Road Trip!! Part Four: Keeping the Kids Entertained in the Car
There is absolutely no way that I’m spending 6 weeks or so in a car driving cross-country with my boys without providing them some sort of entertainment- besides all the places we’ll be stopping!- along the way. I hear, “Mom, I’m bored!” at least two times a piece on the 30 minute drive from Los Lunas to Albuquerque. They’re not gonna make it for 11 hours without something to do. So, here’s what we’ll be packing to keep them entertained:
Books- I’m a HUGE reader, reading almost anything that piques my interest (I don’t read Sci-Fi. It’s just never appealed to me), so I encourage both Josh and Christopher to read as much as possible. Bonus: they don’t get carsick! I do… but, I’ll be driving so I’ll be okay.
Audiobooks- I have a subscription to Audible, and have a stockpile of books to listen to, including Anne of Green Gables (a personal favorite!), Lord of the Rings, Chronicles of Narnia, and plenty of others. All three of my boys LOVE listening to audiobooks, and will do so for hours.
Kindle Fire for Kids- we have 3, so each boy has his own. With our FreeTime for Kids subscription, all three have access to age-appropriate games, videos, and books! I can also load audiobooks on there for them, and it keeps them entertained for hours.
Nintendo Switch Lite- this is more of a reward-for-good-behavior tool, than anything else. The boys get to play on the Switch when their chores and schoolwork are done while we’re at home, and they’ll have chores on this trip too, so we’re bringing the rewards, too.
Coloring books for Andrew- this kid loves to color, and I recently found a set of clickable markers by Crayola, so they a.) won’t melt in the car, an b.) won’t dry out because of lost caps.
Travel Journals for Josh and Christopher- using a 1-inch 3-ring binder, a set of 5 dividers, a set of photo pages, and a plastic snap envelope with holes for rings, as well as a pencil pouch and the aforementioned markers, I’ve created a travel journal for each boy. They both have daily pages to fill out about what we do each day, as well as activity sheets to learn about the states we’ll go through, and some fun car games to do along the way. The photo pages are for postcards they’ll collect, and the envelope is so they can save things like ticket stubs, information pamphlets, and other tidbits along the way. I did this so that when they go back to school in the Fall, and their teachers ask, “What did you do this summer?” they can pull out their journals and actually SHOW what they did!
Random stuff they put in their ‘Container of Entertainment’- Each boy will have his own box or backpack (I haven’t decided which yet) to fill with a few small items to play with along the way.
Genuine Boredom: I believe it is good for them to occasionally experience boredom. It gives them a chance to use their imaginations and to get creative. And, boy do they get creative! I’ve watched them invent plenty of their own games and storylines through the years, and because of all the practice, they can now keep themselves entertained for a couple of hours.
All of my boys travel really well. They’ve all been on long car trips through the years, spending a good 6-8 hours in a car at a time. The difference this time is that we’ll be gone longer than the week or two we normally are. These items should be plenty to keep them going throughout our trip, because we’ll be stopping throughout the day as well.
Next Up: The Zen of Car Maintenance Before and On the Road.