For those who asked in response to yesterday’s post, what else had I packed in our journey entertainment bag of goodies, here is the list…
Drawing materials: Quality crayons are great for children of all ages as they are easy to draw with, don’t make mess, don’t need sharpening and do not have lids which can be lost. This time we took crayons, coloured pencils and a drawing book.
Stickers: Sheets of stickers and sticker activity books are wonderful for 2-5 year olds.
Felt story: I took commercially produced felt pieces and a sheet of felt as a ‘feltboard’ which all folded up nicely into a little cloth bag.
Doll and dolls paraphernalia: Immy loves playing babies at the moment so this was a ‘must have’ for us. Fortunately, dolls clothes and associated toys are small and fold up nicely, again into their own little bag.
Books: We have stories before bedtime each night, books in our car and books all around our house and so naturally books accompany us on every trip! I usually choose a few favourites, some we haven’t read for a while, and always paperbacks as they weigh less which is important when you are lugging around lots of stuff.
Plasticine and tools: As I posted yesterday, the plasticine was marvellous. It was a cheap $2 packet from the discount store and provided for hours of entertainment. One Mum asked if it was easy to clean up, and it really was, I just wiped the work space over with a baby wipe when we were done.
Small figurines: I chose to take along a set of new-to-her Strawberry Shortcake figurines and some accessories as Immy loves imaginative play. Figurines are a good choice for most 3-5 year olds if you choose a set which relates to their interests or passions. I will however say that you need to keep a watch on all of the small pieces as they do get dropped, knocked off tables and airplane trays (and usually it will be you who has to bend down and pick them up again), and potentially lost! We kept all of Immy’s pieces in a small zippered beauty case to help keep them all together and I double checked that everything was there and nothing left behind each time we packed away.
One other suggestion (though I forgot to take ours this time) is a magnet board game, either commercially produced or one you have made yourself. They don’t take up too much room, the pieces don’t roll away and are lots of fun for pre-schoolers to play with.
What activities do you pack when you are travelling with your children?
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Christie Burnett is a teacher, presenter, writer and the mother of two. She created Childhood 101 as a place for teachers and parents to access engaging, high quality learning ideas.
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