Summer is officially underway! This means that the math and science books have been put away and the kids are ready for some fun. Last year in my blog, I talked about the importance of involving children in the trip planning process, and how that can be a wonderful learning experience for them. My blog today is a continuation of that one. The vacation is planned, your family is ready, and soon enough, the time will be here. There are plenty of ways that your family members can enjoy themselves while continuously stimulating their minds, especially on road trips.
Here are some suggestions. A friend told me about a game that she enjoyed playing on car trips as a child. It was a game called “yellow car”. Since there are so few yellow cars, the premise of the game was to count how many of them passed on the way to your destination. When one is spotted, you must be the first person to yell out “yellow car” and the person with the highest score at the end of the ride wins. It sounds simple enough, except for the yelling part. At the time, she had no idea how entertaining this ‘simple’ game could actually be!
This game was meant to be a onetime occurrence, but months had passed before she and her mother had realized that they were playing it every day. Try playing “yellow car”. It will keep the children alert; activate their eyes and brains to spot these objects amongst everything else they see; and help them keep numerical track of how many they have seen. Little do they know all the learning that is involved!
There are many variations to this game. Try changing it up to “blue truck” or any other color and vehicle. Depending on what your destination is, you can select any item to spot and count. At the end of the trip, ask one of the children to tally up the total score. Setting the terms are part of the fun of this game and both children and parents can play and enjoy. Make it a competition and the winner wins a prize. Your imagination is the limit!