Wednesday, January 10, 2007

Automobile activities


Riding in the car with children need not be a trial of endurance; instead, it can be a fun and an educational time by taking the opportunity to play some family travel games for the road. Here are a few ideas to keep your children occupied.

  • If your child recognizes letters, have him watch for those letters while looking out the window. Play a variation of "I Spy."
  • The same idea works well with colors and numbers. You can even play along yourself to help your child recognize colors, numbers, and letters.
  • Sing a silly song: "Old MacDonald" and "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" are two of my children's favorites along with "Bicycle Built for Two" and "Surrey with the Fringe on Top." (Aren't those last two a blast from the long-forgotten past? My children learned them from the Veggie Tales Sing-Alongs: On the Road with Bob and Larry CD, and when I researched to find the links to the lyrics I discovered that the Veggie Tales CD features abbreviated versions of both songs.) NOTE: Please do not take these comments as an unqualified endorsement of the Veggie Tales products.
  • Bring books for reading and quiet entertainment.
  • Purchase some of their favorite stories on CD. This is another activity that keeps the children quiet. My children love the Alice in Wonderland audio book I purchased at Dollar Tree. I want to get the Peter Pan audio book as well. My oldest girl was given a CD/book set of one of the Curious George books.
How do you keep your children entertained while running errands or taking a trip?

photo of Veggie Tales CD cover courtesy of BigIdea.com

clipart courtesy of fotosearch.com

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