The road well travelled

I do believe that the journey is more important than the destination. I even try to live that way, but when I traveled with our four frisky children in a confined space, I sometimes found it hard to remember. Today, some parents rely on hand-held games, some on portable DVDs or videos, but our children were young in the days before electronic entertainment, and we made do the old fashioned way with a variety of books on tape and lap projects. It was actually kind of satisfying. The kids used their mental muscles and imaginations. We made frequent stops on the road or forays down the aisle from our plane seats. It was a good combination that made the miles fly by. Give it a shot. Whether you travel by car, train, or plane, the following activities will keep your child entertained for hours. You may even grow to enjoy the way as much as the end.

Portable permanent tic-tac-toe

Make this clever tic-tac-toe square with your child before you leave home. You can also use dried pasta shapes, buttons, or coins as your markers.

What you will need:

• 4 popsicle sticks
• glue
• construction paper
• scissors

Lay the popsicle sticks in a tic-tac-toe grid on a piece of construction paper. Then glue the sticks together in the grid shape. Next, glue the grid on to the paper. Cut out 5 X’s and 5 O’s from the remaining construction paper to use as markers.

Bubblegum experiment

This is science. Really and truly. The kind of science that makes kids curious and want to know more. It’s also good fun for parents to participate in too.

What you will need:

• several different types of bubblegum
• a small notebook and pen

First talk to your child about what a hypothesis is — an educated guess — then hypothesise which brand of bubble gum you guess would blow the biggest bubbles and why. Write down the hypothesis and the order of the bubblegum brands from the best to the worst in the notebook.

Next, scientifically unwrap one brand of gum and chew for a set amount of time, say three minutes. This is where you come in, because the more people that try the gum, the truer the results. Then blow several bubbles over a set amount of time. Record the approximate size of them and move on to the next brand. Did the results surprise you? They often do. And that, my friends, is science.

Write a Foot

Expressing yourself clearly on paper is a resource for life. This project helps children use this skill in a noncompetitive and entertaining way. Begin before the trip by outlining your child’s foot with a heavy black marker on a piece of paper. Place the outline in a plastic sleeve used to protect papers or photos. Next, ask your child to write words that describe her around the outline of the foot. Ask what this foot can do, where it will go, what it feels. You can also trace hands or simple objects that appeal to your child: baseballs, kittens, horses, dinosaurs, candy canes, umbrellas, bunnies, flowers, soccer balls, etc. Just make sure the outline is simple enough to trace with words. Save the outlines in the plastic sleeves to be used over again, when the writing mood strikes.

Straw and pipe cleaner constructs

This is another project with little direction (the best kind!). For older children, include the scissors with the straws and pipe cleaners to cut the pieces while en route.

What you will need:

• bendable straws
• pipe cleaners
• zipper-type bag to store the pieces in
• scissors

The constructs are simple to form, but the results can be elaborate pieces of art. The only instructions needed are to cut the straws and pipe cleaners in half (or to a desired size), then place the pipe cleaner inside the straw. Keep adding straws to the pipe cleaners, bending the straw ‘joints’ wherever desired. These constructs can lie flat, or rise to grand three-dimensional heights.

Magnetic play

You can use a variety of magnets for this project—from alphabets, to magnetic poetry words, to simple shapes. The cookie sheet makes a good base to draw on when the magnetic play is done.

What you will need:

• metal cookie sheet
• lots of magnets: magnetic poetry, alphabets, shapes, and figures
• zipper-type plastic bag to store the magnets in

This is a self-directed project. Older children may like to make words from the letters or poems and phrases while younger kids can play with the shapes and figures.