Hello tricot-ga!
Thank you for requesting me on this one! It sounds as though you have
one interesting trip planned! I found a lot of fun car games for
children to play, most of which can be adapted for all ages. I have
organized the games as you requested, into ages 3-7 and ages 8-14. Of
course, there is some overlap within each age group, and some games in
the 3-7 range may be more appropriate for children closer to 6 or 7.
You?ll have to adapt the games to the specific children on your trip.
I?ve also included a section called ?printables? that contains games
and activities that you can print online. If they look like something
you can use, then supply the kids with writing implements and have
fun! I hope you can use all of these!
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AGES 3-7
Mom?s Minivan is a great site with tips and games for road trips. You
can find a complete listing at http://www.momsminivan.com/bigkids.html
* License Plate Games
You can print a U.S. map (also available on www.momsminivan.com) and
color in states as you see their license plates. Whoever has the most
by the time you reach your destination (or some other predetermined
time limit) wins.
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*Counting Cows (or any other animal)
?Count the cows you see on your side of the car. If you pass a field
full of lots of cows, you'd better count fast! If you pass a cemetery
on your side of the car, you lose all your cows, but only if the
opposing team calls ?your cows are buried!? This game gets
interesting when distraction tactics are used to either cause your
opponent to miss cows on their side of the road or to miss a cemetery
on your side of the road. A white horse can count as a bonus. The team
with the most cows wins.?
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* Scavenger Hunt
?Give each child a list of items to watch for while driving. The list
can be made up ahead of time and adjusted for the scenery.? There is a
sample list of items at http://www.momsminivan.com/scavenger.html.
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* Alphabet Game
?Start with the letter ?A? and find one on a sign, truck, building or
license plate, say the word and then move on to the next letter. You
can do this as a competition or together as a family for the younger
beginning readers. The first one to get to the letter ?Z? is the
winner!?
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* Slug Bug
?Every time a VW Bug comes into view, the first one to see it shouts
?Slug Bug!? and slugs the person sitting next to you (Not too hard
though!). Of course, these days in the politically correct
atmosphere, we like to teach ?non-violence,? so instead of actual
slugging, we do a symbolic slug and just say ?Slug Bug! -- Gotcha!?
You could also play ?Hug Bug? and give someone a hug instead of a
slug!?
We?ve noticed a lot more VW Bugs on the road lately, so this game is
making a comeback in our family!
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* I Spy
?Look around and pick an object you can see either in the car or along
the road. Then give others a clue such as, ?I spy with my little eye .
. . something green,? or ?I spy with my little eye . . . something
brown and furry.? Continue to give more clues until they can guess
what it is.?
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* Twenty Questions
?Think of an object, it can be anything as long as it is general. The
first question the players will ask is: ?Is it classified as Animal,
Vegetable, or Mineral,? or you can do ?Person, Place or Thing.? The
players can then ask anything they want about the object as long as
you are able to answer ?yes? or ?no? to their question. They try to
ask questions that will help them narrow down their ideas until they
are able to guess the object. If they can do it in less than 20
questions, they win!?
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The next game comes from http://www.liveandlearn.com/cargame.html
* Alphabet Memory Game
?Great for children of all ages. An excellent way to help reinforce a
preschooler's ABCs, yet fun for the elementary school aged child too!
The first person starts with the letter A and say ?A is for ? ?
filling in the blank with any word beginning with the letter A such as
APPLE, ARTICHOKE, AIRPLANE, etc. Let's use APPLE. The second person
then does the letter B, but must also remember what A was! So, let's
say the second person decides to use the word BOOK for B, the second
person would say" A is for APPLE and B is for BOOK.
You continue your way through the alphabet. By the time you get up to
the letter Z the player will have to recite each and every letter with
its corresponding item. The game takes a while and kids love it,
particularly if you throw in some silly words or phrases like S IS FOR
SMELLY TOES.?
Variation: You can change the theme to vary the game. For example,
?I?m going on a trip and I?m bringing . . .,? or ?I?m going to the
store and I?m buying . . .,? etc.
We play this one a lot as a family and it?s always lots of fun!
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The next game comes from http://www.activitiesforkids.com/travel/travel_games.htm
* Odd or Even
This game is played in pairs. ?Have each child guess if there are more
license plates that end in an odd or even number (plates that end in a
letter do not count).
