Even though I homeschool, each of my kids has a backpack! I find that each of them having a backpack saves time and energy when getting ready for a long trip or even just a day trip over to my parents' house.
When we get ready to take a trip, I pull out the kids' backpacks and take out the items that they will not need on the trip. Then either I or the child who the backpack belongs to will fill it with the necessary things to take on the trip. This isn't the bag to put their clothes in but the items to keep them busy as we drive to our destination.
Each child is then responsible for their own backpack. What items are they are responsible for??
- a notebook filled with paper for drawing, writing, or playing games like tic-tac-toe
- two pencils sharpened--one breaks they have a spare
- box of colored pencils--I use these rather than crayons when travel because they won't melt in the heat like crayons do!!
- handheld games like battleship, connect four, boggle.
- a book or two and NOT public library books! I don't like public library books getting lost! Sometimes I will allow 3 or 4 books depending on how long the trip.
- a deck of playing cards or the UNO cards
- coloring books--I make up my own! The older kids books have activities in them more than coloring pictures while the younger ones have their own coloring pictures.
For my little ones that are under 3, I do up a backpack full of small toys that they have like matchbox cars, dolls, toy phones, and other things that do not make ALOT of noise.
Backpacks filled with items to keep the boredom away on trips is what works for us!
To find out what works for others, head over to Rocks in My Dryer!
8 comments:
I do the same thing when we travel. I also have the kids pack their "pillows" on the morning of a trip. They put in their snuggly toys and blankets. In their backpacks they put in the tings you have (books, coloring things, etc) but they also put in their MP3 players that are loaded up with kids praise music. They love to listen to their music while we travel.
Blessings-
Andie
Great ideas! We are getting ready to go on a long road trip and I needed some ideas as to what to put in my son's activity bag that will keep him occupied. Thank you!
This is a Great Idea! i always pack a HUGE Babybag full of crap I have to tote all over. It would be a great Idea for me when the kids go to sitters at night when we work too. Each kid packs his bag with their Pjs, blanky and stuffy. That way I only have to worry about the new baby etc. Thanks...WORKS FOR ME AS WELL!
great idea - thanks! we'll be heading to the beach next month with a 23 mo old, so this might be great for goodies to keep him occupied in the car! :)
That's a GREAT idea!!! We used to do something similar...now my kiddos are bigger, don't homeschool and schlep more than their fair share of books to school in their backpacks! :)
Thanks for sharing!
I just stopped by for your Works for Me Wednesday link and wow, your site has some great information!
I am just starting Kindergarten with my oldest and love all the homeschooling links and ideas you have...I'll definitely be back!
Thanks!
I have been wanting to do this for my one year old, but all the backbacks I have found are way too big or have characters I do not like on them.
Right now I am using one that is too big right now. I try and keep these items in it a change of clothes, diapers, wipes, and a couple quiet toys.
If he is going to stay the night at granny's I just have shove in some PJs and he is set.
I find this great for trips to the doctor, days he goes to daycare, or I leave it in the car just in case on days we are doing lots of errands.
I was able to find really small backpacks when my kids were little. They even carried them to church with items to keep themselves busy. Sometimes the baby even carried his own diaper and wipes! As they grew, so did their backpacks.
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