Fun DIY Activity Kits for Kids

Kids stuck in a car? Sick at home? Occasion-specific kits keep them meltdown-free.

Travel Kit

These supplies will make the miles whiz by. And with no loose or loud parts, they’ll help adult passengers retain their sanity.

 

• Make-your-own “road diary.” Include a map of your route, a checklist of sights to spot along the way, paper and a pencil secured to a clipboard, and a manila envelope for collecting bits like postcards.
  
  
• Crayola Model Magic. It’s postmodern Play-Doh: a spongy substance that dries in 24 hours and doesn’t stick to clothing—or car or airplane seats.
  
  To buy: $6 to $25, crayolastore.com.
  
  
• Pocket Etch A Sketch. The two-by-three-inch screen makes this classic perfectly portable. Have kids draw a far-off mountain vista—or the bag of peanuts from the snack cart.
  
  To buy: $8, etchasketch.com.
  
  
• Images Travel Pack. Roger Burrows’s mosaic-like patterns can be colored with the pencils in the sealable pouch. Perforated pages make it easy to post kids’ creations.
  
  To buy: $15, barnesandnoble.com.
  
  
• Book on CD. Judy Blume’s Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing (ages 4 to 8) runs two hours and 33 minutes. Downloaded onto an iPod, it’s pure soundproof pleasure.
  
  To buy: $15, barnesandnoble.com.
  
  
• Magnetic Chinese checkers. The compact board doubles as the carrying case. (The magnetic pieces won’t scatter when you hit turbulence from winds or a sister’s elbow.)
  
  To buy: $9, amazon.com.