Oh, summer car trips. They’re those wonderful times when the whole family piles into a vehicle, heading off on a grand adventure! While the travel destination is usually exciting, the long hours in the car can become dull and monotonous. Want to spice up your family car trip? Here are some great games and ideas to make your next car trip journey just as fun as the destination.
- Create a binder of activity sheets for each kiddo. Include road sign bingo, tick-tac-toe, stickers and coloring sheets. You can find TONS of free road trip printables online.
- Choose a color or an object and then count them until you find 100 of that item. (Some examples include: American flags, statues, churches, red cars, etc.)
- Create a fun interactive map for kids to keep track of the journey. Draw pictures of simple landmarks that are along the way. A homemade map is easy for kids to follow and gives them a clearer picture of how much farther there is to go.
- Create a scavenger hunt. Give each child a list of items to watch for while driving.
- Create a simple felt board memory game. Here is a link for a great tutorial.
Don’t forget the simple joy of reading out loud as a family. Stop by one of our library branches before you head out to pick up books or audiobooks for your trip! Just make sure that if you read print books, your reader isn’t prone to car sickness. The Harry Potter series, the Little House on the Prairie series and the Lord of the Rings series are great for family car trips. If you’ve already read those, check out these great family read aloud ideas.
