Homeschool is a misconception since most who homeschool are rarely home. As summer hits we are home even less. Each of my kids are signed up for an activity, a day summer camp, or a volunteer opportunity. I make sure they are not overloaded but with four kids I am always dropping off or picking up someone. My two little ones are always in tow no matter whose day it is to go somewhere. As you can image they get bored with all the driving around. Since my older two kids have the most to do it leaves my little ones and I along for the ride quite a bit. Finding boredom busters for car rides can get tricky if you plan on keeping your car clean.
My two new favorite solutions:
Mosaica keeps hands and minds engaged with 64 magnetic tiles and challenging puzzles to solve. The tiles stick securely to the tin case so you can keep used and unused tiles from falling all over the floor. The insert shows a number of mosaic puzzles for the child to create using the tiles. The game is recommended for children 6 and up due to the small pieces and the difficulty level of the game. However, both my 8 and 4 year old had as much fun creating their own patterns as solving the puzzles provided in the book. Between the puzzles and making your own patterns, Mosaica, keeps car rides and waiting much more fun.
Crayola makes some of the best products, in my humble opinion. The Dry Erase Activity Center is one such product. It comes with four dry erase markers, eraser, and five double sided activity templates; all which store neatly in the activity center. Your child can practice writing numbers and letters, draw, and play tic tac toe to name a few. Both my 8 and 4 year old love this product and never leave home without it. If you are like me, you are wondering what the value of it is after they use the five double sided activity templates for the hundredth time. I certainly didn’t need another cool toy that ended up in the bottom of a toy box. However, the front of the activity center is the dry erase board that is clear. You slide the templates in and out of the side. Guess what else you can slide in the activity center? Any worksheet, activity sheet, crossword puzzle, or maze you have for your child. All of a sudden those dot to dot pages have turned into something that can be used more than once. It is so useful, I just may have to get one for each of the girls.
Amazingly enough, both products can be purchased at Staples. Staples has been a long time favorite office supply store since it goes beyond just office supplies and offers a large array of teacher and educational supplies. Take a look you may surprise what treasures you find!
Full disclosure: Staples.com provided me with these products for review. The thoughts and opinions expressed are strictly my own. Feel free to shop their entire line of HP Printers online.