I came across MomsMinivan.com<\/a> when I was searching for ideas to keep my kids occupied and happy during a roadtrip this summer.\u00a0 I ended up putting many of Laurel Smith’s ideas into play and had a fantastic roadtrip.<\/em><\/p>\n Read on for some practical and easy-to-do ideas for having more fun on the road…<\/em><\/p>\n Time flies when you\u2019re having fun – The miles fly by too! You can make a long family car trip seem a lot shorter if you have fun with your kids along the way. Plan ahead with a few car activities, and making the journey can be as much fun as the destination. Here are a few ideas to get you started.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Make a Trip-Journal or Scrapbook<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong> Get a Good Songbook With All the Lyrics<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong> Give Your Kids an Allowance for the Day<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong> Let Your Children Have a Map<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong> Have Bubble Gum Blowing Contests<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong> The License Plate Game<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong> Printable Car Games<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong> Cats Cradle or String Loops<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong> Magnetic Board Games<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong> Counting Cows<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong> Read Out Loud<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong> Lego Contest<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong> Guess How Far Away That Is<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong> Play Favorites<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong> Aluminum Art<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong> Remember that it’s sometimes nice to sit in the back of the van with your kids while Dad is doing the driving and play some games right along side them. You might be surprised at how much fun you have too. Happy travels!<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n ———————–<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/em> Guest Post by Laurel Smith I came across MomsMinivan.com when I was searching for ideas to keep my kids occupied and happy during a roadtrip this summer.\u00a0 I ended up putting many of Laurel Smith’s ideas into play and had a fantastic roadtrip. Read on for some practical and easy-to-do ideas for having more fun […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":125,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[450],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13486","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-travel-tips"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.momstoolbox.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13486","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.momstoolbox.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.momstoolbox.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.momstoolbox.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/125"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.momstoolbox.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13486"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.momstoolbox.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13486\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.momstoolbox.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13486"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.momstoolbox.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13486"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.momstoolbox.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13486"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nGive everyone a big spiral bound sketchpad and a box of crayons or markers. Each day of the trip or for each event along the way, draw a picture of what you did that day, or draw a map of where you went, and write about it. You can also paste in souvenirs.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
\nIt surprising how many songs you think you know, but you don’t really know all the words. Have a singing marathon and learn the old classics by heart.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
\nTell them that this money is for snacks, treats, souvenirs etc. Help them learn to budget their money and make good choices.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
\nGive your kids their own copy of a map of where you are going. Show them how far you have come, how much further there is to go and let them mark it with a crayon. Every time someone asks “How much further?\u201d let them see for themselves. You might also like to get a compass and show them how it works along with the map.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
\nThe weirder the gum the better. Get it at the rest areas and try all the different flavors.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
\nPrint a U.S. map or list of states for the license plate game<\/a> off the computer and color in the states as you see license plates from each one.\u00a0 See if you can get all 50 states between Memorial Day and Labor Day. You might even record the time and date and the state where you saw it. This can be a family project as you build your “collection” of license plates together.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
\nPrint some activities to bring along on your trip such as Car Bingo, License Plate game, tic-tac-toe, lines and dots, scavenger hunt and more. You can find lots of printable car games here<\/a>.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
\nYou just need a piece of string for this one.\u00a0 See if you can make\u00a0 “Jacob’s Ladder”, “Kitty Whiskers”, or play Cats Cradle!<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
\nDo your children know how to play classic board games like Chess, Backgammon, Checkers, or Chinese Checkers?\u00a0 What better time to learn than in the car to pass the time!\u00a0 The magnetic car versions of these games are nice because they are small and compact, and have easy ways to store the pieces so they don’t get lost. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
\nCount the cows you see on your side of the car. If you pass a cemetery on your side of the car, you lose all your cows.\u00a0 The one with the most cows wins.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
\nThis passes the time quickly in the car for the reader and for the family members who are listening. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
\nHave a contest to see who can build the best item that relates to where you are going. Use a shoebox to store the Legos, or large zip lock bags.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
\nPick an object and have everyone guess how far away it is, then clock\u00a0 it on your odometer. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
\nHave everyone think of different “favorite” questions for the group. What’s your favorite… movie, flavor of ice cream, song, game, toy, place to visit, restaurant, book, animal, fish, etc. Be creative and don’t forget to ask the driver too!<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
\nGive everyone a sheet of aluminum foil. Have them mold it into anything they want: animal shapes, Frisbees, balls, jewelry, crowns, headband, necklaces and masks. Be creative. It\u2019s inexpensive fun and easy to clean up. Toddlers love this one too.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
\nLaurel Smith is a former schoolteacher and mother of three who has logged thousands of road trip miles both as a kid and a mom.\u00a0 Visit her website for more than 101 travel games and activities for kids at MomsMinivan.com<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"