The Bag O’ Fun: Enriching Your Car Rides, Homeschool Style
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The Bag O’ Fun - it’s exactly that. A bag full of fun. You prep it with the games, activities, and academics that your kids might like, and voila! Your carschool will be full of magic, memories, and did I say fun!?! So, here’s how you do it. (Check out our Carschool Podcast!)
How to Make a Bag O’ Fun
1) Get a bag that makes you happy. You can make a cute one out of multiple favorite fabrics and some Velcro, buy a cute small tote bag (Let the kids decorate it!) and stick on some Velcro, or even use a happy zipper pouch.
2) Get a couple dozen popsicle sticks
3) Use a sharpie of colors your kids love, and write one activity per popsicle Game Stick - our sample list (3 pages long) is an idea of activities you can include on your sticks, but it’s also great to customize your list of activities so you can meet the interests and needs of your kids as well as your academic and road trip objectives
4) Put a Ziploc bag labeled “used” for the used popsicle sticks played
5) Prepare the games and activities you listed on the sticks - If a popsicle stick has “read books about destination” then make sure you have those picture books ready to go in the car bin. If you are using Math Wrap Ups, then put those in your car bin. If you are doing a scavenger hunt, put your list (words or pictures) of vehicles in the car bin.
The “Car Bin” with Bag O’ Fun and all the elements needed for the Game Stick activities
How to Play the Bag O’ Fun
1) Once you are on the road, pass the Bag O’ Fun to the lucky first person (Player 1) who will draw out the first Game Stick (without looking!).
2) Player 1 reads aloud the Game Stick and gets to be the first one to start the game.
3) After Player 1 gets his/her turn, everyone else gets a turn at the same exact Game Stick. (If it’s a group game, then everyone can participate at the same time. If it’s books or activity workbooks, then Player 1 gets first pick. If it’s music, then Player 1 gets to pick the music, and so on.)
4) Then, the used Game Stick goes into the “Used” Ziploc.
5) Pass the Bag O’ Fun to Player 2.
6) Repeat steps 2-4 for each player.
7) Even though you may be driving, let a player draw out a Game Stick for you to start so that your kids feel that you are part of the fun!
That’s it! That’s the Bag O’ Fun! We’ve used it with our friends on road trips to Los Angeles (on our epic Donut Road Trip!) and Big Sur. I have used it with just my own kids on my drive to San Francisco on an 8 hour car ride. I’ve even used it to visit family 1-2 hours away. And it works every time - filling the car with smiles, laughs, learning, and…well…fun!
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