Road Trip Activities to Engage Kids' Brains

Do you have a family road trip planned this summer? Whether it’s three hours to the grandparents’ house or twelve hours to visit those famous heads on a mountain, the kiddos probably aren’t going to sit perfectly still the whole time, gazing out the window at the lovely fields.

We love our travel DVD players, but to keep everyone fresh and less zombie-like during our journey, we try to throw in some fun road trip activities along the way!

Here are a few fun choices for easy road trip activities:

1. The Alphabet Game

This old standby can be played many ways depending on the age of your children. Our 4 1/2 -year old plays this game even when we drive across town, looking for letters of the alphabet in signs along the way. You could also look for things that start with certain letters, such as an automobile, backhoe, cow, etc. Print off a copy of the alphabet to help them keep track as they go!

2. The License Plate Game

The Hubby and I have played this on car trips since we got married. Now that the boys have started to learn about states, they can enjoy as well! Search for a printable of all the state license plates for help spotting those cars that zoom by too fast, or use a license plate game app – yes, there IS an app for that!

3. Cars & Colors

Assign everyone in the car a color and keep your eyes peeled for “your color.” The parent not driving can keep a tally of spotted cars, and a winner is declared when he or she finds ten cars in his or her color! You can adjust the number based on everyone’s attention span and enjoyment of the game.

4. Guess the Bible Character

Mom or Dad gives three clues about a Bible character and the kids take turns guessing who it is. If your kids are older, they can give clues themselves.

5. Animal, Vegetable, Mineral

This was a favorite road trip game for my family growing up, even into high school years. We all took turns thinking of something, and the rest of the family took turns asking yes or no questions to figure out the animal, vegetable, or mineral. Animal meant a person or animal. Vegetable stood for all other living things, including plants, fruits, and, obviously, vegetables! Mineral was anything not living.

Example:

Is it an animal? No.

Is it a vegetable? Yes.

Is it red? No.

Is it green? Yes.

Is it tall? Yes.

Is it found in the United States? Yes.

Is it found in cold weather? No.

Is it found in the desert? Yes.

Is it a Saguaro cactus? YES!

Your Turn

These summer road trip activities have all sorts of variations based on your children’s ages, trip length, family size, etc. And if you’re on the road for hours, you’ll have plenty of time to test them all out! What are your favorite road trip games? Leave a comment below. We’d love to hear from you!

Photo by: Ethan Finkelstein (Photos.com)