1. Give each child a blank sheet of paper and a pencil, or something to mark with.
2. Set a time limit, usually 10-15 minutes.
3. Have one child look for plates that end in an odd number, and the
other look for an even number.
4. A tick mark or dash should be marked for each car they find. (For
extra learning, have them group the marks in sets of 5)
5. At the end of the time limit, have the children add up their marks
(Counting by 5's if grouping was used).?
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The next games come from http://childrentoday.com/resources/articles/cargames.htm.
* Semi Search
?All you need is a sheet of paper to keep score, one person to be
scorekeeper and a writing utensil. Each player chooses a color. Each
player's name and chosen color is then written down on the scorecard
by the scorekeeper, who will announce when there is a winner. Each
player announces each semi truck on the road that is his chosen color.
One mark, or point, is given for each semi the person identifies as
his color. The game can be played until one person reaches a certain
number of points. Most people play Semi Search until one person
reaches 50 points, but a longer game can be played for older
children.?
You could probably play this game while playing others concurrently.
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* License Plate Alphabet
?Preparing for License Plate Alphabet is easy. All that is needed are
sheets of paper, colored or white, as well as a writing utensil.
Simply write the letters across the sheet of paper big enough so they
can be marked out. The sheet of paper will be the ?game board.? To aid
in identification, it is recommended that the letters be written in
capital, as this is the common practice of lettering on license
plates. Each person is given a game board and a writing utensil. When
a letter of the alphabet is found on another vehicle's license plate,
the player that ?found? the letter marks it out on his game board. The
first player to find a set number of letters, or for longer distances
or older children, the entire alphabet, wins the game.?
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Another game from http://www.gameskidsplay.net/games/mental_games/car_games.htm.
* Alphabet Signs
?One person chose the right side of the road and the other person had
the left. The object of the game was to cite all of the letters of
the alphabet, in order, from a to z. You could only use a sign for
one letter. The person on the left side usually had to sit sideways
and read signs as they receded. The first person to z won.?
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Here is a game from http://wy.essortment.com/cargameskids_nhg.htm.
* Animals
?Different animals are worth different points, and the first kid to
reach fifty, or whatever target you set, wins. The first kid to spot
the animal gets the points. Here is the point system we use:
birds, one point; flock of three or more birds, three points;
dogs and cats, two points;
goats, pigs, and sheep, five points (or ten for a group);
horses and cows, ten points (or twenty for a herd);
small wild animals (squirrels, chipmunks, bunnies, snakes, turtles,
skunks, or anything under a couple pounds), five points;
medium wild animals (raccoons, opossums, mink, foxes), ten points;
large wild animals (deer, moose, wolves, bears), twenty points.?
Here are links to other games and activities, adaptable to various
ages. I?ve included some of the games appropriate for older children
later in this answer.
http://www.parenting.com/parenting/child/article/0,19840,670912_1,00.html
http://parentcenter.babycenter.com/refcap/bigkid/gtravelout/1453163.html
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AGES 8-14
From http://www.momsminivan.com/bigkids.html
* Variation on the License Plate Game
?Spot a license plate and call out the letters on it. Then everyone
tries to come up with a different phrase using the letters in the
order they appear on the license plate as the first letter of each
word. For instance KEW could be ?kittens eating watermelon? or ?kiss
every warthog.? When you can't think of any more look for another
license plate.?
I?ve played this game before and you can use other combinations of
letters, including makes of cars, billboard words, etc. One of the
most clever ones I?ve ever heard is ?Tina Often Yodels on the Alps?
for Toyota.
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* Fortunately-Unfortunately
(This game could probably be adapted to younger children)
?This game helps teach kids to look at the bright side of things in a
silly way. For example, you say, ?Unfortunately, there's a tiger in
the car.? Your son says, ?Fortunately, he doesn't eat boys.? Your
daughter says, "Unfortunately, he's looking at me and licking his
lips." You say, ?Fortunately, I brought along my tiger-jaw-clamper.?
And so on, alternating between fortunate and unfortunate things.?
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From http://www.liveandlearn.com/cargame.html:
* Geography
?Geography is another classic game. But Geography is not for younger
children. This game is best for children ages 8 and up. Not only do
they enjoy the game, they know enough locations to be able to play the
game well. Although the fine points of the game may vary from place to
place, this is how the basic game is played.
