Top 10 Travel Toys for Elementary School Kids

Are you getting ready to head off on a road trip or family vacation with the kids? Since my son is only 2 years old, I decided to seek out Tracyn Thayer, kid travel toy expert and the owner of Kids Travel Happy, LLC. Here’s a list of the top 10 toys that keep kids (ages 5-10) happy and entertained through a long ride. These toys are designed for girls and boys and all modes of travel.

1.  Lap Trays... this isn't a toy you say?  Tracyn believes that the key element to 'happy travel' for kids is an appropriate play surface.  She recommends the Dream Desk Lap Tray ($17.95) which comes in blue or green. It has a removable fleece beaded bottom (that doubles as a travel pillow!), a cover that slides and allows for storage of pens, pencils, paper and other small gadgets, and 2 recessed areas to keep items from sliding off the tray, as well as a cup holder.  The beauty of this?  It greatly increases the options for on-the-go play. The Kids Travel Happy website also has a feature where you can see all the toys that fit the dream desk lap tray. 

2.  Magnetic Poetry:  The Adventure Storymaker from Magnetic Poetry Kids ($16.95) is a great way to get your kids' creative juices flowing.  With over 150 magnetic words, they can make-up exciting stories with the adventure-themed words.  Parents especially love this toy because it's one of those undercover teachers - kids won't even realize they are practicing sentence structure, parts of speech and creative writing while on vacation!  To increase the fun, a parent or an older sibling can pick out 10 words that must be included in the story.  Since Tracyn likes to leave her fridge at home when traveling with the kids, she recommends getting a Magnetic Board ($3.95). It is the perfect substitute for on-the-go story composition.

3.  Activities from Klutz are sure-bets for entertaining kids at home or on-the-go.  The Super-Sneaky-Double-Crossing, up, down, round & round Maze Book ($12.95) is a favorite at Kids Travel Happy and has keep kids amused for hours. The mazes are constructed such that the 'solver' has to use their finger to trace through the maze (not a pen or marker) making it re-useable by more than one child.  There's a good range of maze difficulties and parents have often joined in o the fun.

4.  The Yes & Know Invisible Ink "Magic Pen" activity books ($3.55).  Parents will remember these, and kids will have to keep them safe from the 'big people'.  Packed with all kinds of solo activities, as well as fun trivia to share with the family, these books are guaranteed to keep kids 'revealing' answers for hours.   Games include Hangman, Basketball, football, bull's eye, tic-tac-toe, and so much more.  There are also Car Travel themed activity books for ages 7 to 100! 

5.  The Zoob Traveler ($17.99) – What is a Zoob you might ask? It’s a totally set of plastic pieces that can snap, click, and pop together to make a robot, a plane or anything else your kids imagination takes them. The best part … these creations aren't just for looking at - they can be moved and played with, making it a multi-faceted play toy! The Zoob Traveler comes with a foam play pad holds the ZOOB pieces to create a sturdy base while on-the-go.  The Travel Bag handle adjusts to make a sturdy shoulder strap.  There are a total of 40 pieces (5 different types that snap together 20 different ways!) lots of ideas to get your kids started on their building fun.

6.  Rubik's Cube 3x3 ($11.95): You might be fighting your kids to play with this old school favorite. For the younger set, you probably want to start them off with Rubik's Junior ($6.95) a 2x2 version and help build their confidence.

7.  Magic 8 Ball ($9.95) - This ball is a Mr. Smarty Pants and never runs out of answers.It's small and compact and perfect for finding answers to all of your kids questions as you head towards your next destination.

8.  Slide Puzzles (Starting at $4.95) - These eight-piece puzzles slide around a nine piece board to various pictures. The perfect puzzle when traveling because all the puzzle pieces are attached to the board. Ingenious.
 

9.  Mad Libs geared toward those aged 7 and up are the perfect way to review and practice parts of speech.  Kids won’t even realize they are learning.  There is a theme for every kid from “Outer Space” to “sleepover” to “Cool Mad Libs” to “Family Tree”s.  Adults will remember this classic!  We love this activity to keep the brain active especially during those summer trips!

10.  A Destination Game. Eventhough, you might have a ton of activities planned for your vacation, it's always nice to have a game for the whole family as a break from all the running around. Tracyn's top picks are Boochie ($34.95), an indoor version of Bocce, GNIP - GNOP ($15.95), and Darda Speedway Set ($24.99), or an I SPY puzzle ($9.99) that provides hours of fun searching for "hidden" items in the picture even after the 300 piece puzzle is completed.

Tracyn Thayer is the owner  of Kids Travel Happy, LLC and strives to bring kids the most unique and complete collection of UNPLUGGED toys, games, books, gear, and activities for travel.  Although she only picked the top 10 travel toys for kids for Trekaroo, Kids Travel Happy sells more than 700  toys for kids of all ages.

To receive 10% off your next order at Kids Travel Happy, use the discount code TREK10.

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