We are a family of four from North Carolina and have taken countless road trips and airplane trips since the kids were born. Our kids are now 8 and 10 years old and love travel games. Over the years we have figured out how to make Family Road Trips “smooth sailing” and keep the entire family laughing too. Don’t tell the kids, but they are also being educated at the same time with these car games. If they knew this, they wouldn’t play the “games”. We can modify all of these new bingo games to suit our international travel as well.
5 Free Car Games
These are my favorite free Car Games, as there is no prep needed! All you need to do is bring your mind and a bit of energy and fun, then the magic of educational car games will begin. We started these with our kids when the oldest was about 3 years old. Almost all of them are made up and we have adapted the “rules” as the kids age, to make it more challenging.
- Homophones –
We all use homophones regularly without even realizing it. The English language is tough enough to figure out, but when you make some of it into a game it is fun! We take turns around the car saying a word that we think is a homophone. We need to either use that word in a sentence or spell it, so everyone knows which you are referring to. The next person then needs to either continue with your homophone or pick a new one. Examples: (Bye, By, Bi or Buy. I, Aye, Eye, etc.) You get the idea. Of course when they were three we helped them out, but they got the hang of it. When they actually learned about homophones in school it was old hat. This really makes the time fly in the car. - Rhyme Time – This one has us laughing every time! One person starts by shouting out a word, any word they want. The next person then needs to come up with a word that rhymes. We continue around the car until we run out of a rhyme or we get crazy silly. We then begin with a new word and keep repeating until we can tell the family has had enough.
- Alphabet Car Game – This is where you take turns around the car saying words that begin with a certain letter. The first person would say a word that begins with the letter A. Then the next person would say a word starting with the letter B and so on. As the kids get older, we have made it more difficult by asking them to repeat all of the words said before they say their new word. This is also fun to do in reverse alphabetical order. This one can go on for a while, but they aren’t asking “Are we there yet?”
License Plate Car Game – Similar to the Alphabet search, the object is to find each letter of the alphabet, in order, on license plates. Again, works best if there are several cars to view. If you are on Route 66 and the only car on the road, pick another game.- I Spy – This if fun for all ages! The standard “I spy with my little eye something…” We play this with items that are either inside or outside of the car. Of course if it is outside of the car, it needs to be something that isn’t going to be passed by in 2 seconds. The kids get creative and sometimes we even try to play this one in Spanish. It can also be fun on flights by “I spying” something on people around. The kids get a little giggly when we play it on the plane. You see, they usually pick out a grey hair, freckle, color on clothing or something silly on a nearby passenger.
Where ever you go, be sure to include these No Prep Travel Games to Make Your Family Road Trip Fun!
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What kinds of games do you play in the car? Do you have any car games for kids to add to the list? Please comment below, as we would love to try them out on our next trip. Help us build this list up to 20 or more! I know we have several teachers out there than can contribute as well. Go ahead and give us some games that may require some prep too.