Car games for kids are essential!
One of the most dreaded phrases in a child’s vocabulary is “I’m bored.” How do you avoid that phrase and the constant refrain of “Are we there yet?” as you travel? There are many games and activities that will keep your children entertained as you travel.
First, you will need to prepare for your trip. Don’t bring big, bulky items. Instead, pack an Etch-a-Sketch, puzzle books, and a set of headphones and several books on tape or cd for each child.
Car Games for Kids
Hand-held games, such as Tetris, are also great games for road trips. These items are great for a single child to use while the other family members are resting. Also, you should pack a magnetic game, such as checkers or chess for no mess fun. However, even all of these items will not stave off boredom forever. Luckily, there are many fun ideas for games the whole family can play as you drive.
Almost everyone has heard fo the license plate game. The game involves trying to find a license plate for each of the 48 mainland states. If the family isn’t traveling far enough to make this game realistic, try variations, such as finding blue cars or trucks for each manufacturer.
If your children are young, the license plate game may be too challenging and may require too much patience. However, if your children can count, they can play a simple travel counting game. Pick one item, such as telephone poles, cows, or people on street corners. Keep a count of how many of each item you see during the entire trip. If your children can’t count, try playing “I Spy” with items in the car.
There are several memory games that the family can play. The first is a simplified version of animal, vegetable, or mineral. Each person takes a turn choosing an animal. The other people have to ask questions about the animal, such as what it eats or the sounds it makes, and then guess what it is. The next game is the list story.
You would start with one item and the next person would repeat your item and add one of his own. For example, you could say, “The Smiths were taking a trip to see Aunt Lucy.” The next person could add, “The Smiths were taking a trip to see Aunt Lucy and to go to the beach.” Finally, you could sing a variation of Ninety-nine Bottles of Beer on the Wall. You could change the beer to flowers, soda, or anything else age appropriate.
If memory games aren’t your family’s style, try an add-on story. Start your story off with a chapter from a book and then have everyone take turns telling a bit of the story from there. Make sure the story doesn’t end too quickly. If you are creative enough, you can just start a story yourself to really catch your children’s attention. By starting the story yourself, you can introduce characters with your children’s names and appearances into the story.
Finally, if your road trip is going to take several days, you can discuss the pioneers and the difficulty they had crossing America. Talk about the journals many pioneers kept during their travels. Give everyone a diary to keep track of the weather, where they stop to eat, and what they see during the trip. The diaries can be expanded after the trip to become memory books or scrapbooks.
Do you have any Car Games for Kids to share?
Further reading
You might also like my post on how to get kids outside
