Choosing travel activities for kids on the go can be exasperating but busy kids are happy kids – whether in an airplane seat or the back seat of a car. It’s equally important to expect the unexpected and to always plan for the aircraft entertainment system to malfunction, computer or iPad batteries to die, traffic jams, or all the myriad of other issues that crop up when away from home.
A six hour sit between flights…..
Andrew is in charge of packing his own backpack. I do the over-seeing and make suggestions, but when all is said and done it is his responsibility. There was one 10-hour car trip where all Andrew packed was one item – a box of receipts. I said nothing but noticed he was much more careful about planning for the next trip! I found my kids sometimes learn more from mistakes and I don’t argue unless it is dangerous or will matter 20 years from now.
My Secret Travel Activity Stash
For travel, I personally pack a couple of surprise activities that I pull from my secret surprise travel activity stash. I purchase special travel activities for kids throughout the year, hide them, and then pull out an item that matches the upcoming trip or event.
Activity Packing Tips by Andrew
The rest of this post is written by Andrew.
Sometimes I have to sit by myself when we are flying so it is nice to have everything that I might need in my own backpack. Mom asks me take the last three items.
I always start by packing:
- A spiral notebook with a pencil stuck in the spiral.
- A small sketch pad
- Pencil Box (Sharpened pencils, colored pencils, eraser, pens, sharpener)
- A few books
- Magazines (I like Boys Life and Catster)
- Camera
- A jacket
- A baggie of wet wipes.
- Kleenex
Travel Activities for Kids
These are some of my favorite activities that I like to pack. When you pack for a flight you don’t want to pack heavy or large items.
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Paint by Stickers
Paint by Stickers, by Number, Nature, was my favorite activity when we were in China and Mongolia. It was not possible to do in a bumpy Russian van in the Mongolian countryside but at night, when everyone was talking or playing games, I would sit by the stove in the Ger and work on a picture. The finished pictures look just like artwork!
Magnetic Travel Hangman
Magnetic Travel hangman has large pieces so it is easy to play in bumpy vehicles. But here’s my advice: don’t store stones in it. Once at the JFK airport, an agent pulled Hangman out of my backpack. The pebbles I had put inside fell out. Customs agents do not like pebbles and he really didn’t like mom’s rock collection either.
Note from mom: Travel Hangman is also handy for spelling when school has to travel.
–Andrew is right. Custom agents do not like rocks. I had some nice specimens for my Geology class, and when the JFK customs agent realized I was excited and willing to tell him the background of every single rock, he didn’t bother to look at the other fifty! Sometimes, knowledge is power!
Sticky Mosaic by Numbers
In school we were studying mosaic artwork. Mom surprised me with a box of automobile mosaic cards when we were on a field trip.
Note from Mom: Sticky Mosaics by Number are easy to carry in a plastic baggie. Ditch the box and just take the contents! There are a variety of mosaics for gender and age. These small squares are great for focus, finger dexterity, and fine motor skills!
Reading Materials
I love to read. If I travel with books, I take thinner chapter books like Mystery Detectives or American Adventures, as well as magazines. I like books better than e-readers.
Rubbernecker
We play Rubbernecker on every car trip. My brother won last year. His final card was to find someone riding a bike. We all knew he’d loose because we were in the middle of a snow storm. It was crazy! We saw a bike rider right in the middle of a heavy snowstorm biking on an overpass!
Note from Mom: This can become a competitive scavenger hunt that lasts for hours. The driver is a referee for squabbles – and there are lots of those!
Mad Libs
Mad Libs is silly. You can create funny stories by asking another person to chose a certain word to fill in blanks in a story. The blanks tell you if it needs a noun, verb, adjective or other parts of speech.
Note from Mom: Mad Libs is a fun way to practice various parts of speech in a kid-friendly way.
Snap Circuits
Snap Circuits are too big to take on an airplane so I take mine when we travel by car. It’s nice to have in the evenings. You don’t have to know a lot about circuits. There are diagrams to put together different types of circuits. You can make a light turn on, create music, or make an alarm. The idea is that the circuit has to be completed in a full circle. Dad broke one of the pieces and the company replaced it immediately. The piece arrived within a few days. I’ve never had that problem. Just Dad. Snap Circuits are really cool. There are different types of snap circuits. The Junior is a smaller set. The classic offers more types of circuit.
Snap Circuits Junior
Snap Circuits Classic
If you want to see more ideas that I like to use you can go to “Our Favorites” on the homepage. ~Andrew
iPad and Electronics
We travel with an iPad. I limit electronic time so Andrew would never have listed an electronic as a favorite. I use the iPad to check stand-by flight loads, and to answer emails in the evenings when I’m not traveling with my computer. It is a great travel item and comes in handy for many reasons. We have a few games loaded as well as a ton of educational – I just prefer to limit access. I found that electronics altered Andrew’s attitude when he was younger. I don’t want to revisit that era of life again. But that is another post for another time.
By the way, security now requires passengers to remove any electronic larger than a cell phone therefore iPads are now subject to being removed.
Can you suggest any favorite travel activities for kids? Share with us! Just remember:
This is a safe site for children. If comments are not
tastefully stated, they will disappear in a “POOF”!
