100 road trip activities

Copyright © 2011, All Rights Reserved, RV-Travel-with-Kids.com Page 1

100 Road Trip Activities for Kids

Keeping them Occupied on the Journey

From RV Travel with Kids’ Rayven and Ed Perkins Copyright © 2011, All Rights Reserved, Rayven and Ed Perkins

This report is copyrighted and does not include resale rights.

You are free to give it away but you may not sell it. You may not change the report in any way.


Rayven and Ed Perkins are the authors and webmasters of

http://www.rv-travel-with-kids.com, a website which chronicles

their family’s journey exploring North America full time in an RV.

This website helps all those interested in traveling with kids, either

full or part time, with travel ideas and destinations, discounts,

resources, and in-depth information on the full-time RV lifestyle.

Additionally, a free forum is offered to other traveling families as a

place to network and form relationships.

Rayven and Ed have been full-time RVers since 2005. The biggest

challenge they have faced when deciding to travel full-time has

been a source of income. They have solved this problem by

becoming content based website creators and webmasters. Ed

teaches a course through Austin Community College online for

those interested in duplicating their success. In addition, the Perkins’ roadschool their two

preteens.

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100 Road Trip Activities for Kids

Traveling with children will be what you make of it. If you head out dreading the hours of

whining, crying, and little ones beating each other up in the backseat, then you are probably

going to experience a lot of that.

On the other hand, if you head out the door with an arsenal of kid-friendly road activities you

will be met with more smiles than frowns and more giggles than whines. Here are 100 great

activities guaranteed to please children of all ages. These are your weapons against boredom,

tears and miles of whining!

What's Out the Window?

1. The Window List

Before leaving home, make up a list of things that may be seen through the windows as you

drive through different states. You may want to have a different list for every state. You can

find some unusual items by doing a bit of research on each state.

Find interesting facts by state here: http://www.rv-travel-with-kids.com/50-states-facts.html

Print out a list for everyone in the motor home or truck and have them hunt for the items as

you move through the state. You can turn this into a contest by having everyone guard their

paper to see who has the most items crossed off by the time you drive out of the state. Who is

more observant?

2. Counting Cows

Have children count cows seen from their side of the truck or motor home. There are lots of

rural towns with farmland, so don't assume that there won't be many cows along the way.

Want to take this a step further? Give bonus points for longhorns or babies.


3. License List

Find out what states do the most traveling by keeping a tally of how many license plates you

see from each state. Provide each child in the truck with a list of all states in the country with

enough room for tally marks beside each one. Or, just have one tally sheet that everyone works

together to keep accurate as you progress along your journey. In the end you can count up the

tallies to see which state seems to be out on the road most in this part of the country.

4. Map Making

Find maps of every state you will be crossing through and print them out. Make sure the major

highways you will be traveling on are represented. You can add in lines for smaller roads as well

and then make copies of the adjusted map. Give the kids highlighters so they can highlight each

road or portion of the highways as you move along.

5. Wave Watch

Who is the most popular person in the truck? Allow the kids to wave at others passing by and

count how many people actually wave back. Smiles are nice, but they don't count!

6. License Plate Fun

Have an adult pull the letters from a license plate passing by and read them out to the kids. The

kids can then create funny sayings with one word representing each letter of the license plate.

For instance, an adult may call out "CFT" and a kid may respond with "cat fight Tuesday!"

7. License Plate Bingo

Make up some bingo cards before leaving home with random letters in the squares. Cards for

smaller kids can include extra "free" spaces. Hand each kid a card and have an adult in the truck

call out letters spotted on passing license plates. Whoever gets bingo first wins a small prize,

such as quarters for an arcade or gumball machine at a rest stop, or a soda or candy at the next

gas station.


8. Billboard Story

Have children write a list of words that they see on passing billboards at random. Don't tell

them what they are going to use these words for at first. Allow them to collect their list for a

given period of time, then instruct them to create a short story incorporating all of the words.

They can write the stories out if they’re in a motor home at the table, but those riding in a truck

may want to tell the stories aloud on the spot.

