This New For Us Friday I’m excited to share a super-cool product that our family has become really attached to–especially on our 3 1/2 hour drive to and from Pennsylvania to visit my parents: The Trip Clip.
The Trip Clip has literally given me a smoother ride, a (for the most part!) stress-free, kid-argument-free (seriously!), and altogether more exciting journey for the kids.
And our friends at The Trip Clip have offered to give one teach mama reader his or her very own Trip Clip to try out for free! Woo-hoo!
Here’s why I totally heart The Trip Clip:
- The Trip Clip: The Trip Clip is ‘unplugged’ entertainment for kids. Essentially, it’s a just-their-size clipboard with just-for-you activities clipped on.
We have used our Trip Clips primarily for our long car rides–which we probably have more frequently than other families–but the Trip Clip can be used at home, for everyday activities, too.
Once you log into your Trip Clip account, you get five activities to download and print out. The activities range from lists (think: grocery, to-do, and beyond) to games (alphabet search, dots, sudoku (for kids), bingo, and more!), and puzzles (crosswords, mazes, word searches, etc) to creative (story boards, coloring pages, and license plate design). Access to more activities can be purchased as you go .
Cora, Maddy, and Owen’s Trip Clips–packed and ready to go!
Each activity can be saved and customized for each child–and printed and printed and printed to your heart’s content.
We first used our Trip Clips back in the fall, and in our most recent trip to the Keystone State, the number of activities available practically tripled–seriously!! This time, Maddy, Owen, and Cora were literally bouncing off the wall waiting for their turn to choose their printables.
Like always, their ‘car trip backpacks’ were packed days before we left, but this time, their Trip Clips were right on top, packed with activities and were pulled out as we backed out of the driveway. Cora and Owen kept sneaking their Trip Clips out of their packs to color before we left.
Cora used her Trip Clip for a long, long, long. . .
Please, my friends, let’s wait until we get on the road to use them, or you won’t have anything to do in the car. I pleaded. Because for me, when I’m driving the kids solo, it’s important that they’re busy, engaged, and occupied. Otherwise, the long ride is more difficult for me.
I also have chosen to keep our Trip Clips ‘special’ for use in out-of-the-house activities. I throw them in my bag when I need to entertain two kids on the sidelines while one is playing soccer, I’ll print out a grocery list while I’m grocery shopping so that whoever is with me can shop along, or I’ll bring them along when I have a short meeting and the kids have to sit quietly for 10 minutes or so.
I totally and completely love them.
. . . long, long, long time and colored so many sheets!
Here’s what we love about The Trip Clip:
- the ease with which we can print activities–our favorites are saved, so printing is super-fast;
- the variety of activities–there’s something for everyone–and then some!;
- the quick, customizable process–with a few clicks, a to-do list is made, grocery list done, or bingo board printed;
- the affordability–each Trip Clip costs $19.95 and the activities are 5 for $4.95–totally d0able for most families;
- the size–6×9 is perfect for little bodies and small hands;
- the pen!–oh, the pen!–four click-back colors, wide-grip, attached to the board (need I say more?);
- the quality–sturdy, strong, and dropped a dozen times–and it’s still ticking!;
- the customer service–Molly (mom and inventor of The Trip Clip) is right there, answering emails and inquiries–love her!)
We wish:
- that we came up with it first–because it’s just that awesome!!
- that we had it years ago–but we have it now, so thank you, Trip Clip!!
GIVEAWAY: A Trip Clip of your very own!
Do you want to win your very own Trip Clip??
- Leave a comment here (along with your email address) simply sharing how your family will use the Trip Clip.
For extra entries,
- Share this post with a friend (just tell me who you shared it with!)
