"Are We There Yet?" Entertainment For the Ride

Taking a long road trip with kids can prove to be a challenge.  If you're not equipped with a wide variety of entertainment, you might be in for a long ride!  Our kids have a six-year age span, so in order to ensure I am prepared for all of them, I spend about a month scouring dollar bins, Amazon, my Usborne stash, and finding forgotten treasures in our home. 

If you're heading on a long road trip, make a surprise bag for all of your children and keep it up front with you.  We have decided to share a surprise with our kids roughly every hour of our trip.  At first the kids are clock-watchers and love to remind us it is time for a surprise from the bag.  If they have had good behavior, I happily oblige.  As time goes on, though, they lose track of time a bit and I do my best to stretch it out.  If all goes well, I'll still have a few surprises left for the ride home!

So, what do I put in these bags?  Special treats, books, craft activities, activity books, and small toys to suit each of my kids.  No two bags are alike and the kids love to see what treasures I've found.  

Surprise Bag

I also have each of my kids assist me in packing a backpack.  They typically want to include a few of their favorite stuffed animals and books.  We also pack a notebook, pencil, and crayons, as well as a binder or folder filled with some road trip games, stickers, and maps.  I found many great printable pages for scavenger hunts, license plate games, and tic-tac-toe.  For our oldest son, I provide an outline of each state in the correct order.  We talk a bit about the capital and well-known cities and then I ask him to make some notes inside the state regarding what he sees.  This is a great way to keep track of our progress and he can keep the other kids updated on how many states we have left to go.  I purchased this road trip atlas for my older two to use during our travels as well. 

Last year I got lucky and found lap desks on clearance.  I picked one up for each of the kids, so they all have a flat surface with a light to work on their activities.

Lap Desks With a Light

I worked really hard to come up with an idea to keep my younger son busy.  He loves cars and I wanted to find a way he could play with them while on our trip.  I did it and he loved it!  Using a cookie sheet from The Dollar Tree, I created this road (and train track on the opposite side) so he could drive magnetic vehicles and trains as we were driving down the road.  It worked out pretty well and he is looking forward to getting it out again.  You could use this concept for anything from a castle to a jungle!

His other favorite activity was my sticker book stash I purchased from Usborne.  He has difficulty sticking with anything for long, but these did the trick and quickly became a favorite.  Several times throughout the trip he pleaded for his "homework."  I truly cannot recommend these enough!

The Coveted Sticker Book!

Of course the kids watch their fair share of DVD's.  You can pack your own or stop at a Redbox along the way, grab a movie, and exchange it in another city.  We do our best to take a break in between movies and not spend the whole time missing all of the scenery.  They are especially helpful, though, while our youngest naps.  Headphones are a blessing!  My husband and I take advantage of the quiet time and talk or turn on one of our favorite Pandora stations.  We need to have some fun, too!

If you're planning a long road trip, the time you spend prepping some fun entertainment for the kids will be well worth it.  Happy kids makes for a great day on the road!