Someone starts by naming a country such as Japan. The next person must
name a country whose name begins with the last letter of the
previously named country. In this case, Japan ends in N, so a country
that begins with N must be named such as Nigeria. And then, since
Nigeria ends in an A, the next person's country must start with an A.
And so on until someone gets stumped.
Please note, some people play the game with city names; names of
rivers or other bodies of water; and in the United States it is often
played with state names. Set your own rules and have fun!?
Other variations include foods, animals, books, etc.
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From http://www.activitiesforkids.com/travel/travel_games.htm:
* Guess the Number
?Let your child think of a number between a stated range of numbers.
You try to guess the number by asking questions. Here's a sample of
how it might go:
Your child: I'm thinking of a number between 1 and 100.
You ask: Is it more than 50?
Your child: No.
You: Is it an even number?
Child: No.
You: Can you divide this number into three equal parts?
And so forth. After you have guessed the number, let your child guess
a number that you are thinking of by asking similar questions.?
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* More License Plate Games
?You call out the number on a license plate and see who can add up the
numbers correctly.
Another license plate game is to copy down the number on the plate.
Ignore any letters and read the number out loud, for example: M663218
would be six hundred sixty-three thousand, two hundred eighteen.?
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Here are a couple of games from
http://www.parenting.com/parenting/child/article/0,19840,670912_4,00.html?.
* Dig for Digits
? Pick a number ? as simple as 4 or as hard as 102 ? and see who can
be the first to find it on a street sign, billboard, or license
plate.?
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* Hue Hunt
(Probably playable by younger children as well)
?Give all passengers paper and a pencil, then have each person pick a
different color and print it at the top of his page. When you yell
?Go!? everyone should look for passing cars and trucks in the color
they chose. The first one to get ten wins. Pick new colors to start
again.?
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The next games are from
http://parentcenter.babycenter.com/refcap/bigkid/gtravelout/1453163.html.
* Automobile 21
(This is another game that may be appropriate for younger children,
depending on your group.)
?In this game, children must find the numbers 1 to 21, in that order,
on the license plates of passing cars. Each license plate can be used
by only one player, and players can use only one number from each
license plate. When a player spots a number, he must say it out loud.
The first person to get to 21 wins.
If older kids are playing, add a slight twist to the rules:
Participants can add up the numbers on the license plates to get a
different number. For example, if your child passes a license plate
that says G8B12, besides claiming 8, 1, or 2, she can say 11 (8 +1 +2)
or 20 (8 + 12).?
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* Impressions
?Players take turns imitating people known to all the other
participants. These can be famous actors, television characters, or
even the loud next-door neighbor. The players can?t say who they're
mimicking or give hints; they rely only on their acting ability. The
first person to guess who's being imitated gets a point. The first
person to get however many points the group decides is the goal,
wins.?
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* Variation on Impressions
Players can choose to act out movie scenes instead, adhering to the
same rules as above.
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* Tall Tales
?The rules are fairly simple: . . . one person starts telling a story.
She talks for about a minute and stops when she reaches an exciting
moment. Then the person sitting next to her picks up where she left
off. The game continues in this manner, with the tale twisting and
turning with each new speaker. If a large group is playing, the last
person to have a turn finishes the story. With a small number of
children, the game is over when one player decides to give the story
an ending.?
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PRINTABLES
Travel bingo, license plate scavenger hunt, and more!
http://www.momsminivan.com/printables.html
This About.com site has links to a number of other websites with
printable travel games.
http://travelwithkids.about.com/cs/printgames/a/gamesprint.htm
Another About.com site has a list of links to activities and crafts
you can do on a family trip.
http://familycrafts.about.com/od/craftprojectsbytype/a/travelacts.htm
Here is another site with printable activities, a lot of which look
interesting. You will need to register in order to use the site.
Registration is free.
http://www.familyeducation.com/printables/package/0,2358,67-16239,00.html
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Here is a link to a nice article on enjoying family car trips. Take a
look and see what you can use.
http://lifestyle.msn.com/FamilyandParenting/RaisingKids/ArticleBC2.aspx?cp-documentid=63118
A lot of these look like fun to use on our own road trips! I hope that
you enjoy your upcoming vacation. It sounds as though you have really
thought through some fun things to entertain kids of all ages. Good
luck! If you have need of any further clarification, please let me
know how I can help. Thank you again!
Sincerely,
Boquinha-ga
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