
“Are we there yet?” These are the dreaded words that come with the road trip territory – so let’s get creative when it comes to passing time in the car. When the kids are done reading, done fidgeting, and all their gadgets have lost power, I like to pull some old favorites out of my bag o’ tricks to help us get there quicker…
- Create a Group Story: Ever try this one when you were a kid? I like to start things off with something simple and open ended, like, “Once upon a time, there was a girl…” and pass it along to the next player. The kids can use their imagination and compose a story together, little by little. The kids are likely to get real goofy about it, and that’s part of the fun!
- Twenty Questions: A classic. My kids love having a chance to be in charge of the group. They all take a turn picking out an item in the car, or out on the road somewhere, and we all have fun trying to guess what it is.
- Driving Blind: It’s not what it sounds like! Dad usually drives, so he’ll start by picking out some large object in the distance, something like a billboard, a church steeple, a highway exit coming up, etc. He’ll tell everyone to close their eyes, and only open them when they think we have arrived at the chosen landmark. Whoever opens their eyes nearest the landmark wins! We play it over and over to the kids delight (and sometimes they fall asleep while playing– bonus!)
- Alphabet Games: I choose a subject, maybe “zoo animals,” and we go ’round the group naming animals, starting with the letter “A,” and moving on alphabetically from there. The kids will have fun, and it gets their brains working, too, which I love. From zoo animals, you can move on to things like cities, verbs, names, etc. etc.
So – what games do you play on the road with your kids? Happy summer travels, everybody!