- ‘Like’ Trip Clip on Facebook
- ‘Like’ the teach mama on Facebook or subscribe to teach mama
- Tweet this: Win a Trip Clip on @teachmama and make spring break travel FUN! http://teachmama.com/?p=1895 #weteach #ece
This contest ends on Friday, April 15, 2011 at midnight ET and is open to US residents only.
fyi: Many thanks to our friends at The Trip Clip for providing us with three Trip Clips for Maddy, Owen, and Cora to try. This is an unsponsored post, and my opinions are all my own, influenced only by my three little travelers. I chose to write about The Trip Clip and facilitate this giveaway because I liked the product that much. The Trip Clip is providing one teach mama reader with a free product.
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New For Us Friday LINK-UP: Did you do something new this week? A new food? Watch a new show? Go somewhere different? Give a new product a try? Read a new book? Anything goes!
Link up all week long to a post where you or your family tries something new, out-of-the-ordinary, or exciting. Our goal for New For Us Fridays is to step out of our comfort zone a bit and to get our little ones into the habit of doing the same. If we all share what we’re doing–even if it’s not a success–perhaps we’ll get our kiddos comfy trying something new or stepping out of habit a bit.
What a great idea! You’re right – wish I’d thought of this before. 🙂 I can think of lots of ways we’d use our Trip Clip. First, on the four-hour-long drive to grandma’s but even better, on our summer vacation to Turkey. I’m sure the kids would love it on the long flight to Istanbul. My kids love word search and mazes. It would cool to create some using Turkish words and landmarks. I tweeted the contest info and liked teachmama and tripclip on FB.
We’re planning our first beach trip and this would be great for that! Great giveaway!
I like you on FB!
This looks pretty cool – very useful on our 6 hour drives to Cleveland (from Indy) to see family. My youngest is only 2, not sure how it would work for him, but I’ll give anything a try with him! Thanks for the link, and maybe I’ll get lucky and win! 🙂
These look great, Amy! We’ll be in Florida next month, and while we’re flying to our first destination, we then have to rent a van and drive the family to the second destination about 6 hours away. Oh boy. This would be a nice addition to our trip stuff! 🙂
These look great. We too venture to the north regularly, but more, the 2 hour trip to the eastern shore would be so much nicer with these beauties.
Besides using the Trip Clip for car trips, I’d use it for going to church with my two kiddos!
I “like” teach mama on Facebook AND subscribe by email. 🙂
Omygoodness. Definitely need to try these out..we’ve got a 10 day road-trip coming up as part of our cross-country move from Florida to Oregon. The Kimball Family Oregon trail could certainly use these for at least a few of my 6 kiddos. Thanks so much for sharing!
Those look like fun! We drive to PA a lot too. Caleb and Cora would love them!
Those are cool! Our in laws live a two hour drive away, these could come in super handy!!
would love this for the car. we visit family alot so this would be great!
I like the Trip Clip on Facebook. 🙂
We take a lot of road trips in the summer and this sounds like something that would really work for us!
would love this for both car and plane trips with my 4 1/2 year old! great idea, thank you!
The Trip Clip would be AWESOME for the 9 hour rides to and from PA to visit family. My son with Autism would LOVE LOVE LOVE to have something sturdy to draw on!
I am tweeting this, I am sending it to my friend Charlotte in NH, I like Teach Mama on Fb, and I subscribe in RSS.
The Trip Clip would be awesome for us, we live over 2 hours from grandparents and would love to have it for the trip. My daughter tries to use fun pads now, but the pages are too flimsy. This would rock…
We are a military family, so we are always driving long distances to visit family….that is how we’d use the trip clip…on those long trips! What a great idea!!
I also have Trip Clip liked on FB 🙂
And I have “Liked” Teachmama on FB as well 🙂
Wait there is more….lol….I’ve also Tweeted about it…chirp chirp 🙂
I would love this for our long car rides and our upcoming 14 hour flight to visit family!
I subscribe in RSS
I so need this for our trip to Hawaii!!!
I love this product. i had seen these from a homeschool blogger. Our family could really use these because we travel to see family a lot. Trips can be from 1 hour all the way to 9 hours. We also camp regularly and they would be great for those rainy days. What a great Idea!
