Car activities for kids

Lap Boards

Have seen some amazing DIY lapboards on Pinterest. However, I don't sew beyond buttons. I don't do well with wood, foam, or extending fabric. I don't even cut a straight line. This is my version of a DIY lap board. Find A cheap magnetic skillet (tip -- they're not all magnetic; check first). This 9 x 13 tray cost 99 cents. Then get some markers or crayons and hot glue magnet strips on them (even glue strips may utilize that extra adhesive). Anything To keep my toddler from falling a marker each five seconds. The Sketchpad was from the dollar bin at Target, click here.

Magnetic Pattern Block Activities

We Already have routine blocks, but for this trip I bought a magnetic pair of cubes so that the kids can use them on their baking sheets. I discovered the massive pattern block activities at PreKinders. I published a transport, snowflake, and animals set. The children can each set a paper in their board and cover it using the magnetic blocks. I also printed the small set of designs from Kelly's Kindergarten and bound them with a ring. (You will have to shrink her designs before printing them should you'd like them small.) My older children can recreate these images onto their boards.

Chat Cards

These Are 100 dialogue starters at the kind of "would you rather" questions. I adore these! Would you rather have a pet or a pet elephant? Would you rather lounge in a pool of marshmallows or M & M's? Learn more and receive your free printable cards (or even merely a list of questions) in this post.

Snacks, Snacks... and More Snacks

And What would a long car ride be without snacks? We don't generally have prepackaged snacks at our home, but I'm making this trip an exception. I am packing mini chocolate chip cookies, honey graham sticks, crispy cheddar crackers, granola bars, and bunny bites. I'm also packing a few dry cereal (a rare treat -- that our kids have plain yogurt with just a sprinkle of cereal for breakfast), string cheese, snap peas, and baby carrots. Plus a brand new water jug full of ice water.

Drawing Prompts

This Complete the Picture drawing pad from Melissa and Doug is brilliant. It is definitely too complex for my Two and probably my Four. However, I think that it's something my older two children, ages seven and five, will really enjoy. I had to trim the pages to fit them into the little baking sheets.

Sticker Scenes

This Reusable decal pad out of Melissa and Dog is completely awesome as is. But I wanted to find a way to make it operate in the car. The scenes are too big for laps, and definitely for our small trays. So I chose to cut each scene in half and cut the stickers into segments. Then each child can have part of a scene along with a set of stickers to play with. The scenes won't be as striking as they would be with the full sheets, but you can' t be choosy once you've got seven people jammed into a seven-passenger van.