Counting Cows
What may have begun as a simple game of "How many cows do you see?" Counting Cows has evolved into a fun game of counting cows, horses and even windmills. Each of the items that are viewed from a car, bus or train window are assigned a point value. Players can even employ strategic ploys, such as trying to get other players to miss seeing any cows on their side of the car. Whoever gets the most points at the end of the game wins! (It's a good idea to have pencil and paper on hand for the players to write down their points.) Among other tips, MomsMinivan.com suggests a strategy of assigning 1 point per cow, 50 points per white horse, 100 points per gray mule, and losing all points when a cemetery is spotted.
Pipe Cleaner Creatures
Making pipe cleaner creatures is an activity that can distract children for hours, and is a perfect activity for children of preschool age and older. Even better, the necessary materials are inexpensive and easy to acquire. All you need are a package of pipe cleaners (found at any craft or big box store), fingernail clippers and a pencil.
The pipe cleaners can be cut into any length desired with the nail clippers, or joined end-to-end with other pipe cleaners to make a really long pipe cleaner. Allow the children to bend the pipe cleaners as desired to make animals, plants, people or anything else that arises from the imagination. The pipe cleaners can also be wound around the pencil to create a coil.
Travel White Board
Travel white or chalk boards are perfect for drawing, playing tic-tac-toe or hangman, or for holding magnets (alphabet and number magnets and word magnets are great options.) To make a travel board, simply adhere white contact paper to the inside of a cookie sheet. You can also add a sheet of contact paper to the underside of the cookie sheet or paint the bottom of the cookie sheet with chalkboard paint.
Purchase some dry-erase markers and a dry-erase eraser, or chalk and a chalk eraser, and place these in a small box or resealable plastic bag. Place any magnets in a plastic resealable bag, as well.
Article Written By Marguerite Lance
Marguerite Lance has been a professional writer for seven years and has written for museums, hospitals, non-profit agencies, governmental agencies and telecommunication companies. Her specialties include nutrition, dietetics and women's and children's health issues. Lance received a Bachelor of Arts in biological anthropology from Idaho State University.
