Preschool Language Games for Road Trips

by Dr. Carrie Wells on July 21st, 2017 | No Comments »

These preschool language games are particularly fun on long road trips, when your kids start to get antsy in the back seat. Have fun, laugh together, and engage your young children in some great learning activities while on the road. I try to use any down time I have with my children to enhance their understanding of the world. A great time to work on language development is while driving in the car with your children.

Road Trip Language Games

1. The "look out the window" game.

Here's a great visual game you can play with your children. This game focuses on receptive language, having children demonstrate comprehension of spoken language. Just name two or three things at a time that they can locate while looking out the window. Your child will let you know when he/she has found each item. Here are some examples:

Find a person walking a dog
Look for a fire station
Read a traffic sign

Look out the Window

2. The "tell me 5" game.

This is a great way to work on understanding members of a particular set and build vocabulary. Give your child a category and ask him/her for 5 items that belong to that category. If he struggles to come up with items, provide additional clues (e.g. animal sounds, color of item). Some examples include:

Farm animals
Breakfast foods
Types of vehicles

Members of a category

3. The "what begins with" game.

This game works on identifying initial sounds in words, a building block to early reading. Present your child with a sound (or have your child select a sound) and each individual in the car will say a word beginning with that sound. You can actually combine this game with the "tell me 5" game by selecting a specific category to pick words for that beginning sound. For example: Animals that start with /s/.

4. The "I'm thinking of" game.

Similar to old-fashioned 20 questions, you will think of any word. Begin by giving your child one clue, such as "I'm thinking of something at school" and your child will ask yes/no questions to guess what it is. This will help your child work on reasoning skills and logic.

5. The "tell me the steps" game.

This game targets recalling information, sequencing, and building vocabulary to provide detailed descriptions. Pick a multi-step activity, like making a sandwich or getting ready in the morning. You can ask your child to provide a set number of steps (e.g. "Tell me 3 steps to brush your teeth") or allow your child to come up with as many steps as he/she can. You may need to guide your child through this activity as it can be a tricky one!

Does your family play any games in the car? What are your favorites?

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Dr. Carrie Wells

Dr. Carrie Wells is a college instructor, blogger, and work-at-home mother to two young children, Lydia (age 5) and Bryce (age 3). Carrie graduated from the University of Florida in 2001 with a Bachelor’s degree in elementary education and in 2002 with a Master’s degree in special education. After teaching children ages 3 – 21 with varying abilities for several years, she completed her Doctorate in special education in 2008 from Nova Southeastern University. In March 2010, Carrie began writing Huppie Mama, a lifestyle blog focusing on family, food, fun, fashion, and fitness.