If you're on a road trip, this game does double duty as an educational tool for emerging readers. As you drive by billboards, road signs, businesses or visible license plates, ask your children to look for letters beginning with "A." If you pass a roadside stand selling apples, then the child should shout out "A is for apples;" "B at Bob's Gas Station;" and so on. If you have more than one child playing the game, show them how to keep score by making tic marks on paper you've brought with you.
Though it may take a little bit of pre-travel prep, make homemade Bingo cards that include a mixture of things you might readily see on a trip such as a blue car, a gas station, a lake, or a semi-truck with a trailer. Include a few items that are not as easily seen such as a particular restaurant, an unusual color of car or an animal such as a snake. Make the squares big enough so the children can cover them with adhesive notes that may be reused for a new game. If you lack artistic ability, cut out relevant pictures from magazines and paste those on the card. To ensure the card lasts the entire trip (or several trips), make the Bingo cards out of card stock or file folders you cut to the appropriate size. Travel bingo games are also available for sale.
This game is ideal for a long car or train ride, as well as a plane trip where you are confined. The classic "20 Questions" provides hours of fun -- if you can hang in there that long. Think of an object and the other person gets up to 20 "yes or no" questions to guess the object you have in mind. The game progresses until the object is guessed or you run out 20 questions, and then a turn is passed to a new car rider who thinks of an object. There is also a small, round toy called "20Q" that plays the game with a solitary player. The device asks 20 questions about what you are thinking, and the player answers "yes" "no" "maybe" or "don't know." It keeps children who are old enough to read absorbed for hours.
The object of this game is to choose a category such as animals, food or people -- let your imagination dictate the subject -- and then start the game by saying a word and passing the game to the next person who must think of a word that begins with the last letter of your word. If the category is food and you said "plum," the next person says a word that begins with "m" and he might say "meatloaf." The game then passes to the next person or back to you, and you might say "french fries."
This one may cost you some cash, but depending on how small your children are, you might be able to get away with quarters on the dollar as you buy yourself some peace. The game is quite simple. The child who remains quiet longer than everyone else receives money or perhaps a special treat you have hidden away. It's difficult for small children to play this game, but older children learn discipline, and you might be surprised to turn around and discover they've fallen asleep.
If your budget allows, consider buying travel-size versions of some of your favorite games. Keep them hidden and then pull them out as a surprise for the trip. Smart phones have hundreds of apps to keep kids busy, or you can bring your laptop along and play a DVD while the battery holds out. Electronic readers, such as the Nook Color or Kindle, feature children's books that read out loud to the child as she turns the pages herself.
