There is even more cute luggage at PolkaDottedLuggage.com

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All material copyright ©MomsMinivan.com]]> http://www.momsminivan.com/blog/2012/01/cute-kids-luggage.html/feed 2 http://www.momsminivan.com/blog/2012/01/geography-car-game.html http://www.momsminivan.com/blog/2012/01/geography-car-game.html#comments Thu, 12 Jan 2012 16:42:08 +0000 Road Trip Mom http://www.momsminivan.com/blog/?p=565 Here’s a car game you can play without any materials at all.  It’s a geography game that I found on Education.com, which also has a lot of other games and printable materials for kids — great stuff for road trips.

The geography game is super easy to play.  You simply take turns naming different cities, states or countries around the world. The only catch is that when it’s your turn, your geography point must begin with the same letter that the last person’s ended. Simple!  If you have an atlas in the car, this game will have your kids scouring through it and learning new places.

Devra, my friend and frequent road-trip cohort from Parentopia.com, has played this game with her family (and me) for years.  But somehow  it always seems to me like there are a lot of  geography points that start AND end with the letter A — Alaska, Alabama, Alameda, Australia, Angola, Argentina, Albania, …  see what I mean?  Next time I’m on a roadtrip with them, I’m using “Arkansas” as my secret weapon.  If you can’t spell it, you won’t know that it ends in an “S”! And if that doesn’t get them, then I’ll try “Albuquerque.”   Ha!

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All material copyright ©MomsMinivan.com]]> http://www.momsminivan.com/blog/2012/01/geography-car-game.html/feed 0 http://www.momsminivan.com/blog/2010/10/for-the-road-make-a-trip-journal.html http://www.momsminivan.com/blog/2010/10/for-the-road-make-a-trip-journal.html#comments Thu, 14 Oct 2010 07:28:00 +0000 Road Trip Mom http://www.momsminivan.com/blog2/?p=51 Keep the kids busy in the car by having them make a Trip-Journal or Scrapbook of their own. Give everyone a big spiral bound sketchpad and a box of crayons or markers. Each day of the trip or for each event along the way, draw a picture of what you did that day, or draw a map of where you went, and write about it. You can also attach souvenirs.

Even children too young to write can draw pictures, and then you can write in the details for them by asking them about the picture. Be sure to include the date since this will be come a treasure forever.

Read more about kids travel journals …!

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MYSTERY WRITING
One child holds out his hand and closes his eyes while the other child “writes” on his hand with her finger.  The first child has to guess what the second person is writing.  Start with just letters, and if it gets too easy, play with 2 or 3 letter words, pausing  between letters. There’s no winner or loser with this game. It can just go on continuously! (Submitted by reader Betsy C. –Thanks!)

TRAVEL BINGO — Print these!

Remember those Travel Bingo boards that you flip the red area when you see the picture on the board?  Look for them at dollar stores. OR, try a printable version such as the travel bingo boards posted here!   (Thanks to reader Lundy W.)

ANIMAL SOUNDS  (Fun for Pre-school age children)
Make animal sounds and let your children take turns naming the animals. If your children are able to do so, let them take turns making the animal sounds and have you guess the animal.

For more travel games for kids, check out the article Car Games for Kids!

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All material copyright ©MomsMinivan.com]]> http://www.momsminivan.com/blog/2010/09/more-reader-favorite-car-games.html/feed 2 http://www.momsminivan.com/blog/2010/05/reader-favorites-car-travel-activities.html http://www.momsminivan.com/blog/2010/05/reader-favorites-car-travel-activities.html#comments Sat, 08 May 2010 19:26:23 +0000 Road Trip Mom http://www.momsminivan.com/blog/?p=366 It’s time to share some of YOUR favorite car travel activities!

“We enjoy passing around a fake mike, as we take turns being the solo singer to the radio or cassette tunes! Sometimes we will unexpectedly lower the sound to make the singers voice really stand out.”  (Lin)

“A great car activity for children ages 5 (with adult help) and up, is to make a pot holder on a weaving loom! My 3 sons, ages 5, 10 and 12 all three enjoyed picking out their own colors and designing their own pot holder to give as gifts to grandparents and friends when we returned home from our trip!  They also make neon colored material for the weaving looms. You can buy a whole bag for under $2!” (Johna)

“Whenever we hit the road, we are always sure to grab a bottle of bubbles.  We turn on the car fan, hold the bubble wand in front of the vent, and voila! A car full of bubbles.  The bubbles generally go straight toward the back of the car, and are barely a distraction to the driver.  This is great fun in traffic, when we not only amuse ourselves but so many drivers alongside us.  And their happy grins
are a great amusement in themselves!” (Elaine)

Thanks Readers!  Keep sending in your ideas!  ~~Laurel (Roadtrip Mom)

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All material copyright ©MomsMinivan.com]]> http://www.momsminivan.com/blog/2010/05/reader-favorites-car-travel-activities.html/feed 5 http://www.momsminivan.com/blog/2010/04/drive-long-and-prosper.html http://www.momsminivan.com/blog/2010/04/drive-long-and-prosper.html#comments Thu, 08 Apr 2010 01:59:46 +0000 Road Trip Mom http://www.momsminivan.com/blog/?p=372 Here’s a twist on the old classic game of Rock Paper Scissors.   It’s called “Rock Paper Scissors Lizard Spock.”