9. Billboard Puzzles

You can also use the word lists that your kids collect from billboards to create your own word

searches or other puzzles. They can then pass their unique puzzles to one another to see who

can complete them.

10. Car Watch

Have kids work together to identify the type of cars, trucks and semis passing by. This can be as

technical as you wish. Older kids with knowledge of cars may be able to name exact models

while young children may only know "bus" or "SUV." See how many different vehicles you can

identify as a family.

11. Window ABC

Start with A and have kids identify three things out the window that start with that letter. The

first child to find three things can pick the next letter at random or you can go in alphabetical

order. For instance, one child may spot an apple on a billboard, what they think was an ant

climbing on a speed limit sign, and then an arrow decorating a restaurant sign. They call out

"apple, ant, arrow" and then select an new letter.

12. ABC Race

Race to find the alphabet. Teams are formed according to where you are sitting in the truck.

Each side of the vehicle becomes a team and has to find all the letters of the alphabet on

passing signs. They have to go in order, so each team would have to find an A before they can

move on to searching for a B. The team to get to Z the fastest wins.


13. Hold Your Breath

Have everyone draw in a big breath just before driving into a tunnel. They have to hold it until

the end of the tunnel is reached...if they can! You can also have them take a deep breath then

sing one note to the end of the tunnel.

14. Hybrid Hunt

It is believed that you can see a hybrid vehicle on the road every 45 seconds in areas of the

country that are eco-friendly. Have kids call out when they see a hybrid vehicle, then everyone

should immediately hold their breath for 45 seconds while actively scouting for other hybrid

vehicles. You can determine whether you are traveling in an eco-friendly area or not based on

the findings of this research.

15. Cloud Watch

Have kids look out the windows on a cloudy day and make pictures out of the clouds. This is a

fun game when you are lying flat on the ground looking up, but it gets even more creative when

you are in a moving vehicle!

16. Color Wonders

Have an adult name a color and challenge the kids to find three to five things of that color out

the window. The first person to do so gets to name the next color. This is a traveling version of

the old I Spy game.

17. ABC War

Have an alphabet war. Teams are assigned based on who is sitting on which side of the truck.

The war is made up of a series of battles. Each battle pits one person from each side of the

truck against each other as they stare out the window and try to find a specific object in

passing. They have to find the object on their own side of the truck and the first person to find

the item (or even the item spelled out in words) scores a point for their team.


18. Rhyme Time

Rhyme in rounds as one person calls out something they see outside the window and others

take turns shouting out words that rhyme with that object.

19. Animal Game

Play cribbage with passing wildlife. This is a great game if you are traveling in the spring and

summer, but there might not be a lot of animals out and about in colder seasons. Assign

different point values to all of the animals you may encounter in the state (do some research if

necessary). The more rare animals should have much higher point values than very common

animals for the area. Teams are formed according to who is sitting on which side of the truck

and scores are calculated according to animals passed on each side of the truck. You can throw

in some challenges such as requiring scores to be wiped to zero if a graveyard is passed and a

competitor spots it first.

20. Animal Count

Make a graph before leaving home that shows some animals that are common to the state you

are driving through. The chart should show each animal along the bottom with numbers up the

side. Kids have to find the number of each animal represented to complete the chart. For

instance, if "deer" is at the bottom with a line up to number 10, they would need to find 10

deer by looking out the window before leaving the state.

21. Colors of Nature

Identify the colors of the natural world. Have an adult keep record on a piece of paper while

kids call out colors that they see outside their windows. This starts out easy, but the record

keeper writes down the colors and doesn't accept those that are already on the list. The goal

becomes finding different shades of common colors and unusual colors that might not

otherwise be noticed.


22. Word Find

An adult or older child should call out something that may be found on billboard signs, license

plates, or other things passed by. Everyone else has to try to find something that would fit the

order. For instance, someone may call out "a girl's name" and then someone else may see

"ANN" on a license plate.

23. Tag, You're It!

You probably have "no running" rule in your RV, but you can play a travel version of tag without

moving your legs. Each player is assigned a symbol that is commonly seen on the side of the

road. This may be a bed for hotels, eating utensils for restaurants, or the shape of a stop sign.

