Road Trip Games

Thinking back to my childhood and what made it enjoyable, I recall one thing in particular while traveling. Singing songs like "There's a Hole in my Bucket, Dear Liza," or "The Green Grass Grows All Around'', or any other silly children's song, or playing games. My mom and I traveled a lot, mostly road trips around the northwest, and all by vehicle. This allowed for a lot of game time. I passed these same games down to my kids and even to my students! They are great memory exercises, attention keepers, focused listening/responding, and most of all-fun!

1. “I’m going on a Trip”- played with as few as 2 people or as many as 6 (more is more difficult to maintain focus and attention). First person starts with, “I’m going on a trip and I’m taking (something beginning with the letter A) an alligator.” Next person continues with, “I’m going on a trip and I’m taking an alligator and a (something that starts with the letter B) binder.” This continues until either the whole alphabet is accomplished, or you can add a twist. Maybe make it an elimination game so if someone misses a previously stated item, they are “out”. Other spins on this that my kids and I did was to name the theme before beginning. We did foods, places, or items found in a house, or items found in a shopping mall, etc. 
2. “I’m Thinking of an Animal”- this game is played by one person thinking of a secret animal and whoever is guessing attempts to guess the right animal from the 3 clues given. Three clues are given and then the person can only respond with “yes” or “no” to questions, cannot list, give additional clues, or explain. Here is an example: “I’m thinking of an animal”....that is a mammal, is an herbivore (they only eat grasses/leaves), and is mostly brown. Here are some tips: if in a car/vehicle, voice level will matter, so no racing or speeding to guess-just allow each person playing to make a guess or ask a question. If in an outdoor setting and voice level isn’t as sensitive, create the “speed round” and allow rapid-guessing. You choose!!! If someone guesses correctly, they become the next person to think of the animal. This is a great way for kids to learn classifications, science terms, geography, etc. 
3. Road sign game-beginning with “A” and continuing through to “Z” one letter from each road sign is called by the next person or as a team. (We allowed license plates as well if needed, especially for letters “Q and J” that are used the least. 
4. License plates-we assigned one “recorder” who wrote down the states by name or abbreviation. (One helpful hint for this is finding a free printout of the map so they can find it and color it in and make tally marks for how many are found from that state.)
5. “I Spy”-something that all kids (and adults) enjoy is a good game of “I Spy”. This can be fun and last as long or short as desired and be played with whatever rules you choose. We usually designate specific rules like: inside of the car only, outside of the car only, something that can be seen for more than a couple of seconds or minutes, etc. Play and have fun!!! 

 
Traveling with babies, toddlers, children, pre-teens, and teenagers (and even some adults) can be challenging. Making it fun and enjoyable can create some lighthearted laughs and memories that can become traditions. 
 
Happy Memory Making!