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Summer road trips can be a bumpy ride. On an ideal trip, everyone is content, enjoying the sights, and getting along peacefully. If you’re worried that your trip will make you never want to step foot in the car again (unless you’re alone and headed to nearest coffee shop), then keep reading. Put the odds in your favor by preparing ahead with these summer road trip literacy activities.
Read Aloud
Reading aloud to your kids in the car is a great way to pass the time, get connected, and teach a wealth of knowledge. Bring along a book you’re currently reading as a family or check out some ideas from these book lists I’ve compiled on my Pinterest board.
Audio Books
Audio books are another wonderful option. When you don’t feel like reading loud, tune in to an audio book the whole family can enjoy. Here are some suggested audio book titles to reserve from your library before your trip.
Postcards
Kids can practice their writing skills by writing to significant people in their lives. They can make their own postcards, or pick some up at the places you visit. Kids may also want to bring along their letter writing kits so they have everything they need to write friends and family.
Travel Journal
Another way to get your kids writing, and some quiet time on the road, is to have them document their vacation in a travel journal. This cute travel journal (affiliate link) has daily log pages with just enough space to write a short description of the day’s events. There’s also a place at the bottom of each page where kids can rate their day and choose a descriptive word that sums it all up.
Mad Libs
There’s no sneakier way to introduce and practice basic grammar than with Mad Libs (affiliate link). Kids love coming up with nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs to fill in the blanks, and wait with anticipation to hear what silly story their words created.
Mad Libs sells a junior version for ages 5-7 (affiliate link) and an older version for ages 9-12 (affiliate link). Grab a few copies from the Mad Libs series, or bring along paper, so you can reuse them over and over again.
Alphabet game
The alphabet game is one of the most popular car ride games, and for good reason. It’s great for all ages! This literacy activity will help your youngster with letter recognition while still entertaining older children. You can also adapt the game to suit your taste.
The common way to play is as follows. Starting with the letter A, each player races to find the letter on a sign or other environmental print that is visible from the car. After they call out the letter and explain where it is, move onto the next letter in the alphabet, continuing in this way until you’ve reached the end of the alphabet. Playing the alphabet game this way keeps it fast-paced, but sometimes younger kids can’t keep up and will get overwhelmed and therefore bored.
A twist on the standard alphabet game is to look for objects starting with each letter of the alphabet. You can play the game where everyone calls out the objects or give everyone a piece of paper with the alphabet written out. Everyone silently fills in their sheets with the words or drawings of the items they see. Playing like this can take more time, so kids may want a break and come back to it later.
Rhyme Challenge
Rhyming is an essential skill for young kids to master. It’s a strong predictor of reading success. Why not spend time on the road rhyming together? It’s fun, easy, and requires nothing but observation and thinking skills.
One player chooses something he/she sees out the window. Each player takes turns saying a word that rhymes. See how far you can go until you run out of words. Practicing rhyming is the goal for little kids, so don’t worry if they make up words. As long as they rhyme, nonsense words are acceptable in this game!
Hangman
Hangman is an old favorite that gets kids using their spelling skills. I remember playing it the “old school” way, with paper and pencil or on my chalkboard. Today, your kids can find several means to play. If you want to discourage the use of electronics on your road trip, try using a product like this Hangman (affiliate link). You can keep it in your car and save on paper.
Words Within a Word
Another way to practice spelling is to play Words Within a Word. One player, or mom, thinks of a word 8-10 letters long. Each player finds as many new words within the word using as many different combinations of the letters as possible.
For example, given the word ELEPHANT, some words within the word could be ant, beet, pant, he, the, peel.
Storytelling game
Get your kids’ creative storytelling juices flowing with this simple game. Choose a home, apartment building, or other building that you drive by as the setting for your story. Have kids think about who lives there, what they are like, and what problem might arise in their lives.
One Minute Speech
Oral language skills are really tested in the One Minute Speech. Choose something you see from the car, and ask one of your kids to give a one-minute speech on that topic. The challenge is to make the speech interesting and to talk non-stop for one whole minute. Kids will find it hard not to say, “um” and pause for too long. Adults in the car will be challenged with this activity too!
Conclusion
Summer road trip literacy activities will keep your adventures with your kids fun and stress free. What better way to practice literacy skills, like reading, listening, writing, grammar, letter recognition, phonemic awareness, spelling, and storytelling.
Your Turn
Do you practice literacy skills in the car with your kids on summer road trips? What are your favorite ways to keep kids engaged and learning?
