Travel games for children just take a little imagination with a little sense of
humor. For short trips or long, travel games can bring the family closer
with a lot of fun, teaching letters, numbers, geography, social studies, as
well as good sportsmanship.
Turn down that radio, turn off that DVD player or hand held video game
and enjoy some good old fashioned quality time with your kids!
Alphabet Game is one that doesn't take a lot of time or skill: Picking a
starting point - say, at the next Exit sign you will begin (make sure the
small kids understand by telling them On your Mark, Get Set, Go!).
Using road signs and bill boards, the person who sees the letter A first
yells out "A!" they have to be able to identify the sign they saw the letter
on for proof. Each person has to find their own letters and get through
the alphabet. Continue with B, C, D ... all the way to Z. Who ever finds
all their letters first is the winner.
You can play this same game with numbers.
Count Cows ... or horses, or pick up trucks or motor cycles, or hawks -
have a predetermined stopping point, either geographical (who ever has
the most when you pass the city limit sign) , or a winning amount
(whoever finds ten first wins).
A variation is to only count the chosen items that are on your side of the
road.
Pass It On: This is fun for children of almost all ages who can at least
speak. One person is chosen to begin a story. They tell a few lines then
pass it on to the next person, who continues to make up the story with a
few lines of their own. Go around taking turns and see how silly the story
gets (and how far away from the original topic!)
More challenging is to pick a letter and find words on signs, or objects
seen along the road, starting with that letter.
That's Amazing! This can be played while other games are going on -
just instruct everyone to keep their eyes out for something along the road
that is simply amazing! Shout out so everyone gets to see it before it is
behind you.
Variation: You Sure Wouldn't See THAT at Home! Look for things
you'd never see in your own town or neighborhood.
Memory Alphabet Game: In this game, the first player makes up a
word for A, such as A is for Aardvark. The second player must say "A is
for Aardvark, B is for (make up a word) Bounce. The third player has to
remember A is for Aardvark, B is for Bounce, C is for Cake. The fourth
round of course has to repeat the previous definitions and make one up
for D, and so on.
The Car Next Door: Take turns making up the silliest story you can to
describe the car and driver next to you.
Last Letter Nouns: The person who starts has to name a person, place
or thing. The next player has to make up another noun using the last
letter of the first word. Example: CAR, the next person has to make a
noun starting with the letter R.
I Spy: or "I spy with my little eye..." Use color or first letter as a hint.
Whoever guesses correctly goes next. If you're driving down the road
you may need to contain this game to items found inside the vehicle.
Licence Plate ID: Try to name a state that neighbors the state on a
passing license plate. Example, a Kansas plate goes by, Oklahoma
would be one possible answer.
Licence Plate Words: Try to make up a word with the letters on the
plate.
Rock, Paper, Scissors: Two can play. Both players make rock paper or
scissors shapes behind their backs, say "One, two, three," and show their
hands.
20 Questions: One person states they are a person, place or thing, or
an animal, vegetable or mineral. Everyone else gets to ask the player 20
questions, which must be answered "yes" or "no" then they guess what
the person is supposed to be.
Two Truths and A Lie: The player tells the group three statements
about some object, or perhaps a historical person, place, etc. Two of
the statements are true and one is a lie. Everyone tries to guess which
one is the lie.
Hang Man: With a pad of paper and a pencil, this fun game can easily
go where ever you do. The Hang Man decides on a word (Shh! don't tell)
the second player guesses letters. If a correct letter is guessed, the
hangman writes it down, if a wrong letter is guessed, the hangman draws
a head. The goal is to spell out the entire word before the Hangman
draws out an entire body to "be hung". Game over, trade roles.
Before you take the trip: Make up a list of things to find along the
road. Work as individuals or together as teams.
There are a lot of websites detailing more travel games for children. You
might want to pack plenty of little note pads, extra pens and pencils,
some activity books...but skip the crayons because they always end up
lost in the seat melting in to your upholstery.
humor. For short trips or long, travel games can bring the family closer
with a lot of fun, teaching letters, numbers, geography, social studies, as
well as good sportsmanship.
Turn down that radio, turn off that DVD player or hand held video game
and enjoy some good old fashioned quality time with your kids!
