Entertaining kids in the car?

[BayouMouseketeer]

We are driving to WDW this year! We have driven in the past but this year DD will be 6 and DS will be 8 so we can't plan on driving while they sleep!

We do have a DVD player in the car which will help, but I do need other ideas.

I picked up some Color Wonder sets for each of them on clearance at Target last week.

DS loves working math problems in his head and loves maps, etc. so I thought I'd try to find something that lets him map our progress and calculate miles/hours to go. Does anyone know of such a thing?

My kids do like to play I Spy and 20 questions, as well. What has worked for your kids and what has flopped???

We have a 12 hour drive and will drive 8 hours the first day and 4 the second.

TIA for any tips/ideas!

 

[Mililani Mouser]

i'm also interested in what ideas will come up. we have a 5.5 hour flight to L.A. from Honolulu. The kids are okay for an hour, then the 'are we there yet?" starts.

 

[bellebud]

my kids are the same age... what i've done in the past (i read this here) is go to the dollar store for some gifts (harder to pick stuff there though as they get older), gift wrap them and give them out in intervals (every hour, every few hours, or every state... depending on how often they 'need' them). I also remember reading here to make up little bags (brown paper bags), each with a dollar store toy, a small healthy-ish snack, and an activity of some sort. the activity can be something you make up, like a sheet of math problems for your ds. my dd will be occupied for hours and hours just drawing. we once had a jump rope in the car, and my ds stayed occupied for hours tying it in knots. this stuff all worked wonderfully a few years ago, then about a year ago i noticed the dvd player was all we needed (and i had a few new dvd's). then we did a 5 hour trip last month, and the dvd player broke early on in the trip. they went back to drawing, etc, and were fine. we were also playing the i-spy games, etc. And i have those plastic lap desks for them which are great for drawing and eating. making up activities ahead of time is good (like the math for your ds)... and also things like a colored pencil and small notepad in a ziplock, with instructions they have to draw something they see out the window.

I remember my dh saying "you know, when i was a kid and we acted up in the car, we got a smack! now we're giving our kids gifts?!!!???"

hth!

 

[bzzymom]

We have DVD player too and use it. We had a travel yahtzee game that was fun to play, plus travel guess who. It does pass the time. I take a view master for 3 yr old DD and it is great.

 

[graygables]

From someone who just logged 4,000 miles in 4 weeks with an 11 and 8yo DDs...We stop every few hours at Cracker Barrel and let them each choose a little Dover book. That keeps them busy for a little while. We also play the alphabet game, starting at A, look for signs, trucks, license plates with the alphabet. Increases their reading speed and keeps carsick eyes focused outside for a bit. We crank up the music and have a singalong as long as DH isn't in the car.

Mine know better than to ask The Question. They do occasionally give me the "donkey pop" from Shrek 2, but only if they KNOW I'm in a good mood...

If they say they are bored, I respond with, "Good! That gives you the opportunity to be creative and think of a way of entertaining yourself." Kids today are too lazy to entertain themselves and are far too media driven, IMO. We don't have a DVD player, but my laptop is always along and they rarely watch movies. If anything, they do their homeschool work, but most of the time it's packed in its bag.

Our family joke is that we saw Europe, parts of Asia, and Africa on 6 comic books and a pack of Juicy Fruit. Anyone with a Gameboy does NOT have the right to complain...

 

[Carrie772]

All the above ideas and suggestions are great. My only tip is to teach the kids to do one activity at a time. If they watch a movie, eat a snack, and play with a toy all at once, then it's over and gone. I want them to learn to spread out the fun stuff so it lasts the whole trip.

Also, I make it a point to eat in the car, while we are moving forward. Eating at McD is fun but you're just sitting there, when you could be getting closer to WDW!!!

 

[amyhughes]

We found that Leap Pads worked well, Books, colorforms. Of course my kids are younger but they like to play with puppets (it also helps that Mommy likes the Muppets) so they got those out and talked back and forth with those.

One of the ideas I saw on the internet and am dying to try was this:

The 2 hour bag:

When driving long distances with your kids especially younger ones, they need new stimuli every now and then to keep them from getting really bored. Once every two hours I handed them a premade bag. It's contents were anyone's guess! Inside they would find color crayons, small chapter books, brain puzzles, sudoku, and a snack and juice box for each. This way, it kept them looking forward to that next 2 hour mark versus whining about ARE WE THERE YET?!?!?!?


I want to try this next time with ours! We also got our boys car seat trays that strap around the back of the car seats, and clip together. They are made of strong foam, and covered in a heavy windbreaker like material. They also have pockets on the sides to store crayons, books etc. They work great for when we stop for a bite to eat on the way down and want to keep going. I got them on eBay for $15 a piece. Granted yours aren't in car seats, but they vcould lose the strap and at least have something to color on, eat on etc.!

Best of luck!

 

[margiemc]

We always drive from Philadelpha to WDW. The DVD player is a must, but we did limit the amount of time my DD would spend watching. When we went in February, I had bought some used movies from Blockbuster that my DD hadn't seen yet. That definitely kept her attention. She also brought a discman so that we weren't subjected to all her music. Colored pencils are must (crayons melt) and so is just a plain drawing or sketch pad. A lot of time was spent drawing her favorite rides and characters at WDW! We made sure we got a lap desk that has side pockets and a cup or bottle holder. We stopped at every rest stop for bathroom breaks and to walk around for a few minutes. She usually grabbed brochures and maps from the welcome centers and would get a snack from the vending machine (which is always a big treat for some reason). She also had homework to work on and a nintendo DS. We rarely hear "are we there yet". It's more like "Did you see any of the purple signs yet"? Enjoy your trip!

