Artistic Kids Travel Pack

In the past, I have posted a few ideas to keep travel fun for kids.  My daughter is very interested in writing and drawing so I am always looking for ideas to keep her happy both in a car and on an airplane.  This is one that I started a couple of years ago and I have stuck with it!  I just refresh it before every trip and it has worked like a charm.  Plus - it's the perfect size for a backpack and the limited space they have to use it while traveling.  

I started out with a different case.  It was about the same size but less expensive.  However, after one trip it started to fall apart....  I found this one at a Michaels craft store in the scrap booking area.  A little more pricy but with a coupon it wasn't too bad.  Plus, I have been using them for over a year and haven't had any problems with it.  The latches were a little hard for my kids to open but they have no problems with it now.  

I used some paints (mostly paint pens) to personalize the boxes with their names and things that they like.  They love the personalization and it helps me keep track of which case belongs to who.  That is important to me because my kids are at different levels of interest and age so what goes in them isn't exactly the same.  Plus, it makes for less fuss when they have their own!

Suggested items to go in the case:

Road Trip Bingo

Clip board (I found these little ones that I love but they can use the case as a board)

Notebooks to write or draw in - both lined (for writing) and blank pages (for drawing)

Pencil

Pen

Markers

Colored pencils

Crayons

Pencil sharpener

Eraser

Stickers

Small coloring book

Small game books (I found this age appropriate word search for my daughter)

Map of where you are traveling (my kids love to follow along on road trips)

Stencil

Ruler

My son isn't as interested in drawing and he is not writing yet so I usually skip the lined paper for him and add a hot wheels car.  It keeps him happy :-)

Also, since I have two kids I divide some things up.  For example, my son (who is the youngest) gets the markers and my daughter gets colored pencils.  Thankfully they share really well!

Last years pencil boxes for school.

I am NOT an artist!!!  But, anyone can decorate these!  Since I used see through cases it was easy!  Just tape the picture you want to the underside and trace it!!  Here's some examples of recent pencil boxes I made for my kids to take to school.

Check out that butterfly!  I could never do that on my own!

This year they need a lot more supplies and do not have desks!
So, I decided to give them larger cases to held their personal items.