Mood:  cool

I know, I'm breaking the rules again. I really need to watch out, or Susan isn't going to let me contribute to Tuesday's Toolbox anymore. But, a car is an object commonly found in some homes - in the garage. And, besides, my mind is on the long trip we are making tomorrow from our house in TN to my sister's house in NJ so using the car as a teaching tool seemed appropriate.

Actually, I'm going to focus more on the trip and not the car.  I love to travel. Maybe not long trips as much anymore, especially with 3 boys ranging from 3-13 in the back seats of the van. My family has always enjoyed seeing new places and we have always tried to use our trips - even just the rides in the car - as a teaching tool. Here are a few hints for making travel a little more pleasurable with kids.

• Maps - A few years ago I decided to buy my oldest his own pocket atlas to use while traveling. He loved it! He learned to follow the road signs and find where we were on his map. He learned directions, states, and general map reading skills. Soon my middle boy got into the act and we had to buy him one as well.
• The License Plate Game - Even when I was young we used to play games in the car. Oh, not board games, although they do make travel board games now, but special travel games. One of our favorites is the license plate game. At the start of the trip, we all guess to see how many different state's license plates we will see along the way. The kids have to reason and think about how long the trip is, what season it is (is it a heavy traveling season or not) and what time of day we are traveling. We then begin to watch for license plates. Someone keeps a running total of what states have been seen. At the end, we count up the states spotted and see who came closest. A different variation is to allow each child to keep his own list and see who spotted the most. You can even provide blank maps and crayons and have them color in each state as they see it.
• Hanky-Panky - No, we don't allow any funny business to go on in our car! It's a rhyming game. Someone starts by trying to think of two words that have the same amount of syllables and that rhyme. Let's say FAT and CAT. They wouldn't say the two words, but would give a clue like "a heavy set feline". Then they would say what kind of words they were - two one syllable words would be a "hank pank". Two syllable words would be a "hanky panky". Three - a "hankity pankity" etc. (don't worry it won't go much further than a hankity pankity). Whoever can guess the two words first gets to guess the next two rhyming words.
  
• Travel Bingo - you can buy these at truck stop stores, or you can make your own. I was just introduced to a website called "Mom's Mini Van" that has a lot of printable travel games that you can print for free including Travel Bingo. Just click on the hi-lighted link above. Travel Bingo teaches you to pay attention, and it helps with visual perception. All you do is look for various objects and check off the matching picture on your bingo board. The first one to get five in a row wins. "Mom's Mini Van" has a lot of other ideas as well. Another similar site is Carschooling. It gives you a lot of ideas on learning while traveling.
• Audio Books - are also excellent ideas. We have downloaded these on mp3 players, and bought/borrowed books on CD to play for the whole family. I have also read a book to the kids while traveling (obviously Sarah was driving at the time ). Allowing your kids to bring two or three books each is also helpful.
• Don't forget to site-see a little along the way as well. We frequently pack picnic lunches and then stop at a visitors center to ask where a good picnicking place is. One time we picnicked at a really neat free botanical garden. They even had there own dog by the name of "Uda" (Uda Dog - get it?). You never know what adventurous historical or educational spot that you might find along the way. We will often then allow our kids to buy a small educational item from the gift shop that will keep there attention for a little while after we get back on the road. If you have time, the scenic route is also enjoyable.

Although traveling can still be somewhat of a challenge for us, we have still had a lot of memorable times on trips. A car can really be a learning tool if you prepare and use some creative thinking. 

PS - Don't forget to click on the Tuesday's Toolbox banner at the top of my post to visit the Tuesday Toolbox host blog and read all of the other submissions.

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