Wednesday, June 4, 2014

One Easy Way to Keep the Kids Entertained in the Car (no electronics needed)

I'm a Mom that loves to keep electronics out of the car. I use them but only when its that last push and we really need it. I've shared with you previously 10 Ways to Avoid the Dreaded Question. Here's another idea to add to your toolbox.

Finish the Scenes Notebooks

Grab an empty notebook (or paper in a binder) and start drawing parts of pictures. Don't finish them- just draw enough to spark the imagination. I made some for my kids a few Christmases back and its still a hit. Sometimes I leave directions to help encourage more thought and sometimes I'll just draw a little. Keep these notebooks in the car or for a long road trip and you have some great quiet but not boring time.

Don't know what to draw? Buy some die-cuts or stickers at the Hobby Lobby and put them in. I've made a few free printables for you to grab or see another 100 ideas here to get you thinking. To print, you can copy and paste each picture to a Word document so you can adjust the size to your liking or click the text below the picture you like to download them full size. Want them all? Print out all Finish the Scenes pages here.


Finish the Scene Free Printables
Finish the Boat Scene Download Here
Finish the Face Scene Printable
Finish the Face Scene Download Here

Finish the  Forest Scene free printable
Finish the Forest Scene Download Here

Finish the Farmyard Scene Free Printable
Finish the Farmyard Scene Download Here
Finish the Garden Scene Download Here



Finish the Gift Scene Free Printable
Finish the Gift Scene Download Here
Finish Outer Space Free Printable
Finish Outer Space Scene Download Here
Finish the Rain Scene Free Printable
Finish the Rain Scene Download Here

Finish the Bicycle Scene Free Printable
Finish the Bicycle Scene Download Here
Finish your Wish Scene Download Here













































The great thing about these is they don't take a lot of ink to print! Plus you can stick them inside sheet protectors and use washable markers to reuse these over and over.
I like to draw a few that will help me teach some principles or uncover some information. For example, if I want to know what's the most desired gifts for Christmas are, I'll draw a Christmas tree with empty boxes to fill with their wishes. If I want to encourage thinking of others, I'll draw stems for bouquet of flowers and ask who they would give it to. Paying attention to what my kids draw helps me understand what things they are into, who is important to them, and if I need to work on a habit.

Other things you can do in the notebook:
  • Play the Dot Game- You know the one...there are dots in lines all over the page. One person draws a line then then next, connecting the dots. When one person finishes making a box with a line, he gets to put his initial inside of it. The person with the most boxes wins. Love this game!
  • Hangman- Just make sure they spell the word correctly! 
  • Story prompts- Instead of drawing unfinished pictures, do a few unfinished stories- start in the middle, beginning, or even end and have them complete it. 
  • Picture Musical Chairs- Start a picture of a monster (or something) but you only get to draw the top- fold it over or cover it up with another piece of paper. Switch papers and the next person gets to draw the body. Keep switching until everyone has a turn. You can divide it up so it goes hat or hair, head, arms and neck, body, legs, then shoes or feet if you need a lot of turns or group them together to make it shorter. Always fun to see the end result!  
What other fun things can you do with the notebook? 
Share it! :)

8 comments :

  1. Great ideas! We all need these ideas! lol

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ok love the sheet protector idea!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Laura! Having the sheet protectors save me a ton of paper- I make different packets and the kids rotate through them. Its great.

      Delete
  3. Excellent!! I'm really big on not using electronic devices during travel or independent play at home. A must Pin for later!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for the comment and pinning it Lauren! We really do need to be proactive about limiting electronic time, don't we?

      Delete
  4. Awesome!! I love it! Seriously. I am all for less electronics too.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for taking the time to comment! I love hearing from you.