Travel Games for the Road

Anyone traveling with a preschooler knows that even the shortest jaunt can take twice as long as anticipated. Here are a few car games to help pass the time on those long road trips.

The Alphabet Game Version 1: Using license plates, destination signs, advertisements, flora and fauna, etc., each player must find something that begins with a letter of the alphabet. See how far you can get through the alphabet before messing up.

The Alphabet Game Version 2: Using one topic (such as animals or geography), the game begins with the letter A. For example in Animal Alphabet, start with aardvark. Your child must then name an animal that starts with the last letter of the first word, in this example - K, so the next animal could be kangaroo. The next person says an animal that starts with the letter O, such as ostrich. This game continues until someone gets stumped.

Eye Spy: Add a new twist to the traditional game. Before leaving on your trip, have your children create a telescope by decorating old paper towel roles. Or, if your child is old enough, bring along binoculars. Then start the game off with "Eye-spy with my little eye something that is (red, round, tall, moving, an animal, etc.)".

Traveling Spelling Bees: Great for kids learning to read and spell! When my sister was learning to read, my dad would pay her a nickel for every road sign she could read, double the amount for any French signs. By the end of a trip my dad may have been out a few bucks, but my sister was well entertained and learned to read many new words.

Treasure Hunts: Create a travel treasure hunt by preparing a list of things for your children to find, such as ten things that are a particular colour or ten different kinds of animals or vehicles. You can even have prizes for each completed category.

By Rochelle Strauss