We’re heading out this summer for our first family road trip. We won’t be gone all that long, but it will be the first time that we’ve travelled any great distance with the kids. So, I’m looking for good old-fashioned car games. You know…the ones that can engage both adult and child for more than three minutes and are not called “I Spy With My Little Eye Something That We’ve Just Passed By (rendering any chance of you seeing what I just saw virtually impossible!)”
My friend Larry Schwarz came to do some drama with us this year and he left behind this gem. I introduced it to Luke and Liam this past weekend and they just love it:
Two players each think of a word to begin the game. They keep the word to themselves until one player (or a third person) counts to three, at which point they say their word at the EXACT same time. (It’s actually best if the players are not looking at each, making this perfect for the car)
It is unlikely that the words will be identical, and the goal of the game is to get to the same word in as few steps as possible. So, once the first words are stated, the players—on their own—try to make a connection between the two words.
In the second round, (One, Two Three) the words should be a little closer together, and you’ve done pretty well if you can get to the same word in less than 5 tries. There will be times when you actually get further apart because along with making your own connections, you unknowingly try to anticipate the connections the other player is making.
So, here are some examples of my adventures in teaching the game to Luke. Each line below represents a different round
Example One
|
Luke |
Stephen |
|
exercise |
grass |
|
soccer |
run |
|
GOAL! |
|
Example Two
|
Luke |
Stephen |
|
Farm |
eat |
|
Grow |
Food |
|
Drink |
Animal |
|
COW! |
|
Example Three
|
Luke |
Stephen |
|
golf |
baseball |
|
club |
hit |
|
hole |
ball |
|
Birdie |
green |
|
FLAG! |
|
It’s amazing how well this game works, and the squeals of delight that come from players and observers when the final connection is made.
You can adapt the game to meet your own needs, or the number of people actually present. Sometimes, my three year old and I will start the game, and then Luke will take over for Liam after the first round. This keeps everyone involved.
A couple of warnings:
- Concentration is important. It’s difficult to play this game while watching a video, listening to music or when others are carrying on important conversations.
- It may take a few rounds for younger players to get the hang of it. My three year old loves the game, but always wants to say “coffee” as his first word. We’ve adapted the game to allow him to participate.
So, there you go…something completely different for this summer day. If you have car games that you have found to be successful with your family, why not tell us about them. Although you likely look forward to the times when everyone (with the exception of the driver) nods off during a long road trip, I’m sure that there are times when a collection of active and interesting car games would be useful!
Thanks Stephen, for sharing this fun game. It will be a great game to play during the 1st week of school, or throughout the year for that matter.
I better get practicing. I’m going to start off with the word “coffee”.
Hope you have a great vacation/road trip.
Shucks …. this is probably too late for you!!
I used to have a bag of items for each kid … there were the classics of “bingo” games that were city; rural; animal; vehicle themes (found online and laminated); I’d have maps of the trips for each kid – where we’d have predetermined stops identified with stickers noting travel goals; fun stops; snack times associated with a specific town, etc (limited the “are we there yet”); a north american map where we would track license plates we saw; a cd of just the music to songs the kids were familiar with & we’d make up our own words to reflect our vacation so far (Yellow Submarine was always a favourite… we’re all in an old ford truck;…). Before leaving, I’d get each child a small scrap book to make a memory book — each day they would add postcards, draw pictures or leave spots to insert pictures — We would have the same questions we’d answer everyday in the book ie. Today I discovered that….. My favourite thing about today was ….. etc.
In there bag …. there would also be a small surprise (dollar store rocks!) that they could open at the time where things would usually have the potential to unravel. I remember buying – travel checkers games; yoyo’s; window stickers/window markers; magnet story boards; a water toy. You can get “bags” that fit over the back of a car seat that has tons of pockets to keep things “organized”.
I also had plaster of paris in the car (drove my husband mad!) — and we would collect “tracks” when we’d stop for a stretch.
When kids were still into “nap time” — the dvd player was heaven!!
Have fun!!