Two-day cartrip, 6 year old in the backseat, non-DVD player entertainment ideas?

[Xuzi]

Basically what the title says: what can I provide my DD (will have just turned 6) with to entertain herself in the backseat? She'll be the only one back there (other sibs will be in the middle seat - it's a minivan). We'll be able to set up DH's laptop between the front seats for the two younger sibs to watch, but obviously my 6 year old will not be able to see them, so I'd like some "6-year-old-user-friendly entertainment ideas. (FYI: she's not yet an independent reader, although she's very close)

 

So far all I can think of is getting her a lapboard of some kind, and a coloring book and crayons, but this is going to be a 2-day/8-hours-each-day trip, so I'd like a variety. ;) (oh, and recommendations on a good, hard, car-friendly, inexpensive lapboard!)

[Country Mouse]

Audiobooks have kept my ds happy on many long car rides. If the other kids will be watching dvds, perhaps your dd can have an mp3 player and headphones to listen to stories.

Also, on a recent trip my ds really enjoyed playing with a classic Colorforms set.

[Sasharowan]

Get either a CD player or tape player and some books on tape or music she likes. Print off some mazes or puzzle games if she likes them. Print a map of where you are going for her to follow along. Google car bingo and print some pages for her to find along the way. Bring a ball for stops so they can run off some steam. Notebook with colored pencils.

 

HTH

[Stacy in NJ]

Audio books. Get her a small dvd or tape player or an ipod. Get the books from the library or download from audible. Also, if she's interested in crafts, get her some crafty Klutz Chicken Socks type thingys. Here's a link:

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_13?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=klutz+chicken+socks&sprefix=klutz+chicken&ih=10_1_0_1_0_1_0_0_0_1.47_316&fsc=9

 

Also, stuff a tote bad/backpack with a drawing pad, colored pencils, a journal, and a map to look at as you drive.

 

HTH, Stacy

[Killian]

Our 6 and 7 year olds loved the Klutz "Pop Bead People" and "Pop Bead Animals".....kept them entertained for hours. Now, I'm still finding the beads in the car, but they were definitely worth the pick up. We tried a few magnetic games, but they didn't seem to hold their attention for more than 15 minutes or so.

 

Have fun!

 

~Killian

[*Jen*]

A few things that my DS loves

 

Wiki sticks - He likes to build designs on the window or on his lap desk

Pipe cleaners - he builds all sorts of things out of them

crayons, colored pencils, a drawing pad and coloring book

maps - we like stopping at the first rest area in each state where they have a visitors center and picking up random maps and brochures. He enjoys looking at the different stuff (of course we have to listen to him ask over and over again if we are going to stop at all the different places)

Magna doodle or etch a sketch

[nono]

I'll second the pipe cleaners -- we get 3 variety packs and have sculpting contests in the car...even my 3 yr old has gotten into it.

 

Audio books, esp. if you can find a story about the area you are traversing. My kids were amazed as we drove down the Delmarva Penninsula listening to Misty of Chincoteague.

 

Mosaics -- even my 3 yr old can do them, and each takes about 20 min to do right. These are the ones I got before our drive to FL:

http://www.rainbowresource.com/product/My+First+Sticky+Mosaics+-+Vehicles/019492/1280509632-314918

 

We have a 2 p.m. rule in our car -- no DVD watching before 2 p.m. Kids know I'll give them the countdown at the top of each hour. :D

 

We plan a "race stop" every 2 hours in the morning -- basically get out at a rest stop, and we all race on the grass.

 

We play "Find the combo colors" and it is simply that. I start by calling out a pair of colors, and we all try to spot it. So, I start by saying "White and green." Someone notices the road signs are white and green and calls out "the road sign." Whoever finds the combo colors, gets to choose the next set. I can not believe how long my kids can play this game...

 

We also make up stories about people in other cars. I simply start by saying, "See this red truck we're passing? Look at this guy. What's his story?" And someone will volunteer some guesses about what the person does for a living, where he's going and all that.

