Georgia Trip: Plane Activities

My daughter and I recently traveled to hot Georgia. To get there, we took a six-hour plane ride. I knew before hopping on the plane that I better come prepared with some activities to keep my daughter entertained. After all, six hours is a long time for a three-year old to sit strapped into a chair with nothing to do!

There was just one problem: since my husband wasn't traveling with us, I couldn't use his trusty backpack to stash the fun goodies. As a result, my daughter would have to carry her own little back pack. Also, any of the activities I packed for her had to fit in it.

Luckily, most of the plane activities I packed for her during our last trip to the East Coast fit in her back pack. So, they made the list of items we took to Georgia. And I still had room to pack a few extra fun and educational items. Below is a list of all the items I packed for my daughter for the Georgia trip in case you need ideas before hopping on a plane with young kids during your summer vacation.

1. Stickers: We already had some stickers on hand at home, including the Melissa & Doug Sticker Collection - Alphabet and Numbers. So, I put together a few sticker activities to keep my daughter's mind and hands busy. One activity required her to place the correct amount of happy faces under the corresponding number, while the other activities required her to match letters and numbers.



2. Melissa & Doug Colors Cards Puzzle: Since my daughter loves puzzles, I knew I had to pack at least one for the trip.



3. Melissa & Doug Lace and Trace Pets: My kiddo always seems to get an extra burst of energy as we take our seats on the plane and wait for everyone to board. Desperate to keep her entertained and in her seat, I pulled out one of the lace and trace pets during the flight to Georgia. Thankfully, she sat quietly during boarding and take off. Apparently, it takes a lot of concentration to place the lace into each little hole.



4. Hasbro Play-Doh Party Pak 10/Tube: The play-doh, which I packed along with some mini cutters, was my daughter's favorite item to play with. She kept quite busy as she rolled, pounded and cut shapes into the play-doh. And the mini containers fit easily into her child-sized back pack.



5. Books: A couple weeks before our trip to Georgia, my daughter's preschool hosted a book fair. I let my daughter pick out the books that interested her. Her choices were aimed at kids like her who are learning to read. The other bonus? The books were light weight and the perfect size for her back pack. Needless to say, the books -- which included Biscuit and the Lost Teddy Bear (My First I Can Read), OLIVIA Plants a Garden (Olivia Ready-to-Read) and Look for the Lorax (Step into Reading) -- made the Georgia trip.

6. Crayons & Coloring Pages: This activity was incredibly easy to put together. I let my daughter pick out the coloring pages she wanted to color during the trip. Then, I carefully tore them out of her coloring book (which wouldn't fit in the back pack) and stored the pages and crayons in a zip lock bag.

Our next adventure will involve about 20 hours of air time. Yikes! What additional kid-friendly activities do you think I should pack for the flight?

Cheers,
Kristina