Car Activities for Little Kids!

During our last meeting we discussed the importance of play time. If you're not the keenest on playtime with your kids, you're not the only one. Lindsey shared this great quote she found that hit home with a lot of us:

"Playing with children doesn’t have to be hard, but for some reason, I get it in my head that there’s a certain way I’m supposed to be doing it. Then I question my abilities as a mom and wonder if I’m doing it right. The truth is, my kids want me more than anything else. They don’t care if my story lines are a bit awkward. They don’t care if I’m not very creative. They care about me. And your kids… what do they want more than anything else? You guessed it: you." from Embrace the Moments

To go along with the "play" theme, Hope had a great craft for us: magnetic car activities! The coolest part is all of these can be created with a minimal budget (hello, dollar store!), and with little supplies. It's all about getting creative.

Magnetic Car Activities

The main tools you'll need to create some fun magnetic car activities are: a tin cookie sheet, popsicle sticks, glue, magnets, and whatever fun stuff you have at home!

Using foam, magnets, and popsicle sticks, you can make some great learning tools to help stimulate your child. They also make cute foam "kits" at places like Micahel's and Hobby Lobby with things like these turtles. They'll make for fun puppets! 

 

For the learning sticks, utilize both sides of the stick. On one side put the shape, and then put the color on the other side! Along with magnets, you'll also need velcro. 

The little turtles are a cinch to make. Just get the kit, and start gluing them together! Kids will have fun with these "puppets" in the car! 

We also made popsicle stick puzzles! These are AWESOME! Print out whatever photo you'd like to make the puzzle out of (keep them on the smaller side, so they'll fit on the sticks), cut the whole picture out, mod-podge it on both sides, then using a razor, slice through the sticks. Easy peasy! 

And here's the final product! 

Awesome craft, right? And it needs to be said: several of these pieces can be choking hazards, so please keep a close eye on your kids, especially if they're little! 

If you want some more ideas, here are a few sites to take a look at that have great games to play in a hotel room or on an airplane:

The Rules of Motherhood
Learn with Play at Home
It's Always Autumn
A Creative Princess
Life Through My Eyes 

If you have any good, easy, mess-free crafts, let us know about them!