I would reserve this for special times I need to have the kids focused, such as when I am in a meeting, etc. or a long car ride. My daugher would love this!!!
I like you on facebook….:)
I also like Trip Clip on Facebook….:)
We’d definitely use this for our long car trips. My daughter loves to draw and this would be perfect!!
I “like” you on FB
Hi! We are traveling (by car) from Berkeley to Seattle (16 hours) for a wedding and then on to Montana in June. (wish me luck!!!) These would be perfect for my 4 and 2 year old daughter to use in the car. What a great idea and give a way!!
I liked The Trip Clip on faceboook as well. 2nd Entry.
I also like Teach Mama on Facebook and subscribe to your blog posts! Thanks. 3rd Entry.
I also shared the link to your review on Facebook with all of my friends!
I love non-tecnology forms of car entertainment!
This looks great! I too think we would use this at church for my youngest. She often likes to draw or color and tries to lean on the books in the pew for support (which we then have to stop her from doing). This would be a perfect way for her to keep busy during a long service.
I like teachmama on FB, too! 🙂
I would use it for car trips and the grocery store.
Looks like fun! We would use it on our 2 hour trip to visit our cousins in Madison!
liked on facebook! Would love to use the trio clip for long carrides!
We are East Coast Livin’ with family to see on the West Side – These would be perfect for our 5 hour plane rides!!!!
I am a reader of your blog, formerly of Silver Spring, MD, currently of Ningbo China, soon to be of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Yes, we move around alot. And travel alot. Our 3 and 1/2 year old son is a great traveler and I am always looking for new activities to keep him engaged on the plane, the bus, and at noisy Chinese restaurants. This would be a great addition to our upcoming travels and cross-the-globe move!
It looks like we might be doing a lot of flying in the future with our two year-old, so I would likely save the Trip Clip for when I need to keep him busy on a flight or waiting in an airport.
What an awesome idea! I’ve seen this before and thought it would be perfect for road trips. we’re heading on a major road trip this summer, and this would be endlessly enjoyed by my kids.
This would have been great yesterday when the boy was waiting for me to register him for Kindergarten. I’d love to have a Trip Clip for our trips to California and North Carolina this summer.
Amy- I “liked” the FB page this am- (never knew it was there…)
What age group is the Trip Clip targeted towards? I know my little one would love it, but not sure if there’s stuff for the older kiddos. 🙂 thanks!!
This would be great for our 10+ hour trip to Colorado and Montana this summer!!
I already subscribe but didn’t know you were on fb, so liked you there too!
With three kids all doing multiple activities, we spend a lot of time in the van. Add in the halfway across the country this summer and we would definitely make use of the Trip Clip. The preschooler would love to be able to write notes while stuck in her carseat.
I’m an email subscriber.
We fly a lot and would use them on our long flights to see grandparents.
Like Teach mama on FB.
Like Trip Clip on FB.
We would love to use the trip clip for the drive we will be taking 9 hours north.
These would be perfect in the car. We have some road trips planned for this summer and these would be great.
Thanks so much,
Caterina
scottmangano@aol.com
I subscribe to Teach Mama
Thanks so much
Caterina
scottmangano@aol.com
Would love to have these on our cross country drive next month!
As a kindergarten teacher, the trip clip is a great invention for long trips. Our grandparents are 17 and 5 hours away.
Karen
We would use the clip for any of our many upcoming weekend road trips. Thanks for offering it!
This looks awesome! Something special for those long car rides to Ohio and the Outer Banks every year…
We are taking a trip (driving) from Florida to Michigan and back again and I would use it with my 7 year old and 2 year old! I NEED something to keep them busy! : )
I “Like” Trip Clip on FB
I “Like” Teach Mama on FB
I tweeted!
We would definitely use this on the lonnnnnng car trips to visit the grandparents (5 hour drive) but also for quiet times like in church.
Thanks!
What a wonderful idea! These would be so wonderful on our long trips to see grandparents or our 13 hour car ride this summer as we take our first trip to Disney. My kids love playing car bingo, etc and the board would make it so much easier.
