Are we there yet?

Well, I knew I would come up with something to blog about! Unfortunately, for my mom it isn't a picture of the kids or anything like that...that will come soon!

Later on in the summer, we are going to be going on a road trip. Yay!! We are going to be visiting very dear friends all the way in Virginia with some fun stops on the way there and on the way back. It's going to be quite a trek, but worth it with the cost of airplane tickets, luggage, pretzels, seat belts, or whatever else the airlines are charging for these days. So what's a mom and dad to do with 4 kids under the age of 6 in the car for a LONG time (other than stick in a DVD and call it good)?

Here's my attempt to entertain, entertain, entertain...special thanks to my friend over at Smarter Moms for some fabulous ideas.

Each kiddo will get a tote bag filled with things that look like this (or similar depending on the age):

I am hoping that the following things will keep them occupied for more than the first 100 miles.

I SPY BOTTLE: this former water bottle is filled with rice and little items (dice, paper clips, buttons, etc). The goal is to find all the items that are in the bottle by shaking the bottle and moving the rice around. I took a picture of the items in the bottle and printed it out so the kiddo can see what they are supposed to be looking for. Yes, for those of you who know my son, the top is super-glued shut. :)

SANDPAPER ART: coarse sandpaper with different lengths of yarn. The yarn sticks to the sandpaper so the kiddo can make different shapes, letters, pictures, etc.

ALUMINUM FOIL ART: kinda like mess free clay. I found a box of 25 individual sheets of foil at the dollar store. They can practice their origami swans like they make at restaurants for your leftovers. Practice for a future job?

SMALL METAL BAKING SHEET: this was a great idea I found (also got from the dollar store). It's great to use as a hard surface for drawing, coloring, etc. But it also has a lip around the edge to keep things from rolling away.

PAPER DOLL BOOK: I couldn't find a sticker book that I liked, so hopefully this will work. I included a zip-lock bag to put the used paper dolls into when they are done.

EDIBLE JEWELRY (still to be assembled): peel apart licorice with Apple Jacks or Fruit Loops. Each kiddo will make their own fruit loop necklace and then eat it for a snack!

COLORED PENCILS and TWISTABLES: love these rather than markers (ink everywhere) or crayons (they melt!!).

SCHOOL WORKBOOKS: so we don't forget everything that we learned last year. :)

Then I made each kiddo their own Activity Binder:

With games like Road Trip Bingo:

Or a scavenger hunt:

The alphabet game: I printed out a few lists of the alphabet so the kiddo can cross off the letter when they find it.

Even though, thanks to GPS, maps are going the way of the buffalo, I still thought it would be fun for each kiddo to have a map of where we are going. I had Dan print out a large map, but then also individual maps of each of the legs. Maybe this will help with the "Are we there yet?" questions. Wishful thinking?

I put each game in plastic sheet protectors so the kids can use removable stickers instead of writing on the game. This way the game can be played over, and over, and over (did I mention we will be driving over 2200 miles?) and over again.

Now, what does mommy need in her tote bag to get her through this trip?

Yep, that's about it.

Will let you know how my planning turned out! Oh, and don't worry, I did go to the library and stock up on DVD's...I'm not totally crazy!

What are your go to road trip ideas?! This is a round trip, so I may need some ideas for the way home. :)