We're going on a long car ride soon (about 8 hours each way) and I needed a few more activities to keep the girls occupied.
I decided to make some magnetic toys! They weren't too much work, fun to make, and fairly inexpensive since I already had a lot of the supplies on hand. Also, it helps to have a laminator.
I bought them each a small cookie sheet from the dollar store, they're about 9"x13". They're a great tray for coloring, snacks, or magnets.
I made each girl a set of tangrams.
I decided to make some magnetic toys! They weren't too much work, fun to make, and fairly inexpensive since I already had a lot of the supplies on hand. Also, it helps to have a laminator.
I bought them each a small cookie sheet from the dollar store, they're about 9"x13". They're a great tray for coloring, snacks, or magnets.
I made each girl a set of tangrams.
I printed this pattern (small version) and then traced it onto craft foam from the dollar store. I bought a roll of sticky back magnets from JoAnn's and cut a small piece for the back of each shape. I printed the animal tangram patterns. I left the cards as the "answers" because Kaylin is only 4. I cut the patterns into sets of two and laminated them back to back.
I made Lauren a set of the shapes too. I made them with pink foam so I can easily keep the two sets separate. I am not expecting my one and a half year old to make pictures; I figure she'll have fun just playing with the shapes.
Next I made some magnetic play sets.
I made Lauren a set of the shapes too. I made them with pink foam so I can easily keep the two sets separate. I am not expecting my one and a half year old to make pictures; I figure she'll have fun just playing with the shapes.
Next I made some magnetic play sets.
Toy Story 3
Farm set
Picnic set
The two Disney sets are paper doll printables. I just cut out the parts I wanted, laminated them, cut them out, and attached a magnet to the back of each one. I love that they have a background to play on.
The farm and picnic sets are cutting activities for kids. I didn't print all of the pages for these ones. I thought the barn needed a little more for the background, so I cut out some green paper for grass and glued the barn and grass onto a blue piece of paper.
I needed a place to store all of the pieces! The next day one of my favorite blogs, Make it and Love it, posted about vinyl pouches. Problem solved!
Kaylin has been wanting to play with the magnet sets, but I won't let her. I keep telling her that they're only for our car trip. Now that they're finished they're hidden away and I think she finally forgot about them. Hopefully these will make the trip a little easier on the kids (and the parents!).
In case you're curious, other things we're bringing include:
Tag Reader with headphones, extra batteries, and a new book
Cinderella book with dry erase markers (from Costco)
Tangled book with cling stickers (from Costco)
Dry erase cards with letter tracing
Magnetic letters to use with the cookie sheets
Coloring books and crayons
Lacing cards
Pipe cleaners
Misc. books
Portable CD player and iPod with headphones
Travel pillow
Lots of snacks!
