are we there yet?

With a seven five and three year old in our car, road trips can sometimes become long and tiring. The bickering over seemingly nothing, the squabbles over who has more room than the other, the sharing or not sharing of the coloured pencils etc can really take it's toll when you have still hours on the road ahead of you.

Now I could just go and purchase one of those portable DVD player that keep the kids quiet as we travel, but then they would be missing out on so much more than just the destination. Just looking out the window provides so much scope for imagination, conversation and a growing understanding of the world around them. If they had their head in front of a screen watching a movie (of which no doubt they have already seen anyway) so many opportunities would be lost.

It can be difficult for young kids to understand just how long the trip is going to take though, it's hard to picture how long four hours is without something to compare it to. Explaining it in terms of something visual is often a great way to help young kids understand. With our kids, we use their bodies as a reference. "the trip is going to take from your toes to your nose" so when we get half way we can explain that we are up to the belly button etc.

We also have a few favourite games we love to play to help pass the time and with holidays just a few sleeps away, I thought I'd share.

Colour Action -
Every car colour gets given a different action. Example: blue - nod your head, red - clap once, black, roll your arms etc. When you see the the colour of the oncoming car you have to do that action. It's great when there's a whole line of cars coming!!

A-Z -
Here, everyone has to collect each letter of the alphabet in order from road signs. You can do it individually to see who gets to Z first, or work together as a family by calling out the letter when you see it. For example, 'S in stop'.

Two facts and a fib -
This is a fun game and reveals a lot! To play each person takes a turn to say 3 things about themselves, one of which is a fib. Everyone in the car has to guess which is the fib. Take it in turns around the car so everyone has a turn.

Who am I -
Here, you think of someone in your head and everyone has to ask you questions so figure out who you are. For example, ' Do you wear glasses' , 'Are you in our family', 'Are you a girl'. You are only allowed to answer yes or no and the winner gets to go next. You can mix it up and be an animal or a thing too.

Number plate animals -
This is a fun game using the imagination. The driver calls out the letters of the number plate in front and everyone has to use then to describe an animal. For example, ZYO becomes Zippy, Yellow Octopus.

Car trips are a great way to have fun together, learn about your surroundings and can provide the time for the kids to talk about issues that are on their mind that we sometimes don't have time for during the busy week.
Remember.......Sometimes the journey is as important as the destination.

Travels safe x