16 Hour Drive with 3 Kids - What Kind of Activities???

I have 4 kids still at home. My 17 year old is self-sufficient, but my 8 year old triplets need help. We've always had them grab an old backpack and put in their Leapfrog computers (learning), 3 books, 1 coloring book and snack bag with 10 crayons, and 10 small non-noisy toys (Hot Wheels, Pet Shop, etc). We have a specific number of items so every time it's time to pack up we'll know if something is missing. It sounds like you've got a good start. You're not going to come up with a perfect situation so you can only do the best you can and hope the restlessness is to a minimum. I do try to have conversations with the kids, point out things on the road as we're going, the kids play I Spy and other road games that you could probably Google, and take the stops you need. I always force everyone to sit on the toilet even when they say they don't have to go, limit drinking and have plenty of snacks. Shade guards on the windows help, sunglasses, earbuds for games or music. Force the kids to run and run when you make a stop!

K. B
mom to 5 including triplets

Even at that age, we did books on CD. There were some great adventures and mysteries from the juv. section of our library, that are engaging for kids and adults. It was fun to listen together as a family. I'd bring some short and long books for variety. Over the years, we went through the Redwall series and every Hank the Cowdog available.

Another way we made the long trips bearable was to stop at a park for a picnic lunch, and let the kids play and run around for most of an hour. My kids liked playing in a new park in a new city. And it didn't take any longer to do this compared to stopping at a restaurant to eat. Plus the fresh air did all of us good. Sometimes we'd even take a 2 hour break to visit a kids museum or special attraction on the way to our destination. It made the long drive seem more like a vacation when we could do that.

Books on CD are a lifesaver. Hit the library and see if you can check out a few. The Narnia books would probably work for all of your girls, as would Peter Pan (NOT Disney - the real one), the Little House books, or possibly The Hobbit.

Get books on cd from the library. Listening to stories makes each person's experience their own. Hank the Cow Dog is funny for the little ones and will give the oldest a break from them.

I used to get the questions from trivia games and take them. There's always Brain Qiuz stuff. Check the dollar store for crazy litte toys like the thing we used to have that magnetic wand to "draw" hair on the guy!
Keep a ball or frizby in the car for exercise during the pit stops.

Check out ideas on pintrest too.

My sister likes to give her kids a "car ride / road trip bingo" board, who are pretty close in age to yours. It keeps them staring out the window for a little while. She has surprise prizes for them when the game is done (small ones for the players and bigger one for the winner). Then they spend some time playing with the prizes.

That's all I have, sorry!

We all played the alphabet game together... different variations, depending on the trip and the age...

Everyone looks for different letters in the signs along the way.... you can play it cooperatively, (everyone hunts together), or each person plays it for themselves (you could help the youngest)....

We also played it where you have to find an OBJECT that started with that letter.... very tricky! (We skipped a few letters, or accepted something else)...

Keep a list of the states for the license plates.... see if you can find all 50 states!

We also listened to kids songs OVER and OVER.... my kids loved to sing as a result... we all sang along to those songs....

coloring stuff, more challenging puzzles like soduki for your bigger kid. A game they could play like go fish or other card games, a car scavenger hunt
tons of snacks and drinks and wipes for messy hands.

My brothers daughter's mom lives in NC and gets her on holidays and the summer, which is a 10 hour drive. She (now 6, been doing this since 4) does fine with hardly anything besides coloring books mostly and playing eye spy and torturing M. or whoever else is along for the ride and a little bit of video games

plenty of music to listen to I like Hanover's idea or road trip bingo. That's always fun for my boys!!! If I was you I would go ahead and take the DVD player cause by the time its dark they wont beable to read or color and may be tired of the DS's by then.

Sounds like you've already got a ton of good suggestions! :) I would print out a black and white map of the US and have them look for license plates from different states, then they can color them in on their map as they find them. Whoever has the most colored in at the end of the trip wins. It helps teach them geography in a fun way and they get to see how far the people in the other cars have traveled. Safe trip!

I stock little flexible baskets for my kids when we travel. The sit on the floor board or next to them so they can be reached easily. I don't like things with a lot of parts or pieces. Crayons fall and make a mess. So instead we do things like an etch a sketch or a magna doodle. There is less chasing of things (although your kids are older, so this may not be a problem for you).

MP3 players are great, so everyone can have their own music. I bought some super simple, cheap ones online for $5 and then some kid headphones, so the kids can't turn it up too loud.

Bags of cheerios and fruit loops with a piece of string. They can make edible bracelets. I have soft trays that attach to the seat belt so they don't slide off that are great for this sort of thing.

Books on CD are great. You can check them out from the library.

Zingo is a great game and there is a travel version available.

Snacks, snacks and more snacks.

We also use those Find It tubes. That entertains them for short spurts throughout our travels.

ANd I always bring a ball. Even if they only get five minutes at the rest stop to play with it, they get a chance to run around a bit and stretch their legs.

Safe Travels!

We do what a lot of people mentioned already as we take a ton of car trips. I always bring a timer along and when the timer goes off, it's time for a surprise. Which consist of things to do in the car, a movie (I rent or buy a $1 movie), something to draw on, etc.

Movies are okay to do even during the day. We bring a blanket and she holds the DVD player and goes under the blanket to watch. Takes care of the glare just fine.

I would get books on cd for each of them to plug into (seperate units required though--extra money). And I would too have one in the cd player for yourself.

What about a simple craft of some sort? There's so many out there that come in kits, anything not requiring glue or scissors should work. I would add a cooler with lots of bottled water and take healthy snacks, the sugar and salt in processed ones can make anyone cranky. Make stops often for going to the bathroom and stretching, and encourage them to just look out the window, they don't need to be entertained the entire time. The time will go faster than you think.

Family sing-alongs
The old "alphabet" game
"I Spy"
"20 Questions"
Interview one another
Have the girls braid one another's hair
Make friendship bracelets
Bubbles, if you don't mind that getting on your interior
The cow/graveyard game - Whoever sits on the right side gets all the cows they can count on the right, if they pass a graveyard they lose their cows...same for left side...