One activity bag full of fun for learning. Is it possible? Yes! I carefully scoured Pinterest (it’s a hard job), looking for fabulous ideas to take on vacation with us. I had specific criteria: they had to be simple, interactive, fun, and the supplies had to be similar for easier organization.
We love to travel, but always need to have something prepared for a rainy day. Whether you’re just enjoying a weekend at home or a longer road trip, you’ll be all set. Gather the materials (below) together and you’ll have enough things to do ANY of the these travel activities (below), on your next vacation.
10 Travel Activities for Kids
Materials to Gather (for 2 children) and 10 Activities:
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- 2 balloons
- 2 tongue depressors (large Popsicle sticks)
- tape
- straws (handful)
- 3×5 cards (50 should be plenty)
- a few sheets of paper (for paper airplanes)
- water balloons (handful)
- 2 ping pong ball or 2 bouncy balls
- deck of cards
- pipe cleaners
- 4 large rubber-bands
- 4 paper clips
- toothpicks
- 2 matchbox cars
- 2 crumpled aluminum foil balls (small)
- Bonus: Crayola thin markers, 2 Sharpie markers (for decorating)
- Scissors (I’ve taken small kid size scissors in my carry-on luggage without any problems)
10+ Links for Travel Activities:
Once you’ve gathered all of the supplies above, you can do any of the activities here:
- Straw Rockets – Buggy and Buddy
- Marble Maze – Hello Bee (use a box and straws of index cards)
- Water Balloon Bouncy Ball – The Idea Room
- Balloon Tennis (add paper plates) – Little Bins for Little Hands
- Building with Straws – All For the Boys
- Paper Plane Launcher – Housing a Forest
- Car and Ball Races – Craftulate (add a box)
- Paper Flyers – Relentlessly Fun Deceptively Educational
- Air Blower – All for the Boys
- Toothpicks Tower – The Idea Room (add marshmallows)
- Card Bridge – Homeschool Creations
Plus, I created a Pinterest Board (click here), just for this post. Each pin goes directly to a kid friendly site that explains in-depth how to do the activities.
Extra Materials: Three items do not fit in the bag… marshmallows (marshmallow build), paper plates (balloon tennis), and a box (maze). Even when you’re on vacation, these materials are easy to find or pick up at the store.
The Value of Make A Head Travel Activities
It always happens… I’ll think of something fun or spot something on Pinterest and I won’t have the time or energy to pull it together. Sometimes I’m on vacation and I see an awesome post on Facebook or Pinterest and I think, “We could do that!” Then I look at the supplies and see that you only need a few straws or a couple of 3×5 cards. I know that I have all of those things at home and my frugal side will not let me buy an entire 500 piece pack of said item.
However putting together this bag o’fun gives me the freedom to always have something on hand. This is the fun kind of learning that I *think* I’m going to do with my kids all summer, but somehow only get together when my brain switches to vacation mode. I like to come with some activities on vacation. No Bored Kids (see post here) = happy mom, happy dad, happy grandparents, happy neighbors…. the world!
Click here for more helpful travel tips for kids…
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How To Have The Best Family Vacation Ever
So many fun ideas! These would make great busy bags for rainy days at home, too!
Wolfgang Borchert wurde am 20. Mai 1921 in Hamburg geboren und starb am 20.
November 1947 in Basel.
These are great ideas for keeping kids engaged during weekend trips!