Planning a road trip this Easter? Avoiding squabbles in the back seat can be a mammoth job sometimes. With a few new games up your sleeve, the journey can be much more pleasant. For more great ideas, click here.
No Go
Before you leave home, pick three words that mustn't be said during the journey. Then try to trick each other into saying them in conversation. The person who notices a slip says “No Go” and gets a point.
License plate headlines
Using the letters on license plates as the start of words, and see who can make up the funniest headline! (For instance: KWQ might end up as Kids Welcome Queensland!) For younger kids, see who is the first to count to 10 using the numerals on license plates.
Mix and match stories
One person starts with the first sentence in a story, and the next contributes the second… the story continues until someone says “And they lived happily ever after”.
In my backpack
Like the old ‘grandma’s shopping list’
this memory game is all about listing things in your backpack. One family member starts with “In my backpack I have…”. The next person repeats the items mentioned by the person before them and adds one item on the end. The game continues round the group until someone forgets the order.
On my journey I saw…
Give each child a large piece of sketch paper, something hard to lean on and plenty of coloured pencils. (Pencils are less dangerous in the back seat than textas.) Write the name of the day’s starting location in the middle of the page then kids draw things they see along the way around that location. (Zoo, park, swings, church, lighthouse…)They can draw arrows between them if they like. This way they end up with a ‘time map’ of their journey. This is a great way to encourage kids to keep a journal and even works for those who can’t write.
There are plenty more travel ideas at www.kidswelcome.com.au. Do you have other cool games to share? Post a comment to share with other families!