One person is "it" and has to spot their assigned symbol before they can tag someone else

(lightly) so they can be "it."

24. Car Colors

If you have some car lovers in the truck, you can play a game of automobile colors. Have the

names of major car manufacturers on scrap pieces of paper in one hat or bag and scraps of

paper with colors in another hat or bag. Shake them up and have every player take a scrap of

paper from each container. They then have to find the type of car and color of car that they

drew out. For instance, one person may be looking for a red Hyundai while another person

needs to find a green Honda.

25. Drawing Cards

Make blank flash cards by cutting pieces of paper in four smaller pieces. Allow the kids to draw

pictures or write names of things that they hope to see out of the windows on the trip. This is a

great way to get them excited for the trip before it's time to load up in the motor home or

truck. Once the initial excitement of hitting the road starts to wear off, pull out those cards and

have children draw one at random. They can then play a matching game by trying to find their

chosen item out the window.


Getting Physical

26. Rock - Paper - Scissors

Paper covers rock. Scissors cut paper. Rock crushes Scissors. Does this sound familiar? Rock,

paper, scissors is a game just about everyone knows and it is a great way to burn off some

energy when riding in the truck. Kids count to three then make the required motions with their

hands to see who "wins" each round. You can increase the physical movement by requiring

them to hold their hand gestures over their heads and bang their hands hard on their knees

while counting to three.

27. Switch

There is another variation on rock, paper, scissors which allows small movements for children

pent up in a truck for long periods of time. Instead of the rock, paper and scissor hand motions

they use a double salute with both hands raised over the eyebrows, an L shape formed with

fingers of hand touching the elbow of the other hand, and an X with arms crossed over the

chest. The first player says "me...switch!" The other player waits to hear "switch" then forms

one of the arm motions. The first player makes a motion at the same time. If the arm motions

match the first player scores a point and gets to go again. If they choose different arm motions,

then it is the other players turn.

28. Thumb Wars

"1,2,3,4, I declare a thumb war!" Have children sitting near one another clasp their fingers

together so their thumbs are raised at the top, positioned across from one another. They each

touch their thumbs from one side of their hands to the other while counting to four and

declaring war. They then struggle to get their thumb on top, pinning down the other person's

thumb. This works best if you match children according to general body size and strength.

29. Simon Says

Simon Says is another game that typically requires body movement, but which can be adjusted

for a moving motor home or truck. Have an adult or older child be Simon and call out motions

for the others to perform. All actions must be reasonable for the amount of movement allowed

during travel and those who move when "Simon says" is not at the top of the order must sit out

until one winner is declared.


Music to Your Ears

30. Radio Sounds

Children don't always want to listen to talk radio or music that adults might find entertaining.

That's why you turn those adult enjoyments into a game for the kids! You can draw bingo card

boxes on pieces of paper and write random words that may be heard on the radio in each box

of each paper. Give each child one of these bingo sheets and have them listen to the radio for

the words on their cards. They can put an X over each box as they hear their words and the

bingo winner of each round gets five minutes of a radio station they find more enjoyable (after

mom and dad are finished listening to their program).

31. Scanning Tunes

Everyone wants to be a DJ, right? If your RV or truck has a scan button that quickly moves

through the stations, have someone up front hit that button and the person immediately

behind them gets to call out when they want the scanning to stop. They get to listen to the

remainder of the song they have chosen to stop on, and then the scan button gets hit again.

The person to the right gets the next turn playing DJ and choosing a song to stop on. You can

also do this with an mp3 player that can be connected into the motor home or truck speakers,

too. Each person gets to pick a song before passing on the turn.

32. Favorite Songs

Before leaving home, burn CDs from the computer with each child's favorite songs. Or, just load

songs that you know they love into an mp3 player. A lot of time can be burned just allowing

them to take turns listening to their own favorite tunes.

33. Drum Up Some Fun

Become a family band! Hand out plastic kazoos, harmonicas, drums, and other instruments that

you can find at dollar stores or toy stores. Think of sing along type songs like Old MacDonald or

BINGO and allow your family to become a band. (Until it gets too unbearable!)