Alphabet Game is one that doesn't take a lot of time or skill: Picking a
starting point - say, at the next Exit sign you will begin (make sure the
small kids understand by telling them On your Mark, Get Set, Go!).
Using road signs and bill boards, the person who sees the letter A first
yells out "A!" they have to be able to identify the sign they saw the letter
on for proof. Each person has to find their own letters and get through
the alphabet. Continue with B, C, D ... all the way to Z. Who ever finds
all their letters first is the winner.
You can play this same game with numbers.
Count Cows ... or horses, or pick up trucks or motor cycles, or hawks -
have a predetermined stopping point, either geographical (who ever has
the most when you pass the city limit sign) , or a winning amount
(whoever finds ten first wins).
A variation is to only count the chosen items that are on your side of the
road.
Pass It On: This is fun for children of almost all ages who can at least
speak. One person is chosen to begin a story. They tell a few lines then
pass it on to the next person, who continues to make up the story with a
few lines of their own. Go around taking turns and see how silly the story
gets (and how far away from the original topic!)
More challenging is to pick a letter and find words on signs, or objects
seen along the road, starting with that letter.
That's Amazing! This can be played while other games are going on -
just instruct everyone to keep their eyes out for something along the road
that is simply amazing! Shout out so everyone gets to see it before it is
behind you.
Variation: You Sure Wouldn't See THAT at Home! Look for things
you'd never see in your own town or neighborhood.
Memory Alphabet Game: In this game, the first player makes up a
word for A, such as A is for Aardvark. The second player must say "A is
for Aardvark, B is for (make up a word) Bounce. The third player has to
remember A is for Aardvark, B is for Bounce, C is for Cake. The fourth
round of course has to repeat the previous definitions and make one up
for D, and so on.
The Car Next Door: Take turns making up the silliest story you can to
describe the car and driver next to you.
Last Letter Nouns: The person who starts has to name a person, place
or thing. The next player has to make up another noun using the last
letter of the first word. Example: CAR, the next person has to make a
noun starting with the letter R.
I Spy: or "I spy with my little eye..." Use color or first letter as a hint.
Whoever guesses correctly goes next. If you're driving down the road
you may need to contain this game to items found inside the vehicle.
Licence Plate ID: Try to name a state that neighbors the state on a
passing license plate. Example, a Kansas plate goes by, Oklahoma
would be one possible answer.
Licence Plate Words: Try to make up a word with the letters on the
plate.
Rock, Paper, Scissors: Two can play. Both players make rock paper or
scissors shapes behind their backs, say "One, two, three," and show their
hands.
20 Questions: One person states they are a person, place or thing, or
an animal, vegetable or mineral. Everyone else gets to ask the player 20
questions, which must be answered "yes" or "no" then they guess what
the person is supposed to be.
Two Truths and A Lie: The player tells the group three statements
about some object, or perhaps a historical person, place, etc. Two of
the statements are true and one is a lie. Everyone tries to guess which
one is the lie.
Hang Man: With a pad of paper and a pencil, this fun game can easily
go where ever you do. The Hang Man decides on a word (Shh! don't tell)
the second player guesses letters. If a correct letter is guessed, the
hangman writes it down, if a wrong letter is guessed, the hangman draws
a head. The goal is to spell out the entire word before the Hangman
draws out an entire body to "be hung". Game over, trade roles.
Before you take the trip: Make up a list of things to find along the
road. Work as individuals or together as teams.
There are a lot of websites detailing more travel games for children. You
might want to pack plenty of little note pads, extra pens and pencils,
some activity books...but skip the crayons because they always end up
lost in the seat melting in to your upholstery.
- Lotion: It's amazing how many miles a small bottle
of "Hotel Hand Lotions" will take a todder who is stuck
in their car seat. (photo: Everett covered with lotion in
the back seat)
Scotch Tape: I know a parent who swears by this,
giving the kids multiple rolls of tape to play with in the
back seat. Choose a cheap variety and you won't
have to worry about it sticking to things too much.
Wet Wipes: For some reason my babies always
loved to pull wet wipes out of the container and play
with them for miles and miles.
Travel Games For Children
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