For families on the go this summer, consider packing these compact toys and DVDs to keep kids entertained during your next trip.
Forget worrying about a backseat marker mess with Crayola’s Travel Pack. The portable portfolio includes dry-erase crayons for coloring and templates to jumpstart illustrations. Several of the eight activity templates are open-ended, with prompts such as “design your own fashions” or “create drawings from these squiggles,” so they can be used again and again. Ages 5 & up. $9.99. www.crayola.com
If your preschooler can’t bear to leave his Thomas the Tank and other train engines at home, store them in a Tote-A-Train Playbox Carrier, which holds up to 10 engines and features Thomas’ big blue-and-silver smiling face on the front. The box opens to reveal a track playset, a perfect way to bust boredom if a flight is delayed. The Carrier isn’t heavy, either, so chances are your little one can carry it without help from Mom or Dad. Ages 1½ & up. $9.99. www.fisher-price.com
During a long car ride, pop in the CD from Scholastic Storybook Treasures’ The Wheels on the Bus Travel Kit. The colorful, portable kit also comes with two DVDs featuring 15 animated kids’ stories and a 34-page activity booklet that can keep kids busy while they’re singing along. Ages 3-8. $24.95. www.scholastic.com
Stephanie Halinski is calendar editor of MetroKids.