Getting to Know One Another

34. If You Could

What would your children change about your RV if given the chance? What would they do with

$100 if they were handed it right at this very moment? Who would your children bring back to

life if they could miraculously raise a celebrity from the grave? You can find out these things

plus lots of other fun facts by playing the "If you could" game. One person starts off by saying

"if you could..." and then filling in something of interest. For instance, "if you could bring one

celebrity back to life, it would be..." Everyone gets a turn to educate the rest of the family

about their choices.

35. The Hate Game

The Hate Game is similar to the If You Could game on this list, but it is a bit different. One

person says "I hate..." and fills something in to complete the sentence. This should not be a

person or anything mean spirited, but something they genuinely dislike. The others then raise

their hand if they agree.

36. Dream Vacation

Give children paper and writing utensils and have them draw pictures or write a story

describing their dream vacations. You can put a time limit on this or just wait until everyone has

finished their vacation. They then switch papers and each kid gets to present someone else's

vacation out loud to the group. It is fun for each kid to come up with their dream vacation, but

it is even more fun noticing the discrepancies when one child misunderstands what another

child has written or drawn. If you have time and energy for another round, ask them to do it

again but this time getting very silly and making it truly a dream that could never come

true...even though they wish it could!

37. That’s My Car!

Do your children have different ideas of what a sweet ride looks like? Have kids look out their

windows and point out vehicles they would like to own when they grow up. They say "that's my

car" when they see something they like. If more than one kid likes the same car, the first to

speak out gets it. One person has to "release" a car by choosing another before someone else

can pick that same car again.


On the Road Arts & Crafts

38. Pipe Cleaners

Take along some colorful pipe cleaners and a set of nail clippers to give children something

imaginative to do with their hands. They can create different shapes with the pipe cleaners,

cutting with the nail clippers as needed. This can just be a free time where everyone gets to

create whatever shapes come to mind, or you can make it a more organized family affair by

asking them to create a farm with a variety of animals. This requires them to work together by

assigning roles. One person may be in charge of a mama pig and her piglets while someone else

in charge of a few stallions.

39. Window Art

Give children washable markers that can easily be wiped off of the windows. Crayola makes

“FX” markers specifically for this purpose. Create a family art gallery by allowing children to

decorate all the windows. When everything is filled up they can erase with a cloth and do it all

over again. This is great for children riding in a truck with limited movement allowed.

40. Map it!

There are a few other activities on this list that require you to use a map, but this is a different

spin. Instead of mapping the trip on a real map, kids are allowed to draw their own maps. You

can give them basic information such as states you may pass through or highways you will

travel on. They get to draw their map with a picture of the final destination and what they think

it will be like to arrive. Another spin is to have them create this map slowly over the course of

the trip, adding in all the stops they make along the way.

41. Memory Book

Give each child their own sketch book or perhaps a scrapbook kit. Have them complete a page

in their scrapbook for every day of the trip. They can draw, use stickers, write down things they

want to remember, or do whatever comes to mind. In the end they will have a scrapbook to

remember the trip by.


42. Paper Dolls

Bring paper, scissors, and markers along and have kids make their own paper dolls (or action

figures) and clothing. You may even let them cut people out of magazines and use them as

paper dolls.

43. Aluminum Foil

Whip out the aluminum foil and see what your children create with it. Foil can be purchased

very cheap and can be turned into a variety of things from a necklace to a football. Bring it out

and see what your children create.

44. Create a Passport

Create a traveling passport. Give each child a small book or notebook before leaving. Decorate

the front or let the kids decorate them, calling them Passport across the front. Every time you

stop to get fuel, eat, use the bathroom, or just stretch your legs and explore, have the children

write down where they stopped, the date, time of day, and other details they find important.

They may be able to get waitresses to sign and visitor's center personnel to give them stamps

or stickers.

45. Roadside Bingo

Have children create the grid for bingo boards and then fill in the squares with symbols they see

on the side of the road. They then swap cards and see who can get a bingo first.


Activities that Teach

46. Spelling Bee

Hold a family spelling bee. An adult should call out the words according to the age and reading

level of each child. Try to make it challenging while considering the level of reading each child is

on. (Believe it or not, but this is my daughter’s favorite activity!)

