With Easter holidays on the horizon, many parents will be planning lengthy car journeys with a certain amount of trepidation. Travelling with small children can be challenging and, as everyone knows, requires Everest-level organisation. Snacks, drinks, nappies, changes of clothes, books, toys. cushions, blankets, the list goes on; and that's before you've even done your holiday packing! Plus, how can you keep the endless cries of "Are we there yet?" at bay?
One way of supplying much-needed car-based attention and entertainment are simple, old-fashioned car games, with not an electronic gadget in sight! Here are 3 of our favourite car games, which will hopefully help your journey go by swimmingly as well:
Car Cricket (adapted for younger kids)
Each passenger chooses a colour, except red. The youngest steps up to the 'wicket' first, and earns one 'run' for each car of their chosen colour which passes. But when a red car passes, they are 'bowled out' and the next player takes their turn. The winner is the player with the most runs at the end of the game/journey.
Spotting Game
A simple extended scavenger hunt and great for observational skills, pose questions such as: Who can spot five green cars? Who can see ten ladies driving? Shout out whenever you see three people in a car? Who can spot five cars with dogs in? etc etc. It's simple but our girls all love this one!
Yellow Car
The simplest game of all, but endlessly engaging and competitive, this game simply involves spotting any yellow cars, or vans, or lorries, that you pass. For each yellow car you call, you win 10 points. Some people keep a tally, but our game of yellow car is on-going, with every journey punctuated by shouts of "Yellow car, ten points!"
I hope those ideas help your car journeys go well, and help your family have lots of fun too! Enjoy your travels.
One way of supplying much-needed car-based attention and entertainment are simple, old-fashioned car games, with not an electronic gadget in sight! Here are 3 of our favourite car games, which will hopefully help your journey go by swimmingly as well:
Car Cricket (adapted for younger kids)
Each passenger chooses a colour, except red. The youngest steps up to the 'wicket' first, and earns one 'run' for each car of their chosen colour which passes. But when a red car passes, they are 'bowled out' and the next player takes their turn. The winner is the player with the most runs at the end of the game/journey.
Spotting Game
A simple extended scavenger hunt and great for observational skills, pose questions such as: Who can spot five green cars? Who can see ten ladies driving? Shout out whenever you see three people in a car? Who can spot five cars with dogs in? etc etc. It's simple but our girls all love this one!
Yellow Car
The simplest game of all, but endlessly engaging and competitive, this game simply involves spotting any yellow cars, or vans, or lorries, that you pass. For each yellow car you call, you win 10 points. Some people keep a tally, but our game of yellow car is on-going, with every journey punctuated by shouts of "Yellow car, ten points!"
I hope those ideas help your car journeys go well, and help your family have lots of fun too! Enjoy your travels.