Doctor’s appointments or traveling in the car for long distances provide children with the opportunity to practice being patient and waiting. But, these periods of time can be longer than anticipated and is a perfect time to have an activity bag along for your child(ren). Some items to include are a folder to put papers in, a large gallon bag to put the individual activities inside and a bag to keep all your goodies organized and portable. Keep in the car so you aren’t spending extra time looking for it. Here are some items to include for your bag:

• Travel size games such as Connect Four or Checkers
• A book
• Drawing pad
• Pencils, both colored and regular
• Washable markers
• Math worksheets for extra practice
• Mad Libs are a fun way to practice parts of speech with fill-in-the-blank stories. Print off a few for an entertaining and educational activity.
• Hidden Pictures were the only bright spot I remember when I was little and going to the doctor’s office. Now you can have some of these from Highlights to add to your child’s bag.
• Small Lego set
• Rubber bands to make friendship bracelets
• Stickers
• Stationary cards to write a note to a friend or family member
• Action figures or small dolls

If you have little ones include the following:

• Large popsicle sticks with velcro on each end of the stick so they can be used to connect to other sticks. These can be colored for your precious one to match.
• Duplos
• Chenille sticks (pipe cleaners) can be used to create various shapes. You can have several shapes already made and trace onto paper so they can match the shapes. This activity can be extended by tracing with various colors and have coordinating colored shapes they match.
• Pom Poms are great for matching and making things. Put them in a snack bag or a large medicine bottle.
• A few favorite books