So…we’ll be spending the week of Spring Break traveling in the truck…with the kiddos…for 3,000 miles…YEAH!

We actually ARE really excited about our family road trip vacation–in case that first sentence came across sorta sarcastic. I wrote it like that on purpose, though, because a lot of folks really do react like that to the idea of 10 days of travel, in a car, with 3 kids, basically going nowhere. But we’ve put a lot of thought into making this a fun adventure since we came up with the idea so we have nothing but good expectations.

One reason for our positive attitudes is because we’ve focused on two things, and I’ve got several posts to share about each of them.

First–fun, simple activities while we’re IN the car!

Second–not being IN the car the whole time!

Today I’ll share about the Road Trip Travel Activity Cases we made for each of the kids.

Pinterest is full of great ideas for road trip games and activities (visit our On the Road board for some great ideas!) but the first question was HOW TO CONTAIN THEM? We’ll be traveling in the truck, so the kiddos don’t have much room in the backseat. And I’d certainly like something that can be reused on future trips easily!

We wanted something to corral loose papers, be a hard surface for writing, and not take up space. I looked at 360 Flip binders, clipboard cases, and document cases. It needed to be a good quality and reasonable price, bonus points for different colors.

I really liked the 360 binder idea because it seemed to hold more stuff. But I could see them flopping it around and smacking each other with edges. I could also see papers and travel memorabilia slipping out and flying around unless I traveled with a 3 hole punch or invested in a lot of folder/pocket products.

The document cases seemed like a better idea. Smaller footprint and could hold loose stuff better.  I ran into a bit of a cost versus quality concern, though. The product reviews were all over the place for online purchases and the ones I looked at in person at the store were really outside of my budget for the project. Especially when I have to multiply everything by 3!

So we went with the clipboard cases.

Turns out they’re widely used as a nursing tool (never occurred to me!) and there were thousands of product reviews available. Their quality and the details of features were well documented. We went with the Dexas Slimcase model from Amazon. It had great reviews, reasonable price, plenty of color choices–and Made in the USA as a bonus!

The next question was WHAT TO PUT IN THEM?

I saw great ideas on Pinterest about activity grab bags that you pack and give out as you go along to keep games and projects fresh. However, we don’t have a minivan. So we don’t have a lot of room to pack stuff–especially where I can reach it easily! The crew also doesn’t have a lot of room in the backseat for bulky activity trays and stuff.

So I decided on a compromise. I made up a master-binder of games and activity sheets and a few pencil-pouch busy bags that I’ll keep with me in the front seat and give them out as we go along. The kids will have a couple small things in their cases when we start out and get the additional activity sheets as we go along. I printed a lot of copies, so we can throw stuff away as we go too. The idea of page protectors and dry erase markers just doesn’t appeal to me as car friendly. Markers and cars just don’t go together in my mind.

In the Case…

• A couple pens and pencils
• A pack of gum
• A DIY 50 States travel passport (homemade!)
• A large print word search book (large print is easier to see in the car)
• A slim graphic novel (we’re crazy about these Max Axiom science comic books right now!)
• A sheet of License Plate I Spy (which they can start right away when we hit the road)
• A selfie scavenger hunt for them to get started on (Here’s another great use for their Amazon Fire Tablets!)
• A Day One map (made right from Google maps)

 

In the Master Binder…

• Road Trip Scavenger Hunt (all visual with vehicles, signs, and logos mixed together)
• Vehicle Logo Scavenger Hunt (all visual, car maker logos only)
• Road Trip Resturant I Spy (all visual, food signage and logos)
• Road Trip I Spy Alphabet Game (I liked this printable because it was very clear and easy to read for my car-sick-prone munchkins)
• Truck Spotting I Spy (Mr. Fix-it LOVES this one!)
• Road Trip Battleship
• A couple different versions of a Selfie Scavenger Hunt and an Outdoor/Camping Photo Scavenger Hunt (sounds like an AWESOME idea for my oldest to take the lead on!)
• 50 State Coloring pages and colored pencils (Crayola has all 50 states, so I just printed a few copies of the states we’ll go to.)
• More daily maps from Google to pass out as we go along.

I did also add a couple 3-hole punched document envelopes (you might recognize from my summer unit study organization–I love these things!) to stash any loose stuff that gets out of hand.

Now the kiddos are each allowed their own travel bag in the backseat with them–either their small backpack or a soccer bag. Whatever they choose. But it’s going at their feet and taking up their leg room, so it’s their call what they bring. And everything they bring has to fit in whatever bag they choose, except for their travel sweatshirt (we pack the coats away with the luggage) and a water bottle. They’re used to this travel requirement.

This means they’ll have their travel activity case plus any other books, their electronics, stuffed animals, or whatever they want to travel with. I’ve got one absolute minimalist in the family. And I’ve got one that tries to pack everything but the kitchen sink. {smile} I’ve got one that will do all sorts of activities in the car. And I’ve got two that get carsick easily. So we also have a lot of family-oriented, no-reading games and a good list of audiobooks ready that I’ll share in a future post!

What are your favorite road trip games to play? Are you good a reading and writing in the car?