Simple Travel Games and Fun

Are you ready to hit the road or even the friendly skis wit your kids?

The Novotny's are in the process of planning, preparing and even beginning to pack a little for their big road trip to California later this Summer. Realizing we will be in the car traveling for many hours at a time. So, how will I keep happy travelers going down the highway?

I went searching for some travel fun ideas and I have come up with some that I will be bringing on our big trip.

Creative FOIL Fun - Pack a roll of tin foil and let the creative fun begin. Give your child a sheet of foil and encourage then to create and mold it into a variety of tings animals, hats, jewelry etc.

Pipe Cleaner Fun - Purchase a couple packages of pipe cleaners at your local dollar store. Give your children several at a time and let their imaginations run wild as they create .

Travel Box of Fun - Create a box of fun for each child.

The Box-
Lunch Boxes ( metal ones)
Plastic Shoe box with lid
Decorated cardboard shoe box
Plastic School supply box
Small file box
Any type of container with lid check your local dollar store

The Fun -
New book
Crayons
Pad of paper
Small coloring and puzzle books
Small toys
Playing cards
Pipe Cleaners
Audio Books
CD Player or MP 3 player
Mad Libs
Stickers adn Sticker books
Wikki Stix's
Finger Puppets
Mini Magna Doodles
Mini Etch a sketch
Silly Putty
Snacks
Juice box

Printable Travel Games -
Connect the dots
Tic Tac Toe
On-The-Go Travel Packet
Backseat Boredom Buster
Travel Scavenger hunt -
Hang Man -
Car Bingo
More fun printable travel games at Moms Mini Van web site.

The Best License Plate Game
From : Family Fun

Instead of focusing on states, get more creative with these versions of the classic license plate game.

WHAT YOU NEED:
	Nothing

HOW TO PLAY:
Challenge older kids to make phrases out of the letters in license plates. For example, EYP 908 can become Eat Your Peas. Or have younger kids search for their ABCs by playing a mobile game of 21. Ask your kids to each pick a license plate, add the numbers, and see who comes closest to 21 without going over.

Backseat Travel Tray

From - Family Fun

Serve up some backseat fun on your next road trip -- a tray full of magnetic games and drawing supplies.

CRAFT MATERIALS:
	Baking sheet
	Plain white Con-Tact paper
	Magnetic tape
	Dry-erase markers
	Ribbon
	Plain paper
	Markers
	Buttons
	Pocket-style file folder
Time needed: Under 1 Hour

1. To start, cover the cooking surface of a baking sheet with plain white Con-Tact paper to serve as a drawing board.
2. Affix pieces of magnetic tape to several dry-erase markers. For an eraser, tightly tie one end of a piece of ribbon to a small cloth square and the other end to the hole in the baking sheet handle.
3. For additional games, draw a checkerboard, simple crossword puzzles, or bingo-style scorecards of things to look for (a tractor, a sailboat, or a horse, for example) on sheets of plain paper. You can even turn buttons into game pieces by sticking magnetic tape to the backs.
4. Finally, create a handy storage place for your games by applying strips of magnetic tape to the back of a pocket-style file folder and attaching it to the back of the baking sheet.

Traveling can be fun with this easy-to-make magnetic Kids Traveling Word Game. Great for kids learning to read.

Kids Traveling Word Game

From - Kaboose

What you'll need:

• Metal lunchbox or metal box with lid
• Labelmaker (we use the Brother P-Touch)
• Old magnets or magnetic sheets
• Scissors

How to make it:

1. Make several beginnings and endings of easy words on the labelmaker.
   

   For beginnings, you can use just single letters. Here are some examples of
   endings:

   *ed *ax
   *en *am
   *ap *eg
   *an *ad
   *at *et
2. Place the labels on the old magnets or magnetic sheets.
3. Cut out around the word beginnings and endings.
4. Place the words inside the lunchbox or metal box.
5. This makes a great activity for your beginning reader.

Tips:

This project can be adapted and changed easily as your child learns new words and concepts. This easy to carry, store, and play is ideal for "words on the road".

You can also use sticker paper and print out on the sticker paper using your printer. Stick on old flat magnets (like you would pick up at home remodeling shows), and cut around the words. We found the labelmaker sticks better in comparison.

Car Bingo

From - Kaboose

Keep kids engaged during long car trips with a game of bingo. This craft will keep them occupied and happy for those long drives or flights.

What you'll need:

• Color printer
• Cardstock paper (recommended, but not required)
• Pen or pencil for marking
• Additional materials (see tips below)

How to make it:

1. Print the game boards.
   

   Board 1: click here

   Board 2: click here

   Board 3: click here

   Board 4: click here

   Board 5: click here

2. Play the game by either marking the items when you see them as you travel, or play with place markers. See the tips below for ideas. The first one to get a straight row going up, down, across or diagonally wins! You can also play until you find every item on the board.

Game ideas to make boards reusable:

• Print playing boards off on cardstock. Place the playing board on a metal cookie sheet. Use magnetic pieces to cover the areas on the board. Your pieces won't fall and get lost in the car!
• Print playing boards off on cardstock. Cut off excess paper and cover with Con-Tact or laminate paper so the playing boards won't get messed up in the car. Place the playing board on a metal cookie sheet. Use magnetic pieces to cover the areas on the board.
• Print playing boards off on cardstock and adhere them to a self-adhesive magnetic sheet. Place on a metal cookie sheet. Use magnetic pieces to cover the area on the board.
• Print playing boards off on cardstock. Cut off excess paper and then cover with Con-Tact paper and use Colors-in-Motion (see below) and tissues to wipe off writing.
• Save the boards to disk. Bring into a print program and format the boards to fit two on a sheet. Print off on printable magnetic sheets. Use a cookie sheet and magnetic pieces.
• Print off on cardstock. Laminate playing boards, leaving excess laminate to the left side of the board. Use a three-ring hole punch so it fits in a binder. Use Colors-in-Motion (see below) to write on the boards, and tissues to erase it when you are done. You can use permanent markers on laminated boards, and use white erasers to erase your markings.