If you’re anticipating a long car trip with kids, you need a game plan to deal with the inevitable cries of “I’m bored” or “Are we there yet?” Car games, educational games and having snacks along will help to make the time go faster.
Car Games
With the abundance of license plates that are on the road, there are plenty of ways to turn these into games.
Find the states – Give your kids a map of the United States and challenge them to find a license plate from each of the fifty states. This can take them a while since Hawaii and Alaska are usually more difficult to spot than most others.
Scenery bingo – There are websites that allow you to make your own bingo cards. Teachnology is one example. You can put in your own words and the website will scramble the words for you. Each child will have essentially the same words but not in the same order. If you have a child who is not of reading age yet, you can use pictures of the things they might see. If you have children that can identify different types of cars, use car brands or models. You can use road signs, animals, landmarks or virtually anything you might see along your trip.
Here’s a quarter – Give your child a roll of quarters when you start your trip. Each time you here “Are we there yet” or “How much longer” or something similar fine your child a quarter. Tell them that any money they have left at the end of the trip is theirs to keep and spend.
Education in Disguise
Math challenge – If you’d like to give your child a little bit of education while keeping things fun, use license plates to keep them excited and having fun. Make a game to see which child can add up the numbers on the license plate the fastest.
Find the alphabet – Give each child a list of the letters and alphabet and have them circle each letter as they find it. The child who finds all the letters first wins a prize. The prize can be something as simple as a snack, a small toy for the trip, or some change.
Counting – If you have a younger child that you want to teach to count, or even with older children who can count higher, have them find a certain number of a particular item. Find 100 stop signs, 10 cars just like yours and so on.
Journals – Give each child a notebook or journal and have them record the highlights of their trip then have them compare at the end of the trip. Younger children can draw pictures if they cannot write yet. They can also record different facts or interesting things about different states that you visit.
Road Trip Food
Kids invariably get hungry at different times, and stopping at convenience stores can get very expensive. Pack a small cooler with cookies, fruit, sandwiches and chips or crackers. This will save you money as well as saving you from the inevitable request for food shortly after you’ve stopped the last time. Keep small drinks such as juice boxes, chocolate milk or bottles of water. This will help quench thirst but avoid frequent stops for bathroom breaks if they are in small sizes.
Making your trip enjoyable can be easy if you get creative. Try to think back to when you were a kid and what you enjoyed. Even adults can get bored on long car trips, so it’s not such a stretch to think that active kids will be bored as well. Letting your kids help you plan what to take and what to do can give you greater insight into what will keep them interested. Have a safe trip.
 |
