4. Count me in! Put a new spin on the “Twenty Questions” game by including numbers. Pick a number then have your kids ask: “Is it odd or even?” “Greater than five?” For younger children choose a number between one and ten; for older ones up the ante with larger figures and more difficult questions: “Is it a factor of two?” “Divisible by five?”
Road Trip! 12 Activities to Entertain & Educate Kids By Denise Morrison Yearian
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f your family is traveling in the car this summer, keep boredom at bay and hone your kids’ academic skills with these innovative suggestions.
1. Fortunately, unfortunately. Create a story that goes back and forth from good to bad. The first person may say, “There once was a wizard who lived in a castle…” The next person continues with, “Unfortunately…” and comes up with bad news such as, “The castle was attacked by a dragon…” Then the next person says, “Fortunately…” and adds something good to the story, and so on until it reaches a happy ending. 2. Animal amusements. Name an animal then have the next person think of a different animal whose name begins with the last sound or letter of the preceding animal. For example, if the first person says, 14 MendoLakeFamilyLife
“Tiger,” the second person could say, “Rhinoceros,” and the third person could say, “Snake.” This activity could be done with sports teams, music groups, and movies. 3. Practice makes perfect. Buy a small white board with an attached marker so your kids can practice writing letters and numbers, drawing pictures, or playing simple games. These boards are magnetic so bring along magnetic letters and numbers for little ones to practice counting and spelling words. Also put one letter on a page that corresponds to the place you are traveling to then add short words and pictures that begin with that letter.
5. Tally it up. Watch for numbers on road signs and write them down. After you’ve found five different figures add them up. Or have two people put both hands behind their backs, then quickly bring them forward to show any
Encourage your children to write a journal entry for each day of the trip. number of fingers they want. The first person to add all the fingers correctly and shout out the answer wins. For older children, incorporate subtraction, multiplication, or division. 6. Writing reflections. Encourage your children to write a journal entry for each day of the trip and include superlatives: the best part of the day, worst part, something unexpected. If you have preschoolers, record their words and let them draw corresponding pictures. Make it into a scrapbook by including small items collected or purchased along the way. 7. Audio book discussions. Listen to a book on CD or iPod then discuss the plot, characters, and setting. Turn off the story at critical points and talk about what might happen next: “Are you feeling uneasy about this?” “What do you think of
July 2020 www.mendolakefamilylife.com