 

HTH a bit.

[aggieamy]

My 6 yo's love these puzzle sticker books:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Princess-Sticker-Puzzles-Lee-Publications/dp/B000RN6GQW/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=toys-and-games&qid=1280510204&sr=8-2

 

Do you have an iPod you can put a movie onto so she can watch something too? I'd feel bad about having everyone else watching something and her being left out.

[Xuzi]

My 6 yo's love these puzzle sticker books:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Princess-Sticker-Puzzles-Lee-Publications/dp/B000RN6GQW/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=toys-and-games&qid=1280510204&sr=8-2

 

Do you have an iPod you can put a movie onto so she can watch something too? I'd feel bad about having everyone else watching something and her being left out.

We have some Zunes but they have teeeeeeeeeeny tiny screens. :lol:

 

Are there any brick and morter stores that sell those sticker books? She'd LOVE something like that! And the wikisticks on the window that someone else suggested would also be fun for her I bet.

 

So many great ideas! Thanks ladies. :)

[Aggie]

Do you have a small camera? One of my young ones played the alphabet game with my iphone once. Take a picture of something starting with A. Take a picture of something starting with B....and so on..... It was a delightful game, lasted almost 2 hours (!) and it was something we could all join in on, or he could play it by himself.

 

And the possibilities are endless with a camera!

[K-FL]

Also magnet things w/a cookie sheet (which would double as a lap desk.)

[bethben]

Those books with the "magic" pen. The pen is clear yellow tinted, but when applied to the paper makes the magic message appear. I always loved those as a kid. My friend used to give her kids a whole roll of masking tape to do with it as they wanted.

 

Beth

[Caitilin]

Have you considered dropping the videos altogether? Audio books have been a delight and joy for us on road trips, plus car games and travel board games, as other posters mentioned, plus coloring, Little Ponies, or similar other small portable toys, etc. It can be done! We've driven for 18 hours at a stretch with no videos. It might actually simplify your trip. But, as always, YMMV. :)

[milovany]

Water spray bottle set on mist (esp. if it's HOT).

 

Pipe cleaners.

 

Freddy the Detective books on tape.

 

These are our standards for long car trips.

Edited July 30, 2010 by milovaný

[Tutor]

-Paper

-Colored pencils (after a red crayon melted into a car seat on a trip, we don't do crayons in the car anymore)

-pipe cleaners

-magnetic tanagram shapes

-cookie sheet (to stick magnets on and to use as a lap desk)

-magnetic letters or words

-tanagram sheets

-maps to color

-car bingo cards (Cracker Barrel sells some nice ones that my 6yo played with for hours on our 3-day car trip)

-audiobooks

-picture books (if you have room)

-word finds

[SOCKSINFOX]

One thing we've found really helps is to tuck away some of the fun stuff and then bring it out part way through the trip that way when they start getting restless you have something new for them to do.

 

I also highly recommend audio books as some others have suggested! My 6 year old has a leapster that he likes to play a lot on long journeys, color wonders markers are great too.

[myfatherslily]

Wikki Stix! Pipe cleaners! Those are fantastic ideas!! We're headed out tomorrow morning for our own 1,000 mile, 2-day trip, and I'm gonna grab those two things and toss them in a bag in just a sec!

 

What else are we bringing... my two oldest have always been superb travelers. I could give them next to nothing and they'd still be good. The 2 year has had a low car tolerance since he was an infant:) If he doesn't want to be happy, there's no pleasing him. But we are bringing:

 

 

• A bag of 4 new items from Target's dollar section - a book to look at, an activity book, a cheap little white board, and a crafty/activity item (the boys have a sticker batman thing and DD6 has a card making set)
  
• New package of markers (one box per child)
  
• DVD player and lots of movies. This will be the first time that we've had the dvds for the whole trip. We've made it without movies several times before.
  