I liked trip clip on fb
I would love to be entered to win a tripclip. I have family in Florida and with a 3 year old and 8 month old, entertaining for that LONG trip is essential. We usually take the drive (15 hours) at least 2ce a year. While the 8 month old won’t be able to enjoy this (yet!) I think my 3 year old son would love it. He would also be able to use it for grocery shopping trips and i think it would help him behave while we are out eating at restaurants. I also “liked” your FB page and ClipTrip’s FB page.
Such a cool idea, wish I had thought of it. I love the unplugged activities to take along to keep the kids occupied and thinking. I love that it is just their size. We would definitely use it on long car trips and I know my youngest would love it at the grocery store.
We have 4 girls and are headed to TN soon and they would love this. It’s about a 14 road trip and this would certainly help entertain their little minds.
we also do long drives about 1/2 hour to 1 hour weekly and would use it for my kids. they currently use homemade ones (cardboard and paper clip) and this would be great!
thanks!
like you on FB 🙂
We would love these for long car trips, even church!
Would love to win this! I’m getting ready for a 12-hour drive on my own with 3 kids!
How COOL! This would be a lifesaver this summer! I would definitely use this when we move across country this summer! My hubby will be driving the moving truck and I will be driving our van with 3 little kids who will want something to do…these would be great!!!
We would use these clips for trips to grandma’s house! Grandma lives 3 hours away and we travel there every other month or so. Also on long drives to California to visit other family most summers!!
I “liked” you on facebook!
I “liked” trip clips!
I shared this giveaway with all my friends on facebook. I posted the link on my wall 🙂
I tweeted this giveaway! Thanks for letting me enter to win!
Wow!! That is a pretty cool gadget. The ways I can think of that I’d use it are: during the 3-hour trip to and from my daughters kidney specialist, not to mention the long waits in his office, lab and imaging that we have to sit through. Every time we go, it’s a whole day experience.
Also, we are self-employed and do local vendor shows; sometimes she has to come and this would be perfect for that!
Thanks so much for sharing. I am liking both it and you on FB next!
Stephanie (mom to Bella)
i’d love to win this. we will be taking our first airplane trip this september. we are going to disney world. and this would be a great tool for distraction on the plane i’m sure!
becky
belledancr@juno.com
nurturingnaters.blogspot.com
funny, i read this post while on spring break and thought “grr, if I only had these!…” what i like about it is that it can be ever changing. i often find my son “taking” to something because its new (and therefore cooler), so i think initially he’d be into it, but the trick would be how to keep it seeming “special” subsequently. limiting use to travels would be great. We do drive to a family vacation home (4 hrs.) and have a summer trip planned (5 hrs), but our most immediate need would be during our spring house hunt – we finally sold our very outgrown condo and need to start pounding the pavement to find a new home. we will have to drag the kids with us on our go-sees and this would be a great way to occupy him driving about and while going in and out of different homes
My 4 & 5 year old would love to use these trip clips on our trips to see my in laws ( 3 hour trip) & definitely on our camping trip in August ( 4 hour drive & an in tent activity for any rainy weather.) I also tweeted & liked!
What a neat idea! We would use this on our upcoming LOOOONG drive to Florida.
We are planning a vacation soon, these will come in handy!
We are going on a long airplane ride from Oregon to Florida. This would be great for my boys!
I “Like” Trip Clip on Facebook
I ‘Like’ the teach mama on Facebook
I’d love to win a Trip Clip for my toddler. He is very active and I’m looking for anything at all to keep him occupied in the upcoming 24-hour trip to South East Asia to visit both sets of grandparents. We’ll also be flying between 3 countries there (and I’m coming back to the US alone with him) so a Trip Clip will be a wonderful addition to add to our entertainment arsenal for the journey(s)!
We make an 8 hour drive from Charlotte to Maryland several times each year. More activities for the car like these would be great!