Car Trips

Summer is nearly over. This post would have been better at the beginning of the summer...but alas, I was enjoying my time off with my family so much that I didn't blog.

Summer is a time when many people (my family included) takes long car trips. This can be hard with young children, so I figured I would share some ideas to keep kids busy during these long trips.

1. Movies... if you have a portable DVD player or a built in one (or other device that can play DVDs). We sometimes will rent one or two from Redbox which can be returned to a Redbox location in another city or state. I also like to check movies out from the library (free!). Of course, there are other electronic possibilities as well...any kind of handheld device might be used for games or other activities.

2. Books on tape or CD... again, the library is my best friend. We check out books on CD from the public library to listen to as we drive. Harry Potter is a great series to listen to. My children also loved the Sisters Grimm series. They have enjoyed The Gecko and Sticky series. Along with others.

3. Kids' atlases... Buy (or check out from the library) some childrens' atlases, especially ones with pictures and facts. Then as you are driving from place to place, have them read about the state or states you are traveling through.

4. Buy postcards in each state or area that you travel through. Then have your children write a note about what they have seen and done and mail it to a friend or family member.

5. Bring along lots of blank paper so kids can write, draw, make up comic books or create their own paper dolls or paper airplanes.

6. Sing kids' songs. The library is a great place to check out both fun and educational CDs to listen to on road trips. Some of my favorite traveling memories as a kid were of my family belting out silly kids' songs as we drove.

7. Buy a few new toys to take on the trip with you. These can be surprises or you can let your kids pick them out. My sister has her children earn "money" for each 1/2 hour that they behave on the road trip and then they can spend their "money" in her "store"...a little bag or box of items she's purchased for the trip...items like magnetic paper dolls, hot wheels cars, an etch-a-sketch, coloring/sticker/activity books, travel games, or whatever your child will like.

8. I read this idea in Family Fun magazine a couple of years ago. I no longer have the issue to give exact credit...but you can hang up a string through your car and then every time you go a certain distance, move a little car along the string to represent the distance traveled. For example, every 50 miles, move the car two inches along the string. (You will want to measure the string and figure out the distances in advance.) Then your kids can see visually how much progress you have made and hopefully won't be asking, "Are we there yet?" when you've barely left your house. :)

9. License plate games: Look for license plates from each of the fifty states as you travel. You can work together as a family or turn it into a competition. You can just shout out the plates you see or you can create a list of the 50 states and try to mark each one off as you see it (or make tally marks to show how many times you see it.)

10. Another license plate game: Use license plates to practice math. Have your child add or subtract (or even multiply) the numbers on a license plate... For example, my license plate has the numbers 1 and 4 on it. It could be 4-1 = 3. Or 4+1=5. Or 4 x 1 =4. If the plate had 9, 6, and 3, then there would be even more choices... 9 + 6 +3 = 18 or 9+6=15-3=12 and so on.... This could be used for mental math practice (done in the child's head) or they could write the numbers down and solve it. You can choose which operation they should use (+, -, or x) or let them choose.

11. Have them complete math or language arts practice pages in a workbook. I sent home the math workbooks we used this past year and there were quite a few pages that were not used. (Many other teachers do this as well.) Kids can complete a few pages in the workbook. Or some workbooks can be purchased at the dollar store, Walmart, book stores and so on. Or rather than a math workbook or reading workbook, buy them a book of puzzles or other fun activities. Often these include math or reading practice and kids don't even realize it.

12. If your child isn't prone to car sickness, then have your child read.
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I hope that some of these activities will make your next car trip more enjoyable. I'd love to hear if you have activities you use on car trips that I haven't mentioned. I've shared some other ideas for making car trips fun and educational on a previous posthere.