In the car activities for kids

[Teresa Pitman]

We'll be driving to WDW in late September. The plan is that my daughter-in-law will fly down with the baby (who will be four months old then) and the two year old. I'll be driving from Ontario with my son and the three older kids: 10 year old boy, seven year old girl, and five year old boy.

What I'd like to do over the summer is pick up some toys and activities for the kids to do in the car on the way down and back - with a tight budget in mind.

We have done this trip before so I do have some ideas, but I'd love to have more! The seven year old girl does love to read but tends to get car sick if she reads in the car, unfortunately.

Any suggestions?

TP

 

[bjscheel]

A lot of license plates have a set of 3 letters. We try to make a phrase starting with those letters, i.e. RHF = Rachel Has Frogs.

We had several hours in the car earlier this month, and based on a Disser suggestion, I bought Rubberneckers on Amazon. We did have some fun with it...with our own rules. Basically they are cards with things to find, like a station wagon (those are getting rare!) and points for finding them. We abstained from the cards where you try to interact with other people on the road (get someone to give you the thumbs up back). Really since you have some time you could come up with your own cards of things to find.

Another thing my kids have done is tally up the different colors of semis they see. Then compare numbers and see what is most common. Or just try to find one semi of every color of the rainbow.

Then there is "I'm thinking of a Disney character who..." and everyone guesses.

Crayola Model Magic can be fun for a long time for some kids. You can form it like play dough but it is really clean- no crumbs or smears. Mixing two colors to make a new color can use up a lot of time. Creations can be left to dry and keep, or just toss them.

My girls have had some relief from carsickness with Motion-Eaze. You can get it at Walmart. It is a scented liquid that you put behind the ears. It smells like a mixture of pine and peppermint to me, and my girls don't enjoy the smell, but it doesn't smell strongly for very long.

 

[zoemariesmamma]

We do color wonder stuff (I always get it on clearance and put it up for car trips), coloring pages with colored pencils (no crayons allowed in the car), we also got one of those old metal serving trays with "legs" (think breakfast in bed) and spray painted it. There are lots of games you can find online and use with magnets. I am lucky because my daughter can read for hours in the car. I feel your pain though because I can't even quickly look at a map without getting sick.

We also got a 20 questions Disney edition that we had fun with on our last trip.

 

[katytrott]

Something similar to an earlier post, we play "what's my WDW ride?". Actually it can be anything, not just a ride eg show, restaurant, object (like Brickly, the lego dragon). We also inculde Universal as well. It can get quite obscure - we've had the Parrots outside Rainforest Cafe, MK car park, the TOT moving sign on the road!

 

[Teresa Pitman]

Thanks for the great ideas! If you think of any more, please pass them along!

Teresa

 

[java]

We leave in a week and 2 days For the long drive with 4 kids- 2 are teens so they will be good with ipods ect.

For the younger 2 I bought a bunch of cheapo movies. I also am going to rent books on tape from the library- that's kind of a fun treat for them. I have to just find the right title for all of us.

Don't laugh at this one- but bubble wrap is entertaining at about 6 hours in! I told this to a friend and she said it was her savior. Cheap and easy- I made a popping game- who could pop an entire row first.

DK makes great HUGE sticker books Lego Minifigures is the one that kept my boys entertained from NJ to MD last trip. in fact I have to buy 2 more of those for this trip.

Crayola has a bunch of travel friendly stuff- the color wonder is good, I just bought a travel kit from Target by Crayola on sale- it has a bunch of maze games- coloring pages- pencils.

Oh a fancy set of art pencils for the older ones with a sketch pad is fun.

There also is a website someplace that has a bunch of free printables- like Disney word searches, Disney connect the dots-
here are a bunch for Brave
http://cleverlychanging.com/2012/06/free-disneys-brave-printable-activity-sheets/

I really have to get focused on this. We need to stock up on our activities.

Someone mentioned that they play Family Feud in the car- the dad basically makes up the answers -

 

[sukhakuli]

My oldest gets car sick, so I give her anti-nausea meds (with physician approval). They help, but we limit her reading and coloring in the car anyway.

We have a DVD system, and that keeps them busy. I wish I'd had one when I was a kid! The 5 hour car trips to visit family seemed like they took forever.

the kids also have their nintendo DS, and that keeps them busy for a while, too.

I always get new toys for them, and new coloring books. We play the ABC game, and license plates. And of course chat. But if it is a really long trip, like more than 10 hours, the DVD player and nintendos are a must have. We do a lot of car trips, several a year, so the kids are really used to being in the car, and they really do great. This summer we're driving 30 hours (each way) up to Glacier and Yellowstone, and I really couldn't drag them along on a trip like that without movies and a Nintendo, and in addition, being flexible. One thing isn't going to keep them happy in the car for a long time, but a lot of varied activities will.

Oh, and you know, snacks really help, too. I make or buy all sorts of yummy treats they can't have every day, and they will be quiet and happily munching and looking at the scenery for a long time.

 

[Pixiedust34]

Books on CD are fantastic for long car rides! You can rent those from the library.

When our kids were young, a package of pipe cleaners went a long way in the form of cheap entertainment. They made all kinds of things with those pipe cleaners!

I bought a Car Bingo game somewhere and that is fun to play.

One trick I learned is to have a "bag of tricks" and not give them access to everything all at once. They might get Silly Putty for a while, and then when they get tired of that they will get a sticker book or whatever. Crayons melt in cars, so I've always stayed away from crayons if we do a summer trip.

It's OK for kids to not be entertained every single minute, too. A long car ride will be boring at times, and a little boredom is good for sparking some imaginative play and conversations.

I keep lollipops and gum on hand, and it does wonders to stop every couple of hours just to stretch and get some fresh air. Have them burn some energy at rest stops.

 

[StephMK]

I try to find little things to stop & see every 3-4 hours if it's a really long road trips. It breaks up the trip & gives them something to look forward to along the way. Sometimes it will be a quick place to visit or at X time, we'll stop for ice cream.

We do 2 day drives each way every summer and somewhere along the way, I will stop at a gas station & let them pick out whatever snack they want. We usually pack lots of stuff but this way, they can get anything they want. Since we don't usually do that, it's a big treat & perks everyone up.

Mine are getting too old but we will also find places w/playgrounds. They play while I eat, then I order theirs on the way out & they eat in the car as I drive.

The kids love playing w/lego figures in the car & their DS keep them busy a long time. THey love taking pics and creating goofy distortions. We will go to Gamestop before we go & pick out new to them games.

 

[Poohbug]

I check out the rummage sales and pick up bags of toys for a $1. They are just little toys like you get in Happy Meals but I just let them pick out a new one from the bag every hour or two and it is a new thing to play with.

I also buy each kid a new DS game for a long trip and a book (if they do not get car sick).

Also, just a off topic tip from my recent road trip: keep a couple of plastic bags handy. Turns out my youngest gets car sick. We have not taken long car trips for a couple of years and didn't know he would get sick multiple times.