Travel
Activities & Crafts
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Travel
with Preschoolers
Traveling
with young children can be very stressful but it is also a wonderful
opportunity for parents and children to enjoy each other’s
company. Get the most out of this time to laugh and play games.
This will make a wearisome journey more enjoyable and help to
know things about one another you might not have.
The
all important first step for any parent is too “Plan ahead”.
You will find that things go much more smoothly when you travel
with clear plans. Research the routes on the Internet, and print
them out, check to see if certain highways are under construction,
and plan outings by printing out admission prices, hours of operation,
phone number, etc.
Make
sure you bring fresh clothing for everyone, even adults and plastic
bags in which to deposit items that are spilled on or soiled.
Travel with children’s medications for fever and motion
sickness and do not forget gum, for those old enough, so kids
can chew to prevent popping ears on flights and on hilly terrain
in the car.
Bring
lots to eat and play with like treats, snacks, books, toys and
or music. I use my laptop computer and bring it along with a couple
of simple preschool games and movies (DVD's). Do not forget the
headphones!
Last but not least travel at night when you can and be prepared
to stop OFTEN. Traveling at night is a great option if you can
manage it. Book flights for late in the day. If you are driving
with more than one driver, have one driver nap and leave as late
in the day as possible. Put the kids in pajamas, and bring favorite
toys, blankets, etc.
As for activities to keep him or her occupied, an important step
is to let your child take the lead in suggesting their own play
activities. Following rather than always directing tells your
child that you like and respect their ideas and will encourage
him or her to continue thinking and making more decisions.
Here are some great ideas for you to offer your child during the
travel.
Enjoy!
Guess
Who?
Age:
5 and Up
Mess: Low
Material: None
Instructions: Think of someone your child knows
and have them ask a question about this person. You can only answer
Yes or No. Make sure to pick a person they are very familiar with
(family or TV) and be sure to give a couple hints. If you have
more then one child then make sure to take turns so no one outguessing
anyone.
Allowance
Age: 4 and Up
Mess: Low
Material: Money
Instructions: Give your child a small sum of
money and tell them that this money is for snacks, treats and
toys but when it is gone, that is all there is. Help them learn
to budget their money and make good choices.
Licence
Plate ABC's
Age: 5 and Up
Mess: Low
Material: None
Instructions: Start at the letter "A"
and have everyone try and find a licence plate with that letter.
Work your way up the alphabet. Also you can look for numbers.
With older kids you can use road signs also.
Map
It!
Age: 4 and Up
Mess: Low
Material: Maps
Instructions: Give
your preschooler an opportunity to have their own copy of a map
of where you are going. Show them how far you have come, how much
further there is to go and let them mark it with a crayon. You
can easily print maps from mapquest.com or yahoo maps.
Make
a Tape
Age: 3 and Up
Mess: Low
Material: Tape recorder and a blank tape
Instructions: Set up the tape recorder and record
yourselves singing and talking. Not only do kids love this but
in a few years these tapes will be priceless to you for memories.
Licence
Plate Words
Age: 5 and Up
Mess: Low
Material: None
Instructions: Call out the letters on different
licence plates then have your child come up with a different phrase
using the letters in the order they appear on the license plate.
'HPD' for example might be 'Hates Purple Deserts'.
Car
Bingo
Age: 4 and Up
Mess: Low
Material: Crayons, paper bingo cards, and some
cardboard.
Instructions: Have some pre made bingo cards
(draw a grid 5 squares by 5 squares) and list 25 different things
you usually see on a road trip. Easiest way to do this is on a
computer and print multiple copies or if by hand make one and
photocopy the rest. Glue the bingo cards onto some same size cardboard
pieces so they can be easily wrote on. To play, every time a player
spots an item on the trip the cross off the item and the first
person to have a row crossed off wins. For younger ones it is
easier for them if you draw pictures.
Counting
Stuff
Age: 4 and Up
Mess: Low
Material: None
Instructions: Count crows, cows, horses, police
cars, certain types or colors of vehicles or whatever else you
can think of. Use distraction
tactics with older ones to cause them to miss some. Select certain
things as bonuses like a helicopter.
Short
Stories
Age: 4 and Up
Mess: Low
Material: None
Instructions: Have a facilitator who will tell
people to stop (an adult is best for this). Have one person start
telling a story ...a made up story of course.. and the facilitators
job is to stop the story teller and make someone else continue
where the person left off. With older children you can time it
but this does not work so well with younger ones. Have it so the
story has to completely end after a set time, 10 minutes is usually
good.
Read
out Loud
Age: 3 and Up
Mess: Low
Material: Favorite Children Books
Instructions: Have someone read
a family safe book out loud ...please not the driver! Only caution
is this causes motion sickness for some people.
Pa
diddle
Age: 5 and Up
Mess: Low
Material: None
Instructions: This is a good night time driving
game. Everyone needs to watch for vehicles with only one headlight.
When one is spotted the person needs to clap their hands and say
Pa diddle.
Rest
Stop Sports
Age: 3 and Up
Mess: Low
Material: Frisbee, ball or anything else the
kids might want to play with.
Instructions: When
you stop at a rest area, let everyone run around, play and be
free to stretch their legs.
Aluminum
Foil Fun
Age: 4 and Up
Mess: Low
Material: Aluminum Foil
Instructions: Give
your child a sheet of aluminum foil and have them make it into
anything they wan such as balls, jewelry, crowns, and masks.
Listen
to Music
Age: 3 and Up
Mess: Low
Material: Walkman, headphones and tapes or CDs
Instructions: Have
a Walkman with headphones and tapes or CDs for each child. Try
not to just have one if there is more then one child, this will
usually cause constant fighting.
Favorites
Age: 4 and Up
Mess: Low
Material: None
Instructions: Go
around the car and ask each person their favorite color. Then
have everyone think of different "favorite" questions
such as your favorite movie, song, game, toy, and place to visit.
The list can go on and on.
Read
out Loud
Age: 3 and Up
Mess: Low
Material: Favorite Children Books
Instructions: This
can be a backpack for your child, or a plastic bin that is used
specifically for trips. Load it up with all their favorite stuff
so they can have it all handy and easily accessible to them while
traveling.
