I wanted to share some of my family's favorite activities to do on road trips! These activities will keep your children engaged while encouraging language, articulation, and social skills!
License Plate Bingo!! We try to find license plates from all of the 50 states! Click the link below to get a FREE copy of my License Plate Bingo Board! It also includes Bonus plates such as: Canada, Mexico (with boxes to check off the different provinces/states), Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico! My family was shocked on how many of the Bonus items we found last year!!
I recommend this activity for older students (7+). I have sent these home with a few of my patients to use on their family vacations. I have found that students with high functioning autism really like this kind of activity. The board is set up with texts/images in a check box format. I have had parents tell me how much they loved doing this in the car because it keeps their child engaged and out of their electