Surviving the Summer Car Ride
Flying today with a family can be pretty pricey; that means we usually hit the road to visit distant relatives or far-flung destinations.
But traveling by car can present its own challenges: namely the “_Are We There Yet_?” soul-grating question asked every five minutes.
During long car rides we could just hand over the iPad or put on a ton of movies, but we try to save that as a last resort. Trust me, we enter the car with a fully charged iPad and a wide selection of movies. But before we give up and hand over the technology, we try to exhaust some fun family favorites first.
1) Tried and True Vintage Games
In a world defined by Wi-Fi, introducing kids to the car games we grew up with can sometimes be a great way to pass the time. And besides, if you’re traveling to the great outdoors there’s no better time then now to cut the electronic cord. Some games might take a few minutes of prior planning and printer ink; but any prep time is better than the ear-wrenching whining demanding to know the destination arrival time. So take a breath and introduce your kids to these classic games:
I Spy Here’s a classic game that you can play with objects in the car. You might even prep the car ahead of time and place strategic items or stickers to introduce a variety of colors and shapes in the car.
License Plates This game is great for all ages, especially if you’ll be driving through several different states. For younger kids, print out a sheet with the alphabet and numbers. Hand them the sheet on a clipboard with a crayon and have them watch for the letters and numbers on passing license plates. Once they’ve found them all, hand out a reward! For older kids, print out a list of states and have them try to find as many states as they can in a given time period.
20 Questions This game needs no preparation unless you want to print a sheet with the numbers 1-20 to help your kiddo count the number of questions they’re asking. This is a great game for cognitive development as children need to think and categorize information.
The Packing Game This is a great memory game, which helps kids hone listening and memory skills. A parent starts the game by saying that everyone is going on vacation and they have to pack something that starts with successive letters of the alphabet. So the first player goes and says “I’m going on vacation and I packed an APPLE for a snack.” The next player repeats the previous player’s sentences and adds one of their own with the next letter “I’m going on vacation and I packed an apple for a snack and a BARRETTE for my hair. Cross your fingers that X doesn’t land with you!
2) Busy Bags
We love busy bags for longer trips. I only bring them out when we travel, so they keep a special sense about them. Busy bags (search Pinterest for 1000s of ideas) are simple activities that keep kids occupied. They can range from threading colored pasta onto coordinated color pipe cleaners to matching baby animals to their parent animals on a felt board to creating an imaginary monster. They can be great for older kids as well: rhyming bags, interlocking puzzles, sequencing stories, drawing faces (from instructions) or file folder games. Busy bags focus on reinforcing specific skills such as sorting, counting, matching, and reading among others. These games are simple and typically take 10-15 minutes to complete depending upon the complexity. And they can be designed to specifically appeal to your child. We usually pack 10-20 per trip. Have friends taking trips? Get a group together and have everyone make a different kind of bag; make as many as there are group members and trade. Viola! You’ll have a ton of different busy bags.
3) Musical Melodies
Get in touch with your inner rock star and starting humming some classic and favorite tunes. Whether it’s radio-friendly Taylor Swift or toddler-favorite “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” delve deep into your music rolodex and bring it! And if you have the time prior to the trip, make a digital file of favorite sounds or favorite show soundtracks. Younger and older kids alike will love guessing the sounds they hear every day: a horn, a car starting, a drill, a doorbell, the opening to Doc McStuffins. The more sounds the better!
These three tips help me maintain my sanity and my kid’s happiness on longer car trips. However getting out of the car helps too. As long as we’re traveling, why not stop to see the largest ball of twine in Cawker City, Kansas, the World’s Biggest Dinosaur museum in Cabazon, California, or the Desert of Maine, in Freeport, Maine? Silly side trips are the best. Who knows when we’ll be back this way? Make the stop. See the sights. Stretch everyone’s legs. And pack lots of snacks. Lots of snacks. It’s hard to whine with a mouth full of carrots.
After surviving ten years as a high school English teacher, Kathryn opted to create imaginary worlds and spend her days hunting for ladybugs with her daughter. She has written for ChildGood and Babies and Breastfeeding magazines as well as various sites around the web.