47. Family Reading Sessions

Bring a book that everyone will like and take turns reading chapters or pages. Get creative here.

Bring books of fairy tales and other things that no one has read before but which children of all

ages may like. This allows children to brush up on reading skills and learn to enjoy literature.

48. Math Time

Kids can work on basic counting skills, addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division with

one simple activity. Have them count out how many SUVs, compact cars, sports cars, semi

trucks, pick up trucks, and hybrid vehicles they see out on the road. They should work together

to count how many they see in all categories out of all windows in the truck or motor home for

a given period of time. They can then be asked story problems and use the data to find the

answers. You can even have children make a prediction of how many they will see in each

category before you start counting. How close were their predictions to the actual data in the

end?

49. Geography Game

How many locations around the world could your children name? You can play a fun geography

game that will show just how knowledgeable they are about places around the world. Have an

adult start off by calling out a city or country name. The person sitting next to them must then

come up with the name of a real city or country that starts with the last letter in that location's

name. For instance, if the first adult says "India," then the next location must start with the

letter A.


50. Where Are We?

At random points in your trip, whip out a large travel map and ask children to find where they

are at that very moment. They can look out the window for signs showing how many miles they

are from big cities to get some ideas. Have them mark the spot on the map once they correctly

guess where they are. They should start actively watching where they are once they know these

random map checks will be presented. Figuring it out is one thing, but finding it on the map

may be a bigger challenge for some kids.

51. Remember Mad Libs?

Find books of Mad Libs at book stores, or take a small steno notebook and create your own.

The top page allows children to list nouns, adverbs, numbers, and so forth which are then

placed into a story at specific points to create silly stories. Children are challenged as they try to

remember what adverbs are, nouns are, and so forth.

52. Travel Math Problems

You can turn your vacation into a wild math problem at any point. If the truck is traveling at 65

mph and you just passed a sign stating the next rest area is 50 miles ahead, what time will it be

when you arrive there? Come up with these story problems as you go through your trip and the

brainiest math whizzes will find their brains consistently stimulated.

53. Categorize

Select a category such as "compact cars" or "flags" and have all of the kids work together to

count 100 things that could fit into that category. Smaller children learning to count will

especially benefit from this simple travel game.


54. Color Estimates

Have children write down all the most popular colors of vehicles, such as red, black and grey.

Then have them make tally marks for each car they pass on the road of each color. Do this for a

given period of time, and then ask children to give estimates of how many cars they saw in each

color. They can then count the tally marks specifically to see if their estimates were close to the

actual findings. They can then find the which color was more frequently seen or come up with a

variety of other math equations comparing and contrasting the data collected by different

children.

55. Odd or Even

Have one child call out odd or even and then the children count to three before sticking out one

or two fingers each. They add up the number of fingers together and determine if it is odd or

even. If it matches what the player called out in the beginning, that player gets a point.

56. Are We There Yet?

Do your kids ask "are we there yet?" too often for your liking? Break this habit by taking them

very literal. Figure out how many miles you will be traveling altogether before leaving for the

trip. When they ask how much longer or if you are almost there, show them how many miles

there was to travel in the beginning and have them figure out how many miles have already

been traveled. They can then do a math equation to figure out approximately how much longer

they have to go.

57. Story Hour

Have story hour with smaller children in the truck. Have an older child read stories out to the

younger kids in an animated voice. They may even want to team up and act out some short

children's books.


58. Postcard Power

Have children take turns picking out a postcard in every state or major city you pass through.

Teach children to write something about their experience on the card, put on a stamp, write

out the address, and mail it to someone back home.

59. Gas Guzzler

Turn gas and fuel into math problems. You can have children figure out the gas mileage your

truck is getting or have them estimate where they might be on the map when it is time to fuel

up again. They may even enjoy finding the average price of gas in a particular state by collecting

data from gas station signs passed along the way. Of course, you might not enjoy being

confronted with the cold, hard facts of how much gas it takes to drive the RV a mile!

