DIY: ‘Busy box’ for kids entertains while on-the-go

Never leave home without your own Busy Box for kids. Better yet, just leave it in the car!

About nine years ago, when my daughter was just under a year old, I filled a small basket with toys, small stuffed animals, figures, and board books and left it in my car. Well, she is now 10 years old, and she, along with my son (6 years old) still have their versions of a busy box in my minivan.

What is a Busy Box?

Quite simply, it is your child’s entertainment in a small box. Keep the Busy Box in your vehicle and it will keep your kids entertained while on-the-go.

The best part is, the box, or the activities inside the box, are portable so they can occupy your kids while:

• Dining at restaurants
• waiting for doctor appointments
• in the shopping cart
• visits to relatives’ houses (who may not have toys or activities at their house)
• long distance visits
• taking a road trip
• appointments or errands

What’s inside a Busy Box?

Well, all fun stuff, of course! It is a small box full of activities that are portable to play in the car, but also to bring somewhere. The contents of your busy box will change as your kids grow up.

Here are some suggestions for various age groups.

Infant:

• Extra rattles
• Teethers
• Ring links (my kids used to have so many that I left a few in the car)
• Board Books (great to use any duplicates you may have received as gifts), or soft or plastic books

Toddler:

• Small animal/people figures (such as Little People figures, My Little Pony, Action Figures)
• Small stuffed animals (not their favorite one that they sleep with!)
• Stickers (add a small notebook that they can stick them in)
• Books (great to leave any duplicates you may have received as gifts)
• Crayons (twistable crayons are my favorite)
• Coloring books/blank notepad
• Flashcards (Color, Animal, Number and ABC’s)

Preschool to Kindergarten:

• Books
• Crayons or colored pencils
• Coloring books/blank notepad
• Activity pads (such as mazes, word search, brain teasers)
• Stickers
• Kid magazines
• Dry erase boards
• Blank, lined or printed activities such as math problems, practicing letters or numbers, hangman
• Dry erase markers/eraser
• Sight word flashcards
• Trivia cards (such as Smarty Pants by Melissa and Doug)
• Mini “travel-sized” games (such as Zingo on the Go , Travel Connect Four, or Memory)
• Joke books
• Reading lamp

Grade School:

• Pencils, pens, markers, colored pencils
• Activity books (such Mad Libs, crossword puzzles, word search, brain teasers)
• Notepads and drawing pad
• Portable drawing kit
• Deck of playing cards
• Trivia game cards
• Flashcards (math, spelling words)
• Mini “travel-sized” or portable games (such as Travel Connect Four, Yahtzee on the go, Apples to Apples to go, Magnetic Checkers/Chess)
• Extra ear buds (for Tech Time)
• Road trip games (such as travel trivia, license plate games)
• Joke books
• Reading lamp

Tips for your Busy Box:

Use what you already have in your house. Use a spare small plastic bin, basket, or shoebox that is not being used and re-purpose it for your new Busy Box.

Go through your kids’ toys and pull out extra items that you have after you review the suggestions lists above.

Another suggestion is to add party favor games, holiday/seasonal activities (mini games/pads), or duplicate books and games.

Have fun putting together your new Busy Box… now go and get busy!