Travel car toy/game suggestions for 6 yo DD

[BikeBookBread]

We'll be in the good old wagon about 7 days driving from AZ to Northern Virginia.

 

We'll be bringing a portable DVD player with some movies (I'm STILL trying to convince DH that an iPad would be better because of movies, games, books, etc.). Girls will each be bringing one "soft friend" (doll, teddy, whatever), and a few books.

 

LLL (4) is much easier to keep entertained in the car (surprisingly). She'll look at the window, sing a song, count "tiny cars" (Coopers, Smart, etc...). PDG (6) is very concrete. She has no imagination. She could color for hours, so I suppose we could get her just some coloring books and container for colored twist-up pencils (her favorite because they are precise :glare: good grief she is Type A like me! :lol:)

 

Any other suggestions?

[ProudGrandma]

books on CD are always a good activity. also anytihng magnetic...we use a cheap (or old) cookie sheet as a playing surface for these activities.. magnetic letter, magnetix, etc. Blendy pen sets are fun. I'll think some more...I am sure someone else will have ideas for you too.

[Bug's Mom]

Dd never goes on a long trip without her Doodle Pro. I think she's on the 4th full-sized one and has had a few smaller ones, as well.

[athena1277]

Stickers and a cheap pad of paper. I get the big packs of stickers for a dollar at AC Moore and give my kids a page of stickers every so often.

[athena1277]

Oh, I just had another idea. Go to Party City and get lots of the cheap party favors from the bins that they might like. You can get a lot for very little money and give them out along the way for good behavior or when they are getting cranky and need a distraction.

[Jann in TX]

We have a long history with Doodle Pros... even the teens like them for a distraction on long trips.

 

The next big thing that has been a hit for us is some type of electronic game--such as a Leapster or a GameBoy (older kids).

 

My little one LOVED her Leapster for our long trips (family is at least 8 hours away). She was limited to using it only in the car so it was more 'special'. Now dd is 8 we are thinking about getting her a GameBoy...

[Classical Country Mama]

I second the Leapster recommendation. We are a no-TV kind of family, but I let my dd (who will be 6 in October) play hers in the car, and she LOVES it. We have 3-hour drives fairly often and with the Leapster she has no problem staying quiet. Er, I mean, staying entertained.... :lol:

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

At the end of March, I drove 20 hours each way to visit my sister with my two boys. The movies wore thin after a while, but they did enjoy listening to books on CD, playing travel bingo and Yes & Know books.

[BikeBookBread]

I just looked up Leapster, and of course, there's a new console version on pre-order for release August 1 called the Leapster Explorer. Last time I bought a Leapfrog product it was being phased out (I didn't know it at the time) and I couldn't get any more games for it. Bad timing. Looks like it is promising. It even has an e-reader on it.

 

So I ended up getting a few things on Amazon: a magnetic maze game that LLL had her eye on a while back, some sticker activity kits (with scenery and re-placeable stickers), a "build your own fairytale" card game (each card has a standard fairytale character or object...) and a wipe/erase mermaid activity book. I think it'll be plenty along with the portable DVD player. And as DH always says, "there are always stores along the way, Steph"...

Edited June 4, 2010 by BikeBookBread

[Laurie4b]

When I had young kids, I used to go to the thrift shop and just buy some new "stuff". Because it was new, it occupied their attention and it was cheap, so if the thrill wore off by the time we got home, not problem! I handed it out every couple hours.

[StephanieZ]

For sculpting. . .

 

Wikki Stix

& Pipe Cleaners

[KatieJ]

When my boys were that age, one of them needed to be wiggling or moving pretty much all the time. Things that occupied his hands helped. (Kept them off his brother. )

 

Gumby was a huge hit.

 

I know this sounds crzy, but they loved silly putty. And no, we never had a mess in the car. It never stuck to the seats, it never melted ......

 

Pipe cleaners were not a big hit, altho they seemed promising.

 

Those old fashioned cloth loops....they could make chains out of them or just throw them around if that was what the moment called for. :lol:

 

Travel size Etch a sketch and/or ghost writers.

 

We also bought a new Adventures in Odyssey (tapes at the time) every time we went on a road trip. One new set for each boy lasted them one way and they would swap on the way home.

[cougarmom4]

One thing that worked really well for us on a long drive--collect a bunch of funny kids jokes, type up, cut up separately, fold & put in a little baggie. Every time you stop somewhere (restroom, gas station, lunch, etc), each child gets to choose a joke out when they are buckled back in and then we read them together. (Often our kids didn't really want to get back in the car again...so this helped make it a little fun).

 

One trip I made little cloth bags for each child and every thirty minutes they'd get a 'surprise'--it might be smarties or stickers or a matchbox car or a new small toy. I'd generally find toys in 'sets' and give each little part separately...and I did go to thrift stores to find little new things, too. Of course, the rule was they weren't allowed to ask if it was time for the surprise yet...because that would have driven me crazy!

 

Happy traveling!