Fun Things to Do on a Road Trip With Family
fifty Route Trip Activities for Kids Ages iv-eight
THE BEST Route TRIP ACTIVITIES FOR KIDS
If you're preparing to take a family road trip you know there are a lot of logistics to figure out. One of the biggest concerns parents of young kids may accept is how to proceed their footling ones entertained on the long drive.
Our family is starting to enter a new era of road-tripping where the oldest kids tin can entertain themselves for the bulk of the journey. Nosotros now have 2 independent readers in the family (our vii and 4-year-old), which helps tremendously. Now they're fix for games, wordplay, books, and educational activities!
Between two of my 4 kids aging out of toddlerhood and merely the sheer amount of route tripping nosotros've done in the past 2 years, I feel similar travel past auto has gotten exponentially easier.
Our trips range from right downwardly the route to twenty hours cantankerous country (which we've done several times without stopping at a hotel).
I want to share what we've learned forth the way nigh road tripping with kindergarteners and early on simple-aged kids and then that I can make your family vacation merely a piddling easier and more enjoyable. (And if you even so have toddlers and preschoolers, hither'due south a post with 50 activities for the younger crowd).
Don't forget to grab my Family Travel Planner and then you tin cease stressing nearly the logistics of your trip and have everything in one organized place!
Disclosure: This mail contains affiliate links. If you lot click on a link and make a purchase, I may brand a pocket-size committee at no extra cost to yous.
Route Trip Activities with Elementary Historic period Kids (4-8)
TRAVEL GAMES AND ACTIVITIES FOR KIDS ON Newspaper
1. Give-and-take Search
Kids who are early readers all the way up to experienced readers love using these skills to solve a give-and-take jumble. The beauty of word searches is that they don't require much - only a paper (or booklet) and a pencil! Here is a fun give-and-take search puzzle booklet specifically for route trips!
two. Scavenger Hunt
Impress out my gratis scavenger chase, and have your kid circle or color the items they see as you're driving along. This game gave me a skillful hour of tranquillity time as my four-year-old hunted for the items on her list. This is a fun activity for kids of all ages. Even grown-ups can become involved!
3. Crossword Puzzle
Solving the clues to fill in the boxes of a crossword puzzle gives kids a sense of accomplishment, works on spelling and comprehension, and best of all, keeps them decorated for long stretches of time! Check out this volume of crossword puzzles for kids designed to improve their vocabulary! I also have a route trip themed crossword puzzle included in my Road Trip Activity Volume for older kids!
4. Journaling
A cracking manner to get kids involved with the road trip process is past having them journal their feel. You lot can get them a plain old notebook, lodge a special journal designed specifically for travel, or just print out some pages where they can write their thoughts (my Road Trip Action Book has periodical pages included!).
Give them prompts or just allow them write their thoughts. Y'all'd be surprised by how creative and descriptive kids can exist! I too think teaching children to write their travel feel is a great way to teach them to stop and find the world around them.
5. Drawing
Whether you lot but hand them a blank piece of newspaper and a clipboard, or you take a fun footstep-by-step drawing pedagogy book for kids (my son loves this one and my daughter is really into this one), kids love creating their ain pictures.
6. Road Trip Bingo
Instead of having someone telephone call out the letters and numbers for this bingo game, kids simply have to look out the window to fill in their bingo squares! Each movie on the bingo card is something they might run across outside as you drive along.
Each carte du jour is different, then kids can try different cards and play multiple times. I would suggest grabbing a few of these dry out erase pocket sleeves and dry erase pens and so kids can cross out the squares they find, then erase them when information technology'due south time to commencement a new game. That way y'all can reuse the cards you printed over and over.
seven. Coloring Books
Any old coloring book will do, but our family'due south favorite by far for route trips (and airplane rides) are Crayola Colour Wonder. The markers that come with the coloring books only work on the special paper so you know kids won't make a mess and ruin your car!
Related: How To Make Road Trip Binders for Your Kids
8. License Plate Game
This is a archetype! Practise you lot remember playing the license plate game as a kid? You simply search for license plates from all 50 states and bank check them off as y'all encounter them. This game tin last the entire road trip!
nine. Alphabet Game
Expect out the window at billboards, signs, and license plates to find all 26 letters of the alphabet. The challenge is to find them in society!
