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Car ride>??????ideas?

We are going on an ELEVEN hour roadtrip. We want to occupy our kids ages 6, 3, 3, and 1. We bought the American Girl Tear up this Book and figured the six year old would die for it. We also dug out and borrowed 2 portable DVD players from family, but my kids are NOT tv watchers, however they usually travel quite well. I need a couple of ideas for the one year old and three year olds, thoguh I figure my 6 year old will be fine as she is older and more mature. Of course there will be frequent stops sunce the kids are at a potty training age. I have a lot of snacks already hidden in the van. Thanks~

Public Comments

1. I have a 1-1/2 yr old and a soon to be 3 yr old. I recently this past christmas bought them those kid MP3 players from JC Penny. They also sell them other places. They come with 20 preloaded kid songs and a usb cord to load more. I even loaded a couple of songs they love to sing. They absolutely love them. I bring them along for trips in the car and it keeps them occupied.
2. Ask the 6 and three year olds to bring their two favorite toys and you could bring them to your local drugstore and you could get them little things to draw on that have a 'magic' pen and the draw on it. With one click it erases. That should keep them busy for a wile. Also somepop-upp books for the three year olds. And a little Scooby Doo/Disney characters book for the 6 year old. Also at your local drugstore you can get three princess heads that you dohairstyless on. You can let them pick out some dazzling rubber-bands and brushes! Does the 6 year old have a DS? Their really great but you can also get a leapfrog book that reads the words of stories. The 1 year old will mostly be sleeping for a long period of timeso just buy her little teddy bears. The Car Game id a game where you write colors on paper and every time they see a car that color they put a tally or a sticker down. Good luck!!!!
3. DVD player is a good idea. Also, I would go with color wonder markers and coloring book or paper. (These are good as they won't stain the car like regular markers, or melt like crayons). My 3 year old loves them. For the 1 year old, maybe a new toy. Something without too many parts. When I took mine on a 5 hour plane trip, I got a Sesame Street Steering Wheel. The horn is Burt who announces "Honk Honk" The turn signals are Cookie Monster who says "Coo-kiee, Coo-kiee" It has other characters for a key, and pretend radio. Maybe a puppet and the passenger (mommy or daddy) can make the puppet talk from the front seat? My children love puppets. You can spend time with the kids looking out the window and pointing out stuff, or finding stuff. "Do you see the cow?" "What sound does a cow make?" or something like that, or have them "Find mommy something orange"
4. Fill a backpack for each child. Model Magic is fabulous for 3 year olds and doesn't make a mess in the car. Markers/crayons and a pad of paper, fun dip and lollypops that take a while to eat, wipes for each child as cleaning up with wipes is just as much fun as making the mess. Stickers and silly putty with a page from your comic strips are all great. Also, hit the dollar section or your nearest dollar store and just grab anything that they have your kids will like. Since it is all new, it is all guarenteed to buy time and you don't mind tossing it when you arrive at your destination. My three year old loves the Leapster and they have a lot of preschool games for that age. That kills a lot of time as well. Chalk, a chalkboard, and eraser are good. Lots of beads and a pipecleaner, which is easy to thread for little fingers, are good too. Good luck!
5. We take our 2 and 5 year old to see the grandparents and the rides are 8 hours or 15 hours long. We don't have a DVD and they do just fine. Plus, watching a DVD in a moving car can cause headaches. We usually get two gift bags and fill them with fun stuff like crayons, paper, a couple of little toys, some snacks, stickers and such. I get the items at a Dollar Tree store. I put the bags in the car before the kids get in as a surprise. I pack lots of snacks like fruit and veggies plus stuff we usually don't eat like chips and candy. We stop and get brochures and maps from the rest areas. Your 6 yr old could pro
6. We have a three year old and a new baby and what has worked for us is to travel at night. We usually leave about an hour after my sons normal bedtime so he is good and tired and my husband and I take turns napping and driving. My son usually sleeps the whole time and when we get to our destination he is well rested and we have a whole day ahead of us at our vacation spot. Yes my husband are a little tired that day but it is easier than listening to kids whine and cry for 11 hours. Try it you will be surprised at how well it works. We never drive during the day anymore. And the traffic is usually alot easier and lighter at night too.