A Travel Art Kit for Kids That Actually Works (Plus 12 Screen-Free Car Ride Ideas)

Two hours into the drive. The snacks are gone. Someone has dropped a pencil down the side of the seat, where it will now live forever. And the first "are we there yet?" has just been fired.

A good travel art kit won't make a long journey magical. But it can buy you a surprising amount of quiet, and it's much easier to put together than you'd think.

What goes in a travel art kit

The perfect travel kit fits in a zip pouch or a slim pencil case and survives being sat on.

What to leave at home

• Paint of any kind. You know why.
• Glitter. You'll be finding it in the car next summer.
• Big boxes of 64 crayons. They will spill.
• Anything that needs a sharpener, unless you enjoy shavings in the cup holder.
• Very detailed coloring pages. Bumpy roads and tiny spaces don't mix.

Why story coloring works so well for travel

A story coloring page is a self-contained little episode: read the page, look at the scene, color it. That makes it easy to do one, stop, look out the window, and do another. It's also a nice way to share: a grown-up in the front can read the story while the child colors in the back.

Print a few pages before you go, or take a slim story-coloring book that lies flat.

Free printable · 10 pages

My First Evening in Meowelo

Ten free pages, one story in small episodes: print them before the trip and hand out one at a time.

Print it free →

12 screen-free car ride ideas

With the art kit

1. Story coloring, one page per hour. Something to look forward to.
2. Draw what you see. A cow, a bridge, a red car. Make a travel sketchbook.
3. Squiggle swap. One person draws a squiggle; the other turns it into something.
4. Design a license plate for the place you're going.
5. Map the journey with drawings of things you pass.
6. Make postcards to send to grandparents when you arrive.

No equipment needed

7. I spy, the classic, with colors for younger children.
8. The alphabet game: find each letter on signs, in order.
9. Twenty questions. Animal, vegetable or mineral?
10. Story chain: each person adds one sentence to a story.
11. Would you rather (keep it silly).
12. Quiet minute challenge: who can notice the most sounds in one quiet minute?

How to make the kit last the whole trip

• Don't hand it all over at once. Bring out one new thing every half hour or so.
• Keep a "surprise" item back for the hardest stretch: a new book, a new set of pencils.
• Take breaks from art to look out the window, sing, or play a word game.
• Car-sick kids may do better with audio stories and window games than with looking down at paper.

A story for journeys

One Lantern at a Time follows Lunai, Pico and Rinwa as they carry a star lantern to the hill. The way ahead looks long, but they don't have to decide every step now. It's a lovely one for long trips, and for children who find "how much longer?" the hardest part.

Book 10 of 12 · Perseverance

One Lantern at a Time

With Lunai, Pico & Rinwa · Ages 6–10 · Story + coloring

The whole journey can wait a moment.

Look inside

One lantern at a time, one page at a time

Long journeys are long. A small, clever kit and a few good games won't change that, but they can turn "are we there yet?" into "can I do one more page?" Pack light, rotate often, and enjoy the view.

Read it together · Book 8 of 12 · Confidence

Myro's Surprise Picnic

This stop wasn't on the map.

“Myro has planned a whole day of exploring. Then a closed bridge changes their route.”

With Myro & Pico · Ages 6–10 · Story + coloring

Look inside

Try a free page first →