10. Textured Rubbing Plates
I remember playing with textured rubbing plates as a kid! Each plate has a unlike design that you can mix and match with other plates. Then you take a crayon without its wrapper and rub the side of the crayon on a paper over the top of the textured plates to reveal the pattern! Later on, kids can colour in the designs with more crayons or colored pencils.
Nosotros got our kids this i and this one for route trips and they love it!
11. "Draw a Monster" Activity
This is a game I used to play with my Spanish students (mode back when I was a high schoolhouse Castilian teacher) to do shapes, colors, anatomy, and size vocabulary.
Basically you lot describe a monster step-by-step and let kids employ their imaginations to depict the monster yous're describing. For example: "This monster has a head shaped like a square. He has one large round eye in the eye of his head. His mouth is a straight line with iii triangle-shaped teeth poking out…" and then on until you've described a monster.
After yous're done, reveal the monster yous were describing (a picture on your telephone, one you drew yourself - whatsoever!) and compare it to the kids' drawings.
If you don't have the mental energy to practise this (road trips are exhausting), I've included one in my kids' road trip packet with footstep-by-step instructions, and the picture of the monster included at the cease!
12. Mad Libs
This is such a fun game for kids considering they can be as silly as they want! The only catch is that they have to sympathize what type of give-and-take is being asked of them (nouns, verbs, adjectives, or you tin make it vaguer for younger kids like a person, task, action word, describing give-and-take).
Here's a cracking Mad Libs volume for kids, and there'southward too a Mad Libs story in the Road Trip Activity Book.
xiii. Tic Tac Toe
Don't forget nigh this classic game! I love how elementary information technology is. All you need are a piece of newspaper and a pencil. Kids can easily draw out their ain grids.
TRAVEL ACTIVITIES BOOKS AND TOYS FOR KIDS
14. Sticker Books
What child doesn't dearest stickers? On road trips, we dear these reusable Melissa and Doug sticker books considering they can't get stickers all over the car seats and windows. If your kids are old plenty to know not to put stickers on any surface just newspaper, try this funny one, or this nature-inspired one!
fifteen. Sticker Puzzles
Along the same lines, sticker puzzles are the newest craze in our household. Information technology'south a perfect manner to challenge kids on the road and I love that there'due south a concrete end result.
xvi. Tangram Travel Book
(From the description): "The tangram is a autopsy puzzle consisting of seven flat shapes, chosen tans, which are put together to form shapes. The objective of the puzzle is to class a specific shape (given only an outline or silhouette) using all seven pieces, which may not overlap."
My iv-year-old got a Magnetic Tangram Puzzle Volume that's perfect for travel. He'southward been loving the challenge of assembling the puzzles and shapes in the volume.
17. Maps and Atlases
Nosotros decorate our home with maps considering I dear showing kids where we've been, where nosotros desire to go, and educational activity them about other countries, states, and cultures.
That can transition to your road trip! Get the kids involved by giving them a map of the Usa or just a map of your journey so they can follow along.
This U.S. Road Trip Atlas for Kids gives tons of trivia, fun facts, and activities for kids.
eighteen. Magnets
Magnet tins are a great way to give your kids a fun activity they tin take anywhere - including the car. Magnet tins come up in all kinds of varieties, so whatever your kid is interested in, you can find a magnet tin for that. They have magnet puzzles and play scenes.
19. Magnatiles & Magformers
This is a family unit-favorite at domicile, just you can take some on the road, too! Put a small number of magnetic tiles in a can or saucepan and use this idea booklet to build dissimilar shapes.
twenty. Their Ain Mag
Most adults love magazines for travel, so why non get your kids their very own mag subscription? National Geographic Kids magazine is perfect for a road trip because information technology will spark their interest in animals, geography, other cultures, and the world effectually them.
With fun facts, games and activities for kids to play, and beautiful pictures, this awesome magazine for kids will go on your kids engaged AND inspire them to come up with travel destinations to add together to their bucket list.
