Tuesday Travel Tips: Car Ride Games

EVERY PARENT KNOWS THAT:
Children in a confined space + a long period of time = territorial disputes and innumerable squabbles caused by real or imagined indignities. *


What’s the solution?? Keep young minds & hands busy playing games!!  Take a look at some of these fun car ride games:

1. Are We There Yet? (appropriate, right?)
Take a copy (copies) of the route you are traveling ~ an atlas works great! ~ Show the kids the road you are taking.  Pick a town up ahead that you will come o.  Now each player guesses the exact time he thinks the car will arrive at that town.  The one who comes closest to guessing the exact time wins the game.

2. Math Whiz
A great game for kids just learning to add or multiply.  Every time a car passes, multiply (or add) the numbers on the license plate as fast as you can.  Play this game alone and see how fast you can tabulate the answer, or call out the numbers and race to see who can come up with the correct answer first.

3. Time Travel
Guess the amount of time it will take until you see the next billboard, bridge, highway, cow or whatever you can think of.  You can try to guess the distance between towns, road signs, landmarks, bridges, lampposts, or whatever else strikes your fancy!

4. Color Cars
Each person chooses a color.  Then each player counts how may cars of his color he finds in a certain period of time.

5. Tall Tales
This game is fun to play in the car, or while waiting in line at the amusement park.  One player begins telling a “tall tale” and stops at an exciting point.  The next player continues the story and stops for another player to construct the action.  Set a time limit for your story and see where the plot goes.

* Quote found in The Penny Whistle Traveling with Kids Book