60. Mileage Mission

Pick something up ahead in the road and ask children to guess how many miles away it is. Use

the odometer on the truck to track the exact distance.

61. Buzz and Fuzz

Buzz and Fuzz is a great math game that can be made easier or harder depending on the age of

your children. For young brains, have them start counting out loud, each person taking a

number. When they come to a number that has a 5 in it or a number that is divisible by 5, the

next person should say Fuzz rather than the number. This is made harder for older brains by

using 7 instead of 5. To really challenge everyone in the truck, make it so you have to say Fuzz

for numbers divisible by 7 and Buzz for numbers divisible by 3.

62. Counting Games

When all else fails, simply start counting. Count how many light poles you pass in five minutes

or count the cows in a country setting. Kids will at least be entertained for a short period of

time and they will be learning something.


Guessing Games

63. Who Am I?

Have one person think of someone that everyone in the motor home or truck should know. This

can be a celebrity or just someone everyone knows in real life. They should announce the

initials of the person they are thinking about and see how long it takes everyone else to guess

the person. If a long time passes without guessing correctly, clues can be given.

64. Movie Memory

One player says a line they remember from a movie, trying to imitate the voice of the character

from the movie. Everyone else has to try to guess what movie the line was from. Throw in some

cartoon lines for the little ones who may not be big movie buffs just yet.

65. Name That Tune!

One person starts to hum a tune and the others have to guess what song they are humming.

The hummer has to keep going until the song is guessed correctly.

66. Theme Songs

One person thinks of the theme song from a TV show and starts to speak the words. They

cannot hum or sing the tune. It is resting on the words of the theme song alone. This can be

looked up online if you have an Internet connection and want to make the game more

interesting. Whoever can guess the correct show goes next.

67. Classic I Spy

One person says "I spy with my little eyes, something..." and then finishes with the color of

something they see out the window. The others have to think fast because the item may be

gone fast as you are in a moving vehicle!


68. Name Game

One player thinks of a name at random. It doesn't have to be the name of someone they know.

They reveal the first letter of the name and whether it is a boy or girl's name. The others have

to think of names that fit to try and guess it. This may not entertain older children, but for

younger ones it is simple enough to be fun.

69. Blind Drawing

Have one child hold a pencil in hand, hovered over a piece of blank paper. Another child guides

their hand to draw something on the paper while the first child squeezes their eyes shut. The

first child holding the pencil has to guess what they are being guided to write or draw before

opening their eyes.

70. Favorites Game

The "favorites game" can be played with any number of people and age does not matter. Have

one person say "my favorite color is..." and then be quiet before giving the answer. Others have

to guess what they think their favorite color is. The person who picks correctly continues the

game with another fun thing that the others may not know. For instance, someone may say

"my first crush was ...." or they may say "if I could be any animal, I would be..."

71. Hangman

Pull out a Magna Doodle or use old fashioned pen and paper to play Hangman. This is a classic

spelling game that can be made harder or easier according to the words and phrases chosen.

72. Does your poodle know how to swim?

In this fun guessing game, "poodle" becomes the keyword for a mysterious pet that your child

would like to own. One child starts the game by saying "I have a new pet poodle." The other

kids ask questions to determine what pet "poodle" actually refers to. They have to form

questions with the word "poodle" in place. For instance, one child may ask "does your poodle

know how to swim?" while another asks "does your poodle walk on a leash?" Older kids can get

silly here by bringing out unusual animals that could never actually be pets.


73. Missing Places

Take postcards collected along your trip and mix them up in a pile. Everyone is given a short

period of time to look at the cards thrown out on a table in the motor home or just on the seat

of the truck. The postcards are then collected and one is removed at random. Who can look at

the pile and figure out which card is missing?

74. 20 Questions

Play 20 questions! One person thinks of a person, place or thing and starts fielding questions

from others in the motor home or truck. Someone asks a question about the object in question

and the first person will simply answer yes or no in response. The person asking the question

can then take a shot guessing at what the other person is thinking about. If 20 questions are

asked without anyone guessing it, the person wins.

