Let me interrupt this post before it even starts. I wrote this post before we left for our road trip last week. I was anxious like you would not believe. I was so silly being so worried, or maybe because I was so worried I was overly proactive in my preparations? The trip was awesome, and all of these items were sooo helpful on our trip. With 32 hours in the car with 2 littles, we did NOT use screens at all for entertainment!
So consider this a "tried & true" road trip kit!
So consider this a "tried & true" road trip kit!
I know families travel all the time, but this is a first for us. We have not been anywhere since before kids, so this is certainly new territory for us. We're headed to a family reunion in Nebraska for the Mr.'s family & it will be a 16 hour drive, without stops. I imagine with 2 little ones it will take us much longer. So in preparation I gathered as much as I could from friends & Dr. Google for activities in the car with toddlers. This is what I packed:
Do you remember earlier this year when I posted about matching stickers? Well I took that idea and put it on a paper towel roll lol Same concept of having to match both colors and shapes/numbers except on the cardboard roll. I figured this would take a lot of rotating and more hunting for the image than just the worksheet. I think Dutch will really love this one.
What kid doesn't love snack & pipe cleaners?! I figured the kids could work on fine motor skills (and snack) by threading the puffs onto the pipe cleaners. I also figured we could make lots of things with the pipe cleaners, i.e. jewelry, animals, cards, things we see on the side of the road....limitless options :-) (actually we ended up making our own fishing poles and fish out of the pipe cleaners. It was really fun for everyone!)
Happy Baby Superfood Puffs ~ Pipe Cleaners (I just got at the grocery store)
Dutch made these fun popsicle puzzles with Aunt Nana on her visit last fall. They are really easy and fun to make so I think pulling these out in the car will be fun. I also want to introduce Go Fish! to Dutch. I think he'll love it!
Magnetic paper dolls; that is the best way I can describe these. Each scene comes with a magnetic portfolio and many characters that you can add and use to create fun. I only got three, but there are so many to choose from! If you are homeschooling multiplies I would recommend getting these so that one child can play with these while you're working with another.
There are several Usborne products that I have on reserve for the trip, & just because they will be so easy in the car. This magic painting book is ah-maz-ing! (I want it for myself!!!) All you have to do is add water and brilliant colors come out of each page. So fun and easy for the car. I also have these travel cards (sent from Aunt Nana) that I put on a ring for the car. Each card has a unique activity and all dry erase. Fun things like creating a face, following a maze, creating an ice cream sunday, etc. I also have 3 of the Wipe-Clean dry erase books (also gifted from Aunt Nana!- thank you!). Each book is packed with fun and educational activities that we will use well after this trip in our school room.
Ya'll I'm the worse mother ever; I hate stickers. I never liked them as a child, and I certainly don't now. I've been hiding this sticker book for about 2 years, so I figured this was the perfect time to show it to Dutch. A sticker book will delight him for, well hopefully, for hours lol Dutch got one of these Smithsonian books for his birthday and we read it constantly! Since he liked the one he got for his birthday so much I got him another one for the road. There are several sections in each book, and each one comes with flash cards and a quiz at the end. I really can't even express how much Dutch likes these. I can't wait to see his face with this new one.
A friend recommended these to me, and goodness was she right! I initially ordered 2 of these books and totally forgot I did. So when the kids saw me open the Amazon package they of course dove right in, which led me to order several more because they enjoined them for hours but I wanted to keep some novel for the trip. Needless to say I tried to keep my eye out for the package when the second batch arrived. Let me tell to about these. These are flip books that each come with their own pen/brush that you fill with water (easily with a water bottle in the car). The pages are white and with the water they change colors and reveal fun colorful pictures. And get this: as soon as they dry they go back to the white page and the kiddos can do it all over again! Completely reusable! Go ahead and check these out; I highly recommend the Bible Stories one.
Well if you didn't think I was obsessed with Melissa & Doug's Water Wow products with the image above, I think I will seal the deal here. So these cards are the same deal. The cards come with a ring and a water brush. I LOVE that these cards on a ring so that they are fun to flip through but we also wont lose them in the car. Again you just add water to the brush and you're able to see what animal is represented by the letter. We are also going to use these in our homeschool classroom, especially tracing the letters and working on letter sounds.
My dad got this magnetic set for Dutch for Christmas and I've saved it for the trip! Gotta keep things novel! So there are a bunch of wooden and magnetic pieces that you shape into different items based on the cards. But also you can use a dry erase marker on the board to draw scenes around the figures that you build. I think this will be great in the car because everything is contained in the box that can easily sit on a lap, plus all of the pieces easily fold up into the case.
Y'all I can't believe I scored these at a consignment sale, but I DID!!!! Please don't just look for clothes at those kinds of events because you really can find some good deals. These are wooden boards with magnetic balls & pens that are attached (no pieces to lose!!!). We've had family members come visit us and even play with these. Not going to lie, but I've lost myself in these before also lol
And lastly, I've order lots of new books that my kiddos haven't seen so that we will have some fun new stories to read in the backseat.
The Human Body Shine-A-Light ~ Wonders of the USA Shine-A-Light ~ The Little House ~ Dragons Love Tacos 2 ~ Beautiful Oops ~ Pizza Counting ~ Mr. Moustache ~ Marshmallow ~ Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin
I'm as ready as I think I'm going to be for this trip. Say a big 'ole prayer for us. Here goes nothing.....on the road again!!!!!
