Adventures in Being

Having my own children and having been an Elementary teacher for several years, I am always looking for ideas that will help me to be a better parent, or just bring educational fun into my children's lives. I came across this article and have revamped it some, but I wanted to share it with you all!

Please enjoy and pass on to others....

Have you ever taken your children on one of those 9hr. road trips? Or had a meeting to attend where they need to sit queitly for say 20 min. or more? Talk about asking the impossible!

I call it the Mystery Box.

Fill a storage box w/ handle (Rubbermaid, etc.) with quiet toys. Keep the box ready for those times when you are walking out the door and need something NOW!

If you are working with children, say in a classroom setting, or a Sunday School setting, you can also tape a small typed note to the top of the box explaining that they anyone is welcomed to use the box, and please return the contents to the box and leave it at a designated location.

Depending on how many children you have and their ages, as well as your situation, you may need more than one box.

Ideas for filling the Mystery Box:

* Small packet of marked antibacterial wipes (for little hands)
* Small baggie or box of washable crayons
* Individual packets of goldfish, fruit gummies or some other non-messy snack.
(Sealed snacks are best because you don't have to worry about freshness
and you don't have to worry about germs.)
* Coloring/activity books
* Strings of colorful beads
* Stickers
* Small etch-a-sketch type toy
* Few small cars
* Small animals, people
* Several books for a variety of ages
* NO markers, glue, etc.
* playdoh/Sticky-tack- Depending on the location this may not be the
best idea.

For Older Children-

* Brain Puzzels
* Cross word puzzels
* Rubik's Cube
* Sudoku Books
* The Dollar Store often carries small versions of many board
games especally designed for travel.


Have a wonderful week!