8 Ways to Occupy Your Kids in the Car ⋆ Little Miss Martha
With many of us opting to drive places lately, we are all looking for ways to keep those kids busy during the long trips. I’m looking for help even during the short ones if I have to be honest… So I while we prepare for a pretty long car ride ourselves, I came up with a list of fun car games to keep your kids occupied on your upcoming trip!
LISTENING
Harry Potter Readings
Not sure if your kids like Harry Potter or not, but thanks to the Rona, lots of celebrities came together to read the whole first book to you! I’m hoping to try this one to get my kids to love this as much as I do. The first chapter is read by the boy who lived himself, Daniel Radcliffe. At least listen to a chapter or two and enjoy a great book with your kids!
Kid Podcasts
You might have seen my recap of kids podcasts the other day. Check out my 10 recommendations that will keep your kids interested, entertained, and maybe learn something along the way too!
CREATIVE
I plan on doing this on our next trip. Each child will get a journal or notebook and a small set of pens or pencils to document, draw, scribble — whatever they want! I hope they’ll draw things they remember or loved. Or maybe even the odd things we see on the side of the road! Whatever it is, I think it’ll be fun to look back on when we go on our next trip.
GAMES
Road Trip Bingo
So I picked ours up at the Target Dollar Bins, but I know you can find printable options online too and I saw these over on Amazon! The flip tab ones are the best! Have the kids in the car keep these close and keep checking them to see if you find anything along the way. Some can be pretty hard, like , but most are easily found and depending on how long you are in the car, you will probably get to yell BINGO!
I Spy
A tried and true favorite, this is fun for the whole family. “Eye spy with my little eye something that is …” Even the littlest can get in on this fun! This is actually one of Olive’s favorite games to play in the car. She loves it!
Perdiddle
Is this still a fun game to play? I think so… We always played game while growing up driving back and forth to skating competitions. Find a car with a headlight out and get a point. A taillight out, get a point. And a Truck with a headlight out, get 2 points. But don’t forget to yell Perdidle when you see it! Do you maybe have to hit the ceiling too?! I don’t really know the official rules, but you can always make up your own too! I mean, it’s really just fun(ny) to yell PERDIDDLE.
The License Plate Game
For another classic game for kids in the car, try the licence plate game. You can even keep track in your travel journal! Find a license plate for each state in the US. Some are much harder than others, but you can do it! See how many you can get on the way there AND back!
The Alphabet Game
This one reminds me of camp, but it’s another classic. Players attempt to find words starting with every letter of the alphabet going from A to Z in order. You can look at everything around you — billboards, signs, trucks, restaurants, and more! When players spot their next word, they call out their letter and the word — A for Arbys — so you can all keep track.
OR you can play the other version where you pick a category like groceries or animals and the family takes turns naming something from that category going from A to Z. Ardvark, Butterfly, Cat, Dog, Etc.. The best is having to remember them all at the end! Every single one! In order!
I hope this list helps out on your next trip! What’s your favorite game to play in the car?!
Did I miss some good ones!??
Originally published at http://hellomissmartha.com on July 17, 2020.