Memory Games

75. ABC Food

Commit your grocery list to memory as you drive down the highway. Have one person start off

the list by naming a food that starts with the letter A. The next person repeats that food and

adds a food that begins with the letter B. It continues around the truck until you reach Z...unless

you all forget the list before you get there!

76. Treasure Bottle

Create a treasure bottle and test the memory of your children along the way. Simply fill an

empty clear two liter bottle partially with rice or lentils and then add in small objects found

around your home. You may add some change from the penny jar, Legos, paper clips, and

thumb tacks. Whatever you can find that will fit through the top of the bottle is fair game.

Children are then allowed to hold the bottle during the trip for a given amount of time each.

They can turn the treasure bottle around in all different directions to see the objects hidden

within the rice or lentils. When their time is up they pass the bottle to the next person. They are

then given a short period of time to list everything they saw inside the bottle. You may want to

create a master list for yourself at the time you make the treasure bottle. This will make it

easier to determine who wins on the trip.


77. Picnic Basket

Everyone loves to eat, so why not go on a picnic right from your motor home? Have one person

call out a list of ten foods they are packing into their basket for a picnic. The others have to

listen and try to call all ten foods back without missing anything or substituting the wrong

foods. You can do five foods if you are working with younger children.

78. Category Crunch

Come up with categories of movies, bands, and other groups of people and things. Someone

may say "bands with female singers" and then everyone has to try to think of bands with

female singers. Someone else might suggest foods with only four letters in their name.

79. I Could Eat a Horse

Its past dinnertime and the kids are starting to get whiny. The next stopping point is not close

enough for your sanity, so you start a dinnertime related game. You start it out by saying "I'm

so hungry, I could eat a..." and filling in the blank with something silly. The next person has to

be so hungry they could eat something that rhymes with whatever you chose. The round keeps

going with rhyming words or perhaps things that start with the same first letter until the eating

point is finally met for your starving family.


Listing the Time Away

80. Category ABC

The first person in this game calls out a letter and a category (animals, celebrities, cities,

countries, etc.). Everyone works together to name five or more category items that start with

the given letter.

81. Treasure Lists

Get the treasure bottle that you created for the memory game back out. This time use it for a

listing activity with your children. Pass the bottle around from one person to the next, allowing

each person to spot something inside the bottle and add it to the list. The trick is they cannot

repeat any item. It helps to know exactly how many objects are in the bottle so you know when

the list has been completed.

82. Celebrity List

Have one person call out the name of a celebrity and then the group works together to create a

list of movies the celebrity was in, songs they sang, or other trivia facts.

83. Color Lists

Have one person call out a color and then everyone must work together to create a list of at

least 25 things that share that color.

84. ABC List

Have someone call out a general category like in number 80 on this list, but this time everyone

has to make their own list of items that fit within the category. The catch is they have to list one

thing for every letter of the alphabet.


Creativity Has No Bounds

85. Story Time

Earlier in this list you were encouraged to pass around a book for a family reading session, but

there is a more fun way to do that. You can create your own story! Each person takes a turn

adding one line to the story and it continues to go around and around until a final conclusion is

reached that pleases everyone. You may want to designate someone to write down the story as

you go, or you can set a time limit on each person so they have to think fast and get the story

out quickly.

86. Poem Inspiration

Have children look out their window and make a list of different words and numbers that they

see on signs. You may even have them make a list of objects that they see instead of words.

They then take those words and create a poem. Everyone gets a turn to recite 3-5 poems that

they created, turning the trip into a fun poetry reading. They then have the poems to

remember their trip by later on.

87. "I'm going to Louisiana and I want to see a..."

Have the first person in this game make this statement and add something that starts with the

letter A. The next person repeats this line with the first person's answer and adds something

that starts with B. This will end up being a long list of things you would like to see once you

arrive at your final destination. You should substitute "Louisiana" with wherever you are

headed. How many of your wishes will actually come true?

88. Hide and Seek

Everyone should imagine that they are free to move around in the RV. They can be as small or

large as they want to be. There is a game of hide and seek going on and everyone is playing.

The first person imagines where they would hide in the RVand then allows the others to ask

questions regarding where they believe the player is hiding. They can ask he is in a specific

room and then start narrowing it down to different areas and objects within that room.

