How often do you and your kids get stuck waiting for long periods of time at the doctor’s or dentist’s office, or outside school, sports, or dance classes? No matter what causes the wait, waiting is not fun. It can be especially frustrating for small children, who tend to get bored easily.
Well, now you can make restless waiting a thing of the past when you and your kids make an activity kit. An activity kit will keep children entertained in the car as well as any waiting room.
Make separate activity kits for each child, so they can do their own thing, or trade items with their siblings for even more entertainment value.
- Start with a re-closable baby wipes box. Wash, rinse, and dry.
- Let your child decorate his or her box and be sure to label the boxes with their names.
- Fill the baby wipes box with tiny treasures such as miniature card games and other travel size games, which you can purchase or make yourselves (as described below).
- Add a small package of crayons and a little notepad for drawing. Small toys such as those found in children’s meals at fast food restaurants fit perfectly.
- Encourage your kids use their imagination to come up with fun things to add to the kit.
- Keep the activity kit in the car and take it in with you whenever you know you’ll have to wait.
Make Your Own Cards
You can use cardstock, or buy perforated cardstock that is made for printing business cards from your computer. Your kids can cut cards from cardstock or simply tear out the perforated ones. They can decorate the cards any way they like, or create their very own game. Some simply ideas include numbering the cards from one through ten and making pairs for each number. Your kids can then play high-low, or a memory matching game with them.
Make Your Own Game
Your kids can make a simple checkerboard from a piece of craft foam. Help them measure off the squares, and fill in those that should be darkened with paint or indelible marker. Using two other colors of craft foam, they can trace circles onto each piece, and cut out twelve checkers from each color. Another way to make game pieces is to collect soda bottle caps then paint twelve one color and the other twelve a contrasting color.