommended Ages: 2 and up
How long they played:  15-30 minutes
Pros:  Easy, fun, and cheap! What’s not to love?
Cons and Considerations: Can become a potential object a toddler can “hit” with but I’m happy to report we made it without any incident…at least on this road trip!

This was a fun, cheap find.  I bought these at Michaels Craft Store and they had a nice variety.  I let each child pick their own.  Even our two year old was excited to color these.  They used markers, crayons, and even did some stamping on these.  After coloring they role played in the back for sometime.  While some of these activities don’t take too long to complete, I wanted to have a variety of things for them that would keep it interesting.  For a $1.29 that’s not a bad activity at all.  We will definitely repeat this activity for our next road trip.

Activity #6:  Paper Dolls
Price: Gift
Hit or Miss:  Hit!
Recommended Ages: 5 and up
How long they played:  30-60 minutes
Pros: Interesting activity that kept their attention
Cons and Considerations: The book becomes very messy once they start pulling all the dolls out.  I suggest hanging a little bag in the back for them to throw out the papers as they go.

These books were a Christmas gift.  I instantly fell in love with them because it reminded me of my own childhood and how much fun I thought these were.  Due to the amount of toys they got at Christmas time, I decided to save these for future use and I’m glad I did!  This is the kind of activity that they may not be as inclined to choose at home but was perfect for the road.  They spent plenty of time pulling these apart and matching up outfits for the dolls.

Activity #7:  Circle Sticker Art Fun
Price: Free Printables and $1 Stickers (Dollar Tree/Staples/OfficeMax/Online)
Hit or Miss:  Hit!
Recommended Ages: 2-4 years
How long they played:  15-20 minutes
Pros: Great activity for reinforcing letter, color, shapes learning and motor skills.  Perfect for toddlers!
Cons and Considerations: Binder was cumbersome through great for him to have multiplies to do and choose from.

 

 

I use bingo dot daubers at home for these but dot stickers are a great option for the road.  He loved the stickers, choosing colors, and having many to choose from.  The stickers were $1 at the Dollar Tree and I had extra colors at home in my office supplies that I bought previously at OfficeMax or Staples (a bit pricier).  The printables I had were already printed online and placed in a binder for him for home use with the bingo daubers.  You can find them online for free.

 

Activity #8:  Creative Kids Water-N-Color Art Kits
Price: $1 (Dollar Tree)
Hit or Miss:  Hit!
Recommended Ages: 3 and up
How long they played:  10-15 minutes
Pros:  Fun, fast, cute, and mess free…just a bit of water in the squeeze tube.
Cons and Considerations: The tube is cheaply made and the little lid can pop open if they squeeze too hard however, a bit of directions before starting prevented this altogether.

This was also a fun find from the Dollar Tree. The water inside the squeeze tube reveals the colors on the art piece as they “color” over it.  Since painting with real paint is out of the question inside the car, this is a cool alternative.  They had fun with it and found that it returns to white when it dries so they can “paint” it all over again.  Even our little toddler enjoyed this.  Again, this is a fast activity but when you have a long road trip having choices is part of the fun.

 

Activity #9:  Word Searches
Price: $1
Hit or Miss:  Hit! (Dollar Tree)
Recommended Ages: 5 and up
How long they played:  20-30 minutes
Pros:  Fun, Builds Vocabulary, Cheap and is also a Coloring Book
Cons and Considerations:  If your child gets easily frustrated they may not enjoy word searches however, road trips have a way of making activities they would not otherwise try, more appealing.  My 5 and 7 year olds love them.  Worth the try!

 

Activity #10:  Mini “Canvas” Art
Price: $1 and up (Michaels Craft Store)
Hit or Miss:  Hit!
Recommended Ages: 3 and up
How long they played:  20-30 minutes
Pros:  Doesn’t take up much space in your activity box, fun for most ages, can use a variety of art tools
Cons and Considerations: None found.

This cute find was so worth it!  I found them at Michaels for about a dollar and the ones that came in a 2pack had 3 mini art pieces for each mini “canvas”.  The ones I bought in the past where actual mini canvases and cost more but these were small “cardboard” art pieces that were thinner and actually worked better for a road trip.  They enjoyed coloring these and later displaying them on the mini wooden easel!  The older kids used fine point markers and glitter glue in tubes while the toddler used crayons.  I was fine with trying the glitter glue because we used the cookie trays as our work area.  It worked out just fine and the art was beautiful!

As you can see, most of these activities were $1 and kept the kids busy and engaged.  It was fun for them discovering the activities since I kept most of them a secret.  Digging in to find what they could do was part of the discovery fun and of course I kept some surprises hidden for the road trip home.  More activities to come!  Stay tuned.  As always, feel free to comment below or email me at bernice@diapursity.com on which of these you’d like to try, any questions you may have, or to share some of your own ideas!  With another road trip around the corner, I would LOVE to hear yours.