Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion Favorite activities for long car trips.

Well, we did drag our 20 hours over 2 1/2 days! We drove to DC. It wasn't as bad as I was expecting. We're calling it a successful experiment!

I have to second the no-pick-up rule unless it's easily accessible. That really helped me keep my sanity. I got a lot of knitting done!

Duct tape!





OK, I really wouldn't use duct tape, that was the first thing that came to mind because I am exhausted and could not deal with a long trip with children right now. BUT, that made me think of this advice -- be sure you are well rested before you start out! When the parent is not tired & cranky it's easier to keep the kids occupied with about any pleasant activity.

We have had some family fun with "Brain Quest" (you can find them near the workbooks in book stores such as Borders). They remind me a bit of Trivial Pursuit - but the cards are all bound together, making them easier for small hands to hold. You purchase them by age level. I think the oldest is ages 12-13 ... so I'm not sure if that would challenge your 10 year old. But my dd4 really enjoys them - especially if I get cards a few grade levels ahead. The kids can quiz each other or just quiz themselves. These are also good time-killers when waiting for food to arrive at a restaurant.

Have a great trip!

If you go to the party store, dollar store, the party section of Walmart, or (right now) the Easter section of your drug store you can find cheap little stuff like rings that light up, games that involve moving a little ball through a maze, a chick you hold in your hand that cheeps, plastic animals, etc. Give them out one at a time when things get boring.

Get some Colorwonder markers (the fingerpaints are kind of messy) and paper. When your little guy drops the open marker between his car seat and the seat of the car, it won't bleed all over everything (maybe it will bleed, but you won't see it.

Get a Klutz or Chickensox book for your dd. They come with all the stuff you need, but look over them because sometimes they're messy or require more space. There's a book for making animals and bugs out of pipe cleaners and pom-poms, one that comes with rolls of colored tape to complete pictures, and some to make girly stuff like bracelets and hair accessories.

Get a "grabber" for your the little guy because he won't be able to pick up anything he drops. This thing will help him get things off the floor and keep him entertained for a while. http://www.amazon.com/Robot-Claw-Grabber-by-Toysmith/dp/B000F4G5KK

There are some that attach to carseats, but we have one that has a beanbag bottom and a thin cardboard top with rounded corners. DD is still in a booster seat and the edges fit snuggly between the arms of her seat, so I've not worried about it flying when we've had to stop. The also have them with cup holders, but those don't fit with the arms of the booster we have.

You need WikkiStix! We just got back from a 4 adult, 1 6 year old road trip and everyone played with the wikkis! They're super fun for dot to dots, making 3d creations etc.

We don't take a lapdesk because stuff falls off in the car. We use cookie sheets instead. DS can balance it on the arms of the booster and crayons, pencils etc don't roll off onto the floor. Also, magnets stick so he can draw on plain paper magneted on so it doesn't slide, or he can use magnets to play with on the sheet.

We also found generic cheap madlibs at the Dollar Store that comes with a wordbank. It makes it a bit easier for littler kids who can't think of 10 adverbs. I think they're made by Beaver or something like that. We play lots of ABC games (this trip we did fruits and vegetables- someone says the first one "apples" then the next person has to name two "Apples, bananas" and so on).

My dd9 loves to have an atlas so she can mark where we are. At rest stops she likes to pick up various attaction pamphlets to look at.

along with the ideas already given, my dds like wikki sticks, magnetic games, color wonder markers and paper (no mess). We also got the "wiggle seats" that they can sit on for a change in position!

They bring Ipods (we load audio books from the library.)

We play word games alot. Rhyming words, following the alphabet, Blends, Antonyms and Synonyms etc. My kids also have doodle pads (kind of like an etch-a-sketch)

To add, we also play a "name game" with the alphabet, using signs, license plates (tags), makes/models of cars, etc... I always get stuck with X when we play the "it starts with" version. haha.