Everyone knows that paper covers rock. But did you also know that Spock vaporizes rock?  Or that lizard poisons Spock?

With the number of possible outcomes increased, this version of the game is sure to hold the attention of your anxious crew.  It can be a little complicated at first, so you may want to print the simple diagram that I posted with the instructions.

See the complete article on How to Play Rock Paper Scissors Lizard Spock that I have posted on MomsMinivan.com.  With this game in your bag of tricks,  I have no doubt that you can drive long and prosper on your next road trek!

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All material copyright ©MomsMinivan.com]]> http://www.momsminivan.com/blog/2010/04/drive-long-and-prosper.html/feed 2 http://www.momsminivan.com/blog/2009/07/virtual-hide-and-seek.html http://www.momsminivan.com/blog/2009/07/virtual-hide-and-seek.html#comments Mon, 27 Jul 2009 16:48:00 +0000 Road Trip Mom http://www.momsminivan.com/blog2/2009/07/virtual-hide-and-seek/ One of my readers recently sent me this game that her family plays. They call it “Virtual Hide and Seek”. It’s a great game for the car that only requires your imagination.

Pick a place inside your house to hide, and imagine you are there. You can be any size, so you can hide in the silverware drawer, inside the toilet, in the dryer, wherever you can imagine! The others ask yes/no questions only, such as “are you in the kitchen” until they narrow it down to the room, area and then….find you! Kids love this game because it’s so fun to hide in places you’d not really fit into.

You may have to clarify no hiding between walls and in plumbing!   (Submitted by reader, Beth K. Thanks!)

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All material copyright ©MomsMinivan.com]]> http://www.momsminivan.com/blog/2009/07/virtual-hide-and-seek.html/feed 1 http://www.momsminivan.com/blog/2009/04/melissa-and-doug-travel-games.html http://www.momsminivan.com/blog/2009/04/melissa-and-doug-travel-games.html#comments Sat, 04 Apr 2009 15:49:00 +0000 Road Trip Mom http://www.momsminivan.com/blog2/2009/04/melissa-and-doug-travel-games/ My cousin Kirsten is taking a road trip with her kids this weekend in Oregon and found some great new products she recommends! They are called “Flip to Win”

Here’s what she says:
We got Hangman and the Travel Bear Hunt – and both are good. Memory looks fun. There are No parts to lose except the pen on Hangman (which has a clip to store the pen when it’s not being used).

Here’s More:

• These fabulous, travel-style games bring new fun and convenience to old family favorites
• Innovative flipping pieces won’t get lost
• Includes one game board with erasable whiteboard, self-storing marker and eraser
• Great for the road and at home

Sounds great! Definitely worth checking out “Flip to Win“.

Thanks, Kirsten! Have a great trip!

~ Road Trip Mom ~
Momsminivan.com

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All material copyright ©MomsMinivan.com]]> http://www.momsminivan.com/blog/2009/04/melissa-and-doug-travel-games.html/feed 4 http://www.momsminivan.com/blog/2008/10/chinese-cootie-catcher-and-more.html http://www.momsminivan.com/blog/2008/10/chinese-cootie-catcher-and-more.html#comments Mon, 20 Oct 2008 16:55:00 +0000 Road Trip Mom http://www.momsminivan.com/blog2/2008/10/chinese-cootie-catcher-and-more/ More Fan Mail! After reading my article, a reader wrote in a while ago to share her experience with making a cootie catcher. She also sent the picture on the left.

Hello, my name is Abby. Today is my first time to visit your website: MomsMinivan.com. I enjoy reading it very much as it brings me lot of memories about playing games with kid. Currently, I’m working for a child centre in Hong Kong where we play games with kids.

I just want to share with you about the “Cootie Catcher”. In our culture, we have the same stuff but we named it differently. we simply called it “ESWN” that stands for EAST, SOUTH, WEST and NORTH. (See the attached jpg file). Inside the ESWN, we write the “action” for the kid to do when they choose the number. For example, “sing a song”, “do sit-up”, “jump 10 times”….etc. Using the “Direction” as an alternative of “Color” is fun too.

Cootie catchers, or fortune tellers, are making the rounds in many different circles these days. I had another reader write recently to tell me that she was using my blank cootie catcher template for her Bible study group (She put scripture verses in the message area). It’s also become a cute table activity at weddings (put love messages in the fortunes, or instructions to “kiss the person next to you” or “dance the next song”). You’re only as limited as your imagination.

This is not the old favorite “Auto Bingo”, but it does have the nifty sliding windows that kids love. It’s regular B-I-N-G-O, where the caller picks a random number from the bin and calls it out like “B-15″! Then everyone marks their cards. This one can be played over and over again since your numbers are marked by sliding the windows. A pluck of the finger marks your number!

I have found that kids will play this game much longer than the other auto bingo which is more like a scavenger hunt looking for items out side the car. Older kids especially appreciate this one. And if you offer up a prize for the winner (think lollipops, or Tootsie Rolls), you can guarantee to hold their interest for quite a while, though several games. Keep playing until everyone wins. Even the driver can “play” by having someone else in the car play the card for you!

This set has 6 cards in it, and is completely self contained. No loose pieces and no markers needed. Great for the car or a plane. A definite winner in my book. Get it here.

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