Road Trip Printables

Who doesn’t love a good road trip?  Traveling with kids comes with some challenges but that doesn’t stop us from exploring the beautiful US of A.  We have taken the kids all over the country and they have seen so much!  This is partly due to my husband being active duty with the United States Air Force but also partly because my husband and I make an effort to show them as much as we can before they are grown. 

Some quick tips!  After traveling with 6 kids, I’m not going to say it is easy and it does involve a few extra considerations but there are things you can do to make it a little easier.  I think the most common complaint I hear from other parents is that kids need so much stuff.  I suggest packing light, I pack per day per person so my kids know exactly what they are wearing the next day.  This also helps me from overpacking clothes for a trip!  I love these pottery barn backpacks, I find they are the perfect size and can fit a weeks worth or more of clothing/shoes for your child.  Their small backpack is the perfect size for weekend trips.  

Save time and money by packing a cooler full of snacks, food and drinks.  Don’t go overboard but it is a great way to use up food you already have and save you time and money while on the road.  Our Yeti cooler has proved it’s worth!  It truly keeps things cold and we have refilled it with ice from the hotel vending machine if our ice packs did not refreeze in time overnight in the mini hotel fridge.  Another is the RTIC cooler.  It is smaller but the perfect size for weekend trips and also has reliably kept our food cold.  We only stop for gas and potty breaks on our way since I have everyones lunches, snacks and water bottles in the car.  I always plan a stop by a grocery store to stock up if it is longer than a few days.  With a family of 8 to plan for you can imagine how much food we go through but even when it was my husband and I were packed food in a cooler to save us time and money.  

Activities for kids.  I pack a container or backpack with toys, books and coloring or activity sheets depending on how long the length of the road trip.  Busy bags or containers are great for any car ride but I like to keep everything contained in a backpack if it is multiple days or weeks.  The dollar store has been a great place to find these containers perfect for playdoh kits, lego sets, and etc.  I’m sharing some free road trip printables.  Tip:  Place inside sheet protector or laminate to get multiple uses out of them!

Last tip, my kids are avid readers but sometimes reading in the car isn’t possible or they get car sick.  I highly recommend audio books!  Let their imagination run as they follow along the story being read to them.  This has passed countless hours in the car!

License Plate Game – Road Trip Printables

I’m sharing this License plate game – version 1 with photos of license plates from all 50 states click or version 2 with a checklist of all 50 states.  This is a fun way to occupy your older ones while learning about all 50 states!  You can click here to print your own copy! 

Kid Printables

Another fun printable that my kids love are search and finds!  I made this search and find road trip edition and they had fun looking for all the different road trip/camping images.  Slide this into a sleeve protector and use over and over again on your next road trip!  Just click here to print your own copy! 

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This set of free printables are fun for kids of all ages with easy number practice and matching to mazes and word scrambles!  Click here for your free copy!

National Parks Printable

This free printable is a great reference for National Parks in the US.  I am hoping to take my kids to all of them and we have crossed out quite a few on this list but have so many more to visit!  Click here for your free copy of the National Parks checklist.  

Packing Printable

Here are two fun checklists you can use to organize your packing for your next road trip!