Long car rides or travel journeys can be challenging and frustrating for kids. In fact, the travel experience can be miserable for everyone when the kids are suffering from acute boredom. To ensure that the kids are quiet and content, it’s ideal to plan activities designed just for those long commutes. With these ideas in mind, you and your kids may discover that long commutes are actually fun.
Art Supplies
Load up a backpack with art supplies so kids can use the commute to create and color. Try this app to find cool mandala coloring pages that kids can color on the road. You can also have kids create travel posters that reflect what they see along the way. You can save the posters in a binder so you have a family heirloom in the making.
Listen to an Audio Book
Before leaving for your trip, stop at the library to choose some audio books that the whole family can enjoy. Some great selections include any of the Harry Potter series books, Call It Courage by Armstrong Sperry, Abel’s Island by William Steig, or Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren. Many kids’ books also make fun reading for adults so everyone is likely to enjoy the experience.
Make Paper Beads
With bright strips of paper, a glue stick, and a toothpick, kids can craft paper beads to make into necklaces for themselves of family members. Since it’s not a good idea to bring scissors along for the ride, be sure to precut your paper strips so all kids have to do is roll and glue. Kids can also use markers to decorate their finished beads.
Mile Marker
Take along a box of Cheerios and some string. During the journey, kids can make a mile marker using Cheerios. Each time you pass a mile marker, the kids can add another Cheerio to the string. At the end of the journey, they can eat all the miles if they like.
On the Road Scavenger Hunt
You can encourage your kids to be observant with a fun scavenger hunt that you design before leaving. You can create a poster that lists a myriad of sites one expects to see on the road like a tall building, a camper, a motorcycle, a dog in a car, and so forth. Each time you witness one of the list items, the kids can cross it off. You can even make each child a different list so you can declare a winner when you reach your destination.
Make a Sticker Album
An unused photo album can be transformed into a fun sticker book for a child. Before leaving for your commute, grab a bunch of stickers and have your child design their very own sticker album. They can create thematic pages with stickers or even trade stickers with one another during the long trip.
With these ideas in mind, you can prepare for your long journey together. Long commutes don’t have to be a headache when you plan wisely. If all else fails, remember that a tablet showing classic cartoons might help out in a pinch too!
