Travelling with children doesn't have to be a dreadful experience. Contrary to belief travelling with kids can be fun! With a little bit of planning and effort, there are many activities that children can do while en route.
Quiet books are a great activity to help young children practice and learn new skills, for example, fine motor skills, language development, and problem-solving abilities. Activities that are child-led and open-ended provoke curiosity and nurture cognitive development. Children learn best when interested in what they're doing, and parents can also foster social skills through interactive play.
Entertaining children while travelling doesn't have to cost much money or take too much time to prepare. Don't overthink things, and keep it simple. The nice thing about using items found around the home or at a second-hand store is that it's affordable and eco-friendly. Here are a few activities that we've tried.
1. Supplies: pipe cleaners, yarn, a pen, scissors and large beads (not suitable for very young children as the beads could be a choking hazard).
2. Children's quiet book pages.
Removable felt dolls, hats and starfish.
This activity helps young children develop fine motor skills by weaving the orange and purple felt through the DIY felt caterpillars.
3. Have fun learning the capitals of the world's countries along with their flags.
Buy a cheap "countries of the world" poster and cut out the flags, then have your children quiz you on each country's capital.
Along the way, they'll learn the names of the world's countries, their capitals, and flags. When they're ready, you can quiz them and make a game out of it!
4. Have them expand their minds by developing their own short story.
Step 1: Think of an idea.
Step 2: Create a character and a setting.
Step 3: The Beginning.
Step 4: The Conflict.
Step 5: The Turning Point.
Step 6: The Resolution.
Step 7: The End.
Alternatively, they can draw, write letters to friends & family, or make a comic strip.
5. Make some jewellery from broken necklaces, small toys, or items found at the second-hand shop!
6. A tray, tinker toys, Legos, magnets, some paper and a pen for a handy travel kit.
7. Second-hand shop cross stitch kit!
8. License plate game!
Someone in the car sees a license plate number then picks a theme. For example, we'll use the license plate below, AWM, and food will be the theme.
Everyone in the car has to develop a creative response for the food acronym, i.e. Amazing Warm Muffins! Whoever the leader thinks has the best answer will be the next leader.
9. The alphabet game!
My name is (an A name, i.e. Anna)
My husband's name is (an A name, i.e. Anthony)
We live in (a place that starts with an A, i.e. Australia)
And we sell (something that starts with an A, i.e. Apples)
"B, my name is Betty, my husband's name is Brendon, we live in Brazil, and we sell bracelets."
"C, my name is Chad, my wife's name is Cindy, we live in Canada, and we sell cars."
10. Other neat ideas found on Pinterest!
Safe travels!
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