Traveling with Toddlers and Preschoolers
By Diane Flynn Keith
Author of the best-selling book, Carschooling
Traveling long distances with little ones can be a stressful undertaking but it doesn't
have to be. Here are some ideas for learning with preschoolers in the car that I posted
on the Unpreschool at Yahoo Groups. You can subscribe
to that list for free by sending a blank email to:
Unpreschool.
Color Hunt
Say the name of a color and ask your child to name things that they see
outside of the car that are that color. Introduce new colors that your child
might not know. If you see something that is silver, for example, point it
out. Then try to find other silver things. Even a box of 16 Crayola Crayons
will give you color suggestions that your child might not be familiar with
yet.
Of course, you don't have to limit this to what you can actually see. You
could think of things that are a particular color. For example, you could
ask your child to name some things that are yellow - banana, corn, lemon,
daffodil, etc. Then, try to find yellow things in the car and outside the
car.
The Crayola website lists the top 50 favorite colors and provides a sample
of the color you can see at: Crayola's Website
Car Fishing
Give your child a short dowel with a long string that has a magnet attached
to it. Place a shoebox filled with magnetized letters, numbers, and toys under
their feet. Let them "fish" for whatever will stick to the magnet on
their dowel. When they reel it in, have them tell you what it is - if it's a
toy, have them tell you something about the toy. Develops vocabulary and
improves letter and number recognition.
You can purchase magnetized letters,
numbers, words, and more from: Magnetic Poetry
Play Guessing Games
Critter Sounds
Have fun making the sounds of different kinds of critters (animals, birds,
insects, etc.) while you drive in the car.
Ask your child:
- What sound does a dog make? (Bow-wow or woof-woof.)
- What sound does a cat make? (Meow.)
- What sound does a frog make? (Ribbit or croaking noise.)
- What sound does a bee make? (Buzz or zzzzzzzzz.)
- What sound does a lion make? (Roar.)
- What sound does a bear make? (Growl.)
- What sound does a bird make? (Tweet.)
If your child has never seen many animals, get some picture books from the
library with animals. Introduce them to your child and talk about what they
look like, where they live, what color they are, what they eat, and what
sound they make. Then, next time you're in the car, you can play the game
again -- and for a longer time, since you will have added new animals to
your knowledge bank. Don't forget to not only ask for the sound the animal
makes -- but see if your child can tell you where the animal lives or some
other fact about it. If not -- tell your child some interesting tidbit.
It's a fun way to interact on the road.
If you're not sure what kind of sound some animals make -- you'll find lots
of animal sounds to listen to at this website.
Enhance the learning with a box of Animal Crackers! As you pick a cookie
from the box, talk about the different animals before you eat one.
Geometry In The Clouds and On The Road
Almost everyone has gazed at cloud formations and seen the shapes of animals,
mythical creatures, and other things. Why not invite your child to hunt for
geometrical shapes in the clouds as you drive along -- like circles, squares,
rectangles, triangles, diamonds, cones, and more.
Of course, you will see many of these shapes in road signs as well - a Stop
Sign is an octagon, a Yield sign is a triangle, a Speed Limit sign is a
rectangle, Botts Dots are circles, etc. When you point out a sign, talk
about what makes a particular shape, for example a triangle has 3 sides, a
square has four sides that are exactly the same length. Your little ones may
surprise you by finding shapes in buildings and signs that you pass along
the road. Celebrate their discoveries!
Not only will this activity develop your child's vocabulary, but improve
observation skills for math and science too.
Fun Listening Ideas
Listen to Audio Stories!
Jim Weiss, storyteller extraordinaire, has an extensive library of titles
available including: Tell Me A Story (includes Goldilocks, Rumplestiltskin,
& The Little Red Hen) and Animal Tales (Aesop's Fables and Grimm Fairy
Tales). Listen to samples
before purchasing at Weiss' website.
Music For The Young and Young At Heart!
Raffi - This prolific singer and songwriter has a collection of singable
songs for the very young that gently teach respect for the environment and
the earth as they entertain. Available at Raffi News
Writing Practice
Write Without Paper or Markers!
Magna Doodle --
A lap size magnetic drawing board with an attached writing device is perfect for
using in the car to write or draw pictures, numbers, letters, and words. No more
worrying about paper and pencils. The travel version stores easily in a car door
side pocket. Available at toy stores and
Amazon.com.
Magical Books!
Magic Pen books
are available in most book stores -- they have blank pages, but when you color
or scribble over the pages with the magic pen, pictures become magically visible.
Magic Pen books are available for all ages in many subject categories and will
keep children entertained for long stretches on the road. Also available at
Amazon.com.
More Fun Ideas
Paper Bag Puppetry
Bring along a brown, paper lunch bag and some markers. When you need a
diversion in the car, slip the paper bag over your hand and use a marker to
draw a face on it for an instant puppet! Let the puppet tell your child a
favorite fairy tale or children's story. Many young children like to talk to
puppets and confide their feelings as well.
Mail Call
Save all your junk mail and bring it with you in a bag....when everyone gets
antsy, announce its mail time and distribute the junk mail. Let them open
it and tell you what it's about...or just let the little one tear it up.
Alphabet Hunt!
Look for alphabet letters on the license plates of passing cars and
billboards.
Surprise Package!
Before the trip get a shoe box for each kid and fill it with stuff you know
they will like (crayons, chalk, coloring book, stickers, book, fruit
leather, etc.) and wrap it up as a gift -- let them open it once you get on
the road.
Rest Stop Romps!
Do stop at rest stops frequently and plan to hop, jump, and run together
when you are there. Shake those sillies out!
Have fun!
If you like these ideas for the car, you will find many more for all ages in
the popular book, Carschooling: Over 350 Entertaining Games & Activities To Turn Travel Time Into Learning Time by Diane Flynn Keith (published by Random House).
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