Bank check current toll for a subscription here.
21. Books
If your kids don't become carsick from reading in the machine, encourage some quiet reading time during the trip. As an developed, I love reading through an entire fiction book in ane road trip, and love didactics my kids to do the aforementioned!
Lately, they've been into comic books and graphic novels. We stock up from the library or Amazon before a route trip so they have tons of fresh reading material! Hither are a few books suggestions kids might love:
Fly Guy (for early on readers)
Elephant and Piggie (fun books for early on readers)
Narwahl and Jelly (silly and adorable graphic novel for young readers)
Phoebe and Her Unicorn (funny and fantastical, this series is great for commencement and 2d graders!)
Magic Treehouse (these are chapter books, not graphic novels. I dear the adventure component of these books, particularly for a road trip).
Any Roald Dahl books (for more advanced readers)
22. Joke Volume
Parents, I'yard deplorable to suggest this, because you lot'll probably accept to endure endless terrible kid jokes, merely the truth is that kids LOVE joke books, and it volition keep them decorated for a while. Bonus points if you have multiple kids then they can tell the jokes to each other instead of y'all.
23. Glow Sticks
If you're going to be driving at night, glow sticks volition provide lots of glow-in-the-dark fun! Kids can make bracelets, necklaces, crowns, or but sticks.
24. Dry out Erase Boards and Markers
Mini dry-erase boards are swell alternatives to tons of loose-leafage newspaper, and you lot tin can utilize them over and again for drawing, writing, hangman, tic tac toe, and more. These ones are great because they're magnetic and tin can be used for magnet toys, too!
25. Select Toys from home
Maybe this is obvious, but I dearest letting my kids option a few favorite toys from. home and packing them in their backpacks all by themselves.
My boys love playing with toy cars and their Toy Story figurines, while my daughter loves to bring a few Barbies and her American Girl doll.
26. Washi Record
I take tons of brightly-colored and patterned Washi record that I let my kids utilise to decorate their pictures on road trips. They might also love this Melissa and Doug Tape Activity Book to give them some management.
27. BrainQuest
Cypher like good onetime trivia to get the brain fired upwardly on a long trip! Encephalon Quest cards are then fun for kids, and they come in all different levels and age groups. This Brain Quest for the Auto is a fun road trip option with questions all near America!
28. Spot It!
Have your kids played Spot It? It'south such a fun and portable little game for all ages. Each kid gets a stack of cards, and they turn one over at the same fourth dimension. Each card has several pictures or symbols on them. They take to compare the two cards and observe the 1 picture that appears on both cards. Whoever finds the match first gets to go along the cards.
29. Magnetic Infinity Puzzle Cube
These magnetic blocks come in a cube that you can have autonomously and put dorsum together in different shapes. It comes with 54 cards to make all kinds of diverse structures.
30. Window Clings
Window clings are such a fun manner for kids to use their imagination in the car. At that place are subcontract animals, vehicles, princesses, and more! Have them off and restick them to the window equally many times as you desire!
31. Bop Information technology!
We got our 4-twelvemonth-old the Bop It! game for Christmas, and always since then we've been having family Bop It! tournaments. It'southward a relatively pocket-sized toy, and yous can even adjust the volume so information technology's not too annoying for the driver.
ROAD TRIP ACTIVITIES WITH ELECTRONICS
32. Audiobooks
If kids are nonetheless very early readers or they go carsick or only need a break from looking at the page, effort audiobooks! Borrow CDs from the library, use an Audible subscription, or see if your online library options (Overdrive, Libby, or Hoopla) have proficient kids' audiobooks.
33. Camera
Does your child have a camera? Information technology could be the ane already included on their Kindle, or an inexpensive digital camera for kids like this one (great for four-5 year-olds) or this i (great for 6-8 year-olds).
Give them a photo scavenger hunt of things to take pictures of during your trip, or let them record the journeying however they want through pictures and videos.
34. Podcasts
There are lots of neat podcasts for kids out there! Why non download a few to your child'southward tablet or play some over the speakers while yous drive? At that place are imaginative stories, science podcasts, history podcasts, and more! Sh! Don't let your child know they're learning!