• Leap Pad
  
• Noisy toys - push a button and play a song. This probably will keep the boys entertained for a long time:)
  
• Snacks, of course!
  
• It just occurred to me (as DS4 was whacking it with another toy) that they could bring their Etch-a-Sketches.
  
• A couple small toys of their own - DD chose a few of her Barbies, boys get a few hot wheels.
  

 

And now I shall go get those wikki stix and the pipe cleaners before I forget!!:)

[Jennifer in MI]

We love car trips! We leave on a trip of our own on Monday (Niagara Falls, VT, Montreal, and back to VT). We've found that less is more. My last trip was a solo trip with my two youngest kids - 4 and 9 - from MI to FL and back. Our DVD player broke the FIRST day!!!!! I thought we were going to have a miserable trip. But, we didn't!!!! I think we're leaving the DVD player at home for this next trip - on purpose!

 

Things that got great playtime:

 

Pipe cleaners (I see many beat me to this - but it's true!)

packing peanuts (weird, I know. My kids have "wars" with these in the car. Of course, you have to be a bit relaxed about the mess. But, it passed the time SO well!)

Action figures/dolls - LOTS of creative play!

Books on individual iPods

 

Have fun on your trip!!!

[Mommyof4ks]

We love audio books too! If your van has captains chairs, just split those and put the 6 yr old in the middle of the far back seat. Yep, we have done this before, twice on a 22 hour trip over 2 days. Bungee cords are great for strapping laptops up higher on the seats. We refer to ourselves at the rednecks who went on vacation lol, everything gets strapped down with bungee cords. :D

[SailorMom]

After many many many three and four day car trips, here's what I think worked the best:

 

*No crayons, markers, or colored pencils - Only the Color Wonder stuff from Crayola. It is worth the extra coast!

*Music that they like to sing along to

*Car bingo

*Playing the alphabet game using road signs and bilboards

*A pillow! A must or she will never be able to sleep

*Lots of new books

*non-crumbly, non-melting snacks, and water bottles with the sports tops

[littlebug42]

I have seen those sticker story books at Barnes and Noble.

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

Audio books and car bingo were the biggest hits on our 20 hr. (each way) trip to Louisiana this spring.

 

Big Backyard and High 5 Magazines were also handy.

[AnneGabe]

My kids really loved when I made them a map of where we were going and they had to spot landmarks along the way and mark them off on their maps.

 

I grabbed some pictures from online of things we'd pass (certain mountains, lakes, restaurants, cities, etc) and basically put them in order of when we'd pass them on a plain white background and printed it out.

After it printed I drew a road going from place to place and then laminated the whole thing. I gave each daughter a sheet of stickers and when we'd pass a place on their map they'd mark it off with a sticker.

 

Next time we go on a road trip I'll add check points for where we'll be stopping along the way for lunch or potty breaks. Having a visual of the next stop really helps my kids!

 

We did lots of other things but that was by far their favorite and kept them occupied and happy through most of the trip (though this was only a one day trip).

 

Another huge favorite for my kids (ages 2, 4 and 6) is sticker books. They'll play with sticker books for hours. Even my two year old son who doesn't have the best attention span holds his in his carseat and plays with them!

 

I don't know if this has been mentioned yet, but another favorite is draw erase markers and a small whiteboard or go to Target and they have all kinds of small activity books and cards that are draw and erase. Those are mostly really fun for my 4 year old but my 2 and 6 year olds love them, too.

Well, I haven't given my 2 year old the draw erase markers in the car because he'll draw all over the place but for the 4 and 6 year olds they're perfect :D

[CathyT]

Did anyone mention making Bingo cards of things she might see on the road? My 5 year old loves to do this with my 3 year old. It has things like birds on a wire, a kid, a fire hydrant... I bought mine at B & N I think or maybe Learning Express but you could easily make your own.

 

Also,what about that game where there is a head encapsulated in plastic and there are lead metal shavings to meks his hair or mustache or beard? Cheap but boys does that have play value in my car.