 

[MNFootballMommy]

If DS likes maps, here is a fun activity that we used to do at the school where I used to teach. WARNING: It will take you some time to set it up! Get an atlas and make up some index cards or a sheet of paper with some places for him to figure out. For example, on page 11 what can be found at G-6? Or, depending on his skill level, throw in some latitude and longitude stuff as well. Like I said, you will have to invest some time to set it up, but it will be worth it!

 

[DisMomOf1]

Good suggestions. We have also had travel bingo where you have to find certain items on a list.

Also, spell your name with letters on license plates.

 

[hebbynan]

We're leaving 2 weeks from this Saturday from York County, PA. We're leaving at 3am, so hopefully DS 3 & 7 will sleep a good 4-5 hours on the road. After that, every new state we enter, they'll get a canvas tote bag w/ that state's name on it. In there is a new movie, a book, something constructive (color wonders, etc), a snack and anything else that seems fun that I have to pick up. That way every 4 or so hours, they'll get a new bag with a new set of things to do. One thing that will help us, DS's will be split up!! DS3 will be with me, my hubby, and my parents in our truck. While DS7 will be in the in-laws truck. That should help us immensly!--none of that "he's looking at me", "he touched me", "he's snoring"..yadda yadda! This is our first time driving (and may be our last if I loose my mind! )

 

[sticker231]

We are also probably driving in October. We are starting to buy a dvd here and there so they have something new to watch on the drive. We will also take down pencils and paper to occupy them. Any extra tips would be greatly appreciated

 

[solgent]

I drove from VT to CA and back with my 3 DDs this summer. I recommend audio books. On the way west we listened to Bill Bryson's Short History of Nearly Everything and on the way east we listened to Harry Potter #7 twice. I have bought from audible.com (you download & then can burn CDs), which I like because you can listen to a sample.

 

[Fintastic]

We're driving too - it's a 12 hour trip for us. Our video iPod has been a lifesaver for long car rides. DD can watch movies or listen to music on her teddy bear headphones and DH and I can listen to the Sirius talk channels.

For long rides, I suggest new toys. They don't have to be expensive. But new toys can keep kids entertained for hours. I bought a Disney princess figurine pack that I'll give DD the morning we leave, and that should amuse her for a lot of the ride.

I also got this from Amazon, but we haven't tested it yet so I can't say how she liked it. I bought it for a flight we took this summer but it ended up being bigger than I wanted to lug on the plane. (Not heavy, just wide.) So I put it away to save it for our Disney road trip.

 

[BMNABrinx]

We drive too and it is about 14 hours. My girls are older (17 & 10 now) but they enjoy getting the surprise bags. Every now and then on our trip we would give them a back with a little surprise in it, a book, a new coloring book, color pencils, small games, etc. They look forward to it, even the 17 year old!

One of the best things we have ever done was to get each of them a metal cookie sheet. The cookie sheet can be used as a lap desk for coloring, drawing, etc. They can also use it as a table to eat from since we also don't stop to eat at every meal. One of the best things it is used for is magnets. They have magnetic Disney Dolls in many stores (just saw them a day ago in the Michael's dollar bin). Magnetic numbers or letters are fun as are magnetic shapes. On the back of our cookie sheets we painted a checker board & a tic-tac-toe board then painted round magnets to use as the pieces. It was a great way to pass time.

We also take Disney trivia cards, play "road" games, watch movies and listen to music.

Our next trip in May 2008 will be kinda sad though because my oldest won't be going with us. She is branching out on her own and going with friends. I won't be too far away though because we are going at the same time. Something tells me I'd better make some extra "surprise bags"!

 

[mickeylove2]

I'm no pro, but this is what we are doing for our trip in less than 1 month
First of all, we will be leaving at midnight, so both my kiddos will be sleeping, (we have about 14 hours to drive.) I went out and bought stuff to pack in a back pack for them to keep occupied with...I got the back packs with the luggage sets that I bought them from Disney Shopping.
From the Dollar Tree (everything's $1): Disney Villans coloring books, Disney activity books-Cinderella is reading comp., Aurora is spelling etc..about 6 diff. 4 pack of Ariel crayons (8 colors in each pack) LOTS of Disney stickers and temp tattoos!
Walmart- Princess comp books $3 (like the black and white marble) pens- Peter Pan, Mickey, Minnie- these have the top that lights up when you write and they have feathery stuff surrounding the character, fat pens witht he character inside with glitter and water, when you turn it upside down everything flows to one end- got Tink, Cinderella and Ariel, all the pens were $1 each. bubbles to blow when we get out for stretching and maybe to blow out the window if we get restless 1 new DVD each that they haven't seen and will get to watch during the ride (haven't gotten them yet) Princess fruit snacks and other snacks in containers that I got at the Disney Store (1 set is Minnie, 1 set is Princesses, and 1 set is Tink each set has 3 containers and they were 3 sets for $10)
There's other stuff that I got but I can't remember now!! My plan is to have their back packs put away until we stop for breakfast in the morning and tell them that Tink delivered them while they slept! This is also when we tell them where we're going My girls are late sleepers, so I'm hoping that they sleep in till at least 9 or so, my plan is to drive more than half way while they are sleeping and then once they wake up they will have 2 movies to watch- each about 2 hours or so, and can work in their workbooks and coloring books and do that kind of thing while they are watching their movies and we won't have the "are we there yet?" going on. If all works out: we leave at midnight, girls sleep til 9am, we stop to eat, back on the road at 10am, watch a movie, stop for lunch 1pm or so, back on the road at 2pm, watch a movie- arrive at Uncle's at 6pm or so for dinner.