Remember, you can be any size you want so hiding places are literally endless. You could be

inside the silverware drawer or tucked into the black tank connection hose.


89. Tape Fun

Just as you were encouraged to whip out the foil and let kids get creative earlier in this list, you

are now encouraged to hand every child a roll of tape and see what they do with it. Tape is

inexpensive and completely harmless. It doesn't make a mess and can even help get the dog

hair off the seats if you are traveling with the four-legged family members. Challenge children

to make something useful their tape such as necklaces, earrings, or imaginary seatbelts.

90. Puppet Power

Make a brown bag puppet before leaving home and create a character with a special voice for

your puppet. Use this puppet throughout the trip to educate children with interesting facts

about places you are passing through. You can even have older children make their own

puppets and put on small puppet shows when the littler ones get fussy.

91. Stringing Along

String comes in a variety of colors and can be knotted, tied and looped into many creative

shapes and objects. Bring balls of string or yarn on your trip and you could have kids playing

happily just like kittens! String can also be glued or taped to paper to make pictures without the

mess of markers.

92. Silly Words

Have each child pull one word from a passing sign and write it down on a piece of paper.

Everyone switches paper and writes a poem or story based on the word someone else chose.

Encourage kids to be completely silly and use words in unexpected ways.

93. Unfortunately…

Positive thinking will take your children far as grown adults. Unfortunately, a lot of children

think in the negative, especially when they are bored on a long trip. You can turn that negativity

into a traveling game by asking questions using "unfortunately" and then having kids give

answers using "fortunately." So, you might say "unfortunately, the rest area is still fifty miles

away." Your children may then respond with "fortunately, we have an empty Coke bottle."


The Good Ol' Games

94. Card Games

Go to the toy store or the toy department of any local store and purchase Old Maid, Uno, and

other card games you remember from your own days growing up. Children still love these

games when the Playstation is nowhere in sight!

95. "Knock, knock." "Who's there?"

Print out a bunch of silly knock-knock jokes, riddles, and other silly items that children can play

with as you drive down the road. You may throw them out at random times along the trip or

simply allow children to play with the list on their own and make up their own additions.

96. Lines and Dots

Get out pen and paper and play a variety of old school games from Hangman to lines and dots.

Lines and dots is played by making a grid of dots and taking turns connecting two side-by-side

dots. The object is to make a square and then put your initials in the center. At the end, the

person with the most squares completed will win. It helps to have each person make lines in

different colors of ink to clearly see who has made a complete square.

97. Tic Tac Toe

Tic Tac Toe can be played on a Magna Doodle or again with old fashioned pen and paper.

Children can play this game in rounds, seeing who can win four out of five or eight out of ten.

Who will be the Tic Tac Toe champ?

98. Slug bug, you owe me a Coke!

This is a game still played by many kids today, though they oddly say you owe me a quarter or a

dollar rather than a Coke. We give two punches for vintage bugs, and one for the newer model.


Stretching Your Legs

99. Taped Tires

You don't have to stop the games when you get out to stretch your legs for a bit. Why not place

pieces of duct tape on the tires? Each piece of tape should have the name of someone inside

the motor home or truck written on it in black sharpie. Every time you stop, check to see whose

name is closest to the very top of the tire or down closest to the road. That person wins an

extra snack or some other special treat everyone wants. This must be something you can afford

to give out every time you stop along the trip. You may even want to have a goodie bag they

can choose something from.

100. Bubble Gum

Have kids pick out different flavors and brands of bubble gum found in visitor's centers or gas

stations along the road. They can mix them together to create different flavors and funny

colored bubbles. Why not have a bubble blowing contest once you have a nice selection of gum

in the collection?

Whew! Are you still looking for more interesting ways to keep the kids from whining or fighting

all the way down the road? Use these ideas to come up with your own creative activities. Think

about what makes your family special and what makes you love each of your children

individually.

Play on their strengths. Find ways to help them improve their weakest subject in school. Think

about the next destination on your travel list and get creative. You will find many ways to quiet

the whining and fill the truck with laughter!

Documents

100 road trip activities