35. Music
Seems similar an obvious lark on a road trip, but it'due south one I ofttimes forget about until things look dire. Everyone is tired of being cooped upwardly and starting to snap at each other when I realize that a scrap of music will assist calm anybody downward.
Put together a kid-friendly road trip playlist or borrow some audio CDs from the library to continue spirits loftier.
36. Kindle (or some other tablet)
Not all applied science is bad! I would be remiss not to mention the Kindle Fire Kids Edition. They're relatively inexpensive compared with other tablets, and it was the all-time investment our family ever made.
You can download the Kindle Freetime Unlimited App (which you lot get free for a twelvemonth after purchasing the tablet). The Freetime App is amazing because it only allows age-appropriate books, games, and videos according to the age limits you set as a parent, AND kids cannot exit the app.
I've honestly been amazed at the things my kids have learned from the games and videos on their Kindles and the insightful follow-up questions they've asked.
37. Timers
Giving your kids access to a timer of some sort will exist a fun way to help them pass the time. Our daughter got a "smartwatch" for her 7th altogether, and she has loved the liberty to set timers herself.
For instance, if she's asking me when quiet fourth dimension is done or when tiffin is, I can requite her a fix corporeality of time which she plugs into her watch. This way she doesn't take to keep request me how much longer is left!
It doesn't have to exist a fancy sentry, though. You can give your kids an egg timer, too! You could come up with loose "schedules" for them, and they can control the timer. Try something like xx minutes of reading fourth dimension, xxx minutes of play, so you can keep your Kindles for 30 minutes.
38. Vox Recorder
Kids love listening to their ain voices! A simple vocalisation recorder, whether that'southward on a tablet, a kids' smartwatch, or its own device, can provide tons of backseat amusement! My kids love making upward songs or dialogues, recording themselves, and listening to information technology over and over.
39. Movies
Not all screen fourth dimension needs to be educational. Permit kids zone out and relish a favorite tv prove or movie! You tin can download movies or shows on Netflix or Disney+ on kids' tablets, or get a portable DVD player if your car doesn't already come equipped with one.
Verbal ROAD TRIP ACTIVITIES
xl. twenty Questions
I taught my daughter how to play this game when we were waiting at the drome, just it would be but as fun in the car with the whole family! The original game has players come up with an animate being, vegetable, or mineral, simply I think for kids it would be easier to do categories like person, identify, matter, or animal. Whoever is "information technology'" thinks of something in one of these categories and tells the group which category information technology fits into.
Players take turns request yeah or no questions to try to effigy out the mystery object. Information technology might take some explaining and examples to aid younger kids empathise what a yep or no question is.
The group gets 20 questions to try to figure out what the word is. Guesses can count equally 1 of the 20 questions (instance: "Is it a horse?").
41. ABC Picnic Game
This is a good game to practice the alphabet AND retentivity skills! One person says what they are bringing to the picnic starting with the alphabetic character A. The following person brings something starting with the letter B, but they have to repeat the showtime detail. This goes all the manner to letter Z, listing all 26 items in society.
Example for someone on the letter of the alphabet G: "I'm going on a picnic and I'one thousand bringing apples, bananas, candy, drums, elephants, fries, and gum."
42. Word Games
At dinner, in the car, or when nosotros're waiting in line for something, my husband and I like to claiming our kids with give-and-take games. It could exist coming up with synonyms, naming equally many words equally we can think of that start with a sure letter, or come up up with rhyming words.
43. Story Telling
Share the story of how Mom and Dad met. Tell them near your written report abroad adventure in college (the PG version). Share a funny story near when you got in problem as a kid. Kids Dearest hearing bits and pieces of their parents' lives.
Then let your kids tell their ain stories (the fourth dimension they scored a goal in soccer, the fourth dimension they learned to ride a bike, their first mean solar day of preschool, etc). Alarm: if your kids are anything like my daughter, these stories will terminal for approximately 47 minutes each.
