“Love it or dread it, the family road trip is still the ultimate bonding experience,” according to Kathleen Leighten in Better Homes and Gardens magazine. With summer right around the corner and budgets a little tighter than usual, here are some ideas for making your next family road trip more fun:
There are many ways to pass the hours on a road trip. If family bonding is one of your main goals, then there are certain things you will want to avoid (or at least to use sparingly). Those would include cell phones, DVDs, ipods, or anything with isolating headphones.So what are some alternative activities for your trip?
1. Word games - the alphabet game (finding letters on billboards, etc. in alphabetical order); I spy-alphabet game (finding objects that begin with each letter of the alphabet in alphabetical order); grocery store game (”I went to the grocery store and bought an A - apple.” Then, “I went to the grocery store and bought an A - apple and a B - banana.” Etc.); license plate game (How many states can you find?)
2. travel games (card games)
3. Songs and Sing alongs - CDs; SS or VBS songs; camp songs; silly songs
4. Prizes/distractions - individually wrapped, dispensed at appropriate intervals (things like crayons and magnets and dot to dots, etc.)
5. Books on tape - something for everyone to enjoy (save War and Peace for later if you have toddlers.); a book to read together if one of the passengers can read without getting car sick
6. Lessons on map reading and navigation (this idea is educational too!)
7. Speaking of educational…Learn how to determine the gas mileage between fill ups; learn states and capitals; memorize Bible verses
8. Coloring books; drawing paper for tic tac toe or hangman; a trip diary
How can you keep all the goodies together?
Sew together the bottom of a man’s shirt - one for each child. Then hang each on a hanger and place the hanger on the hook above the back seat windows. Put a metal cookie sheet in the shirt to use as a desk and display board for magnets. The shirt will act as storage that is accessible to the kids.
Don’t forget…
FOOD! (small individual sizes); water; fruit; etc.
Memories!!!!! Share old ones and make new ones!
I would love to hear from you on this subject. Please email me at Kendra@KendraSmiley.com
Helping You MAKE THE NEXT RIGHT CHOICE
www.KendraSmiley.com
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