Whew, it’s been a whirlwind lately. We made it through the end of school craziness that is May so I’m celebrating our summer freedom by finally getting around to this promised post from about three months ago. Better late than never, right? Last post, I showed you the travel binders I use for my kids who are 4 and up and can now be trusted with a washable maker. That wasn’t always the case so here’s a peek at the travel binders we used when they were toddlers.
For these binders almost all of the pages are file folder games. I print and laminate the file folder game. Then I stick Velcro dots to the game pieces and pages. The kids then stick the pieces to the correct spot on the page. The example above is a simple color matching game. The kids match the small colored dot to the large colored circle. The game pieces are stored in a small Ziploc bag in between the games of each corresponding game.
Here are some of the games we have used in the past:
The first page of all the younger kids’ travel binders is always a simple name matching game. This can easily be made in a word .doc. I create a table with two rows and enough columns to fit their name. I fill the first row with one letter of their name per cell and leave the second column blank. I print and laminate two copies. One I cut apart to make the matching pieces. I place Velcro dots in the pieces and blank row so the kids can match each letter of their name.
Our younger kids’ binders also always include this fun street map. We travel with a few small cars that they can drive around on the map. We also always include this travel I spy game. The kids have binoculars made out of toliet paper rolls and masking tape that they use to play this game.
I won’t lie. This setup does mean I spend a lot of our travel breaks digging the game pieces out of car seats, but the 30 to 45 minutes of entertainment are worth it to me. If your child is older and can be trusted with a washable marker, check out my ideas for older kids’ travel binders here.