44. Limericks
Limericks are such fun poems to teach kids! Requite them a few examples kickoff, so teach them the structure and see if y'all can come up with 1 equally a family.
A limerick has v lines. Lines 1, 2, and five must rhyme. They each have 8 syllables.
Lines iii and 4 rhyme and have five syllables.
A great and familiar example of a limerick is "Hickory Dickory Dock."
If your kids are on the younger side, you tin can help them past getting them to pick the rhyming words or creating the limerick yourself but filling in the bare!
45. "Proper noun 3 Things"
Come with a list of categories, then see if the kids can name 3 (or 4 or 5, etc) things in each category! For example: types of cereal, presidents, shapes, types of road signs, kinds of vehicles, etc.
To make information technology more challenging, make information technology a version of Scattergories. Pick a letter and challenge them to come up with 1 or 2 words that start with that letter for each category.
46. Memorization
While your kids are a convict audition in the motorcar, challenge them to memorize something if they complain that they're bored. You lot could acquire the 50 states (try the song 50 Not bad United States), the presidents in gild, Scripture verses, times tables, poems, or vocabulary words in other languages.
It'south helpful to put whatsoever you're trying to memorize to music. (I learned the l Smashing The states vocal in 4th class and have known the states in alphabetical order ever since. It's definitely come up in very handy!) Breaking up information into smaller $.25 helps them memorize lots of data. (For example, memorize 5 presidents at a fourth dimension).
47. Dial Buggy Game
We all remember the Punch Buggy game - and we probably wince a little chip thinking of an older sibling pounding on usa every time they saw a Volkswagon Beetle.
Honestly, I don't want to deal with my kids whining considering of a game that sanctions punching 1 another, and so I would introduce a variation of this game. Information technology could exist a sure kind of motorcar or a certain color of the car. You could have the kids shout a funny phrase, exercise the crazy shakes (like from Team Umizoomi), or clap 3 times.
You could also keep a running score. Whoever shouts the phrase offset gets a signal. Whoever has the most points at the end of the trip gets a prize!
48. Conversation Starters
Travel offers plenty of opportunities to get to know your kids on a deeper level. Long route trips offer the chance to initiate a conversation with your picayune ones. I've listed 100 conversation starters your kids will honey in this web log mail. You tin can print them out as a list, or print them out as cards and then everyone can take turns picking a card and prompting a conversation.
OTHER ROAD TRIP TIME-FILLERS
49. Sleep
Nosotros like to leave correct earlier bedtime and drive through the night if we have an peculiarly long trip alee of us, like our drives from Florida to Wisconsin. Information technology'due south nice to have a big chunk of the trip when the kids are sleeping.
I also love to establish nap fourth dimension if we're driving all day. The large kids might non necessarily fall comatose, just I make certain they're all comfy with pillows and blankets and designate this time as "quiet time" then the younger ones tin sleep.
50. Pick ANY Candy
When you know you lot have a rest stop coming up, tell the kids they can each pick ANY candy they want at the gas station or grocery store.
To a kid, this seems like the ultimate luxury. They'll spend the side by side 10 minutes (at to the lowest degree) debating the claim of ane processed vs another.
(I'm also not above a bribe. "If you guys are quiet for the side by side 20 minutes you tin each selection out any processed you want.")
51. Snack Time
I'1000 diligent about packing a variety of good for you snacks for a road trip. Nosotros, of course, have treats, likewise, but I try to brand certain the majority of the snacks have a flake of nutritional value and so we're non all feeling like garbage after hours of being sedentary and consuming aught but sugar.
Having designated snack times for the kids helps take up some time and gives the kids something to look forward to.
What did I miss? What games or activities do you practice on road trips with your little kids?
DON'T FORGET IT! Pin Information technology!
Emily Krause is a Florida-based travel blogger who writes well-nigh exploring the world with kids. On A Mom Explores you'll find best family travel destinations, Disney World tips, and how to brand travel with babies and toddlers a piddling easier.
Emily believes that exploring starts in our ain backyards, and hazard tin can happen anywhere with the right mindset.
Source: https://www.emilymkrause.com/blog/50-road-trip-activities-for-kids-ages-4-8
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