Most families end up spending a lot of time in the car, oftentimes stuck in traffic. No judgement if you have to use an iPad to survive, but here are a few suggestions to help lessen the need for technology in the car (and bonus points for sneaking in language targets!)
- Play “I spy” using descriptors. For example, “I spy something that is small, round and black” (volume knob).
- Sing songs together. Songs are a great way to work on language skills, speech sounds, prosody, etc. You can listen to a Pandora station and sing along or make your own music. Change the way you sing for an extra challenge. For example, sing in a whisper, silly voice, like a pirate…whatever your kids imagine!
- Play a category game. One person picks a category and then everyone in the car takes turn naming something in the category until someone gets stuck or repeats something. Category ideas include food, weather, places, etc.
- Play travel Bingo. This is a great way to learn transportation vocabulary. Get the free printable from Carla Schauer Studio here.
- Have your kids “read” you stories. Put a small basket of books in the car and switch them out as needed to keep them fresh. This may be a great place for library books to hang out. Remember, if kids aren’t reading yet, it is perfectly ok (and actually wonderful) for them to make up a story by describing the pictures.
Do you have any “go-to” tricks for keeping kids “occupied” in the car? Have you worked on language learning in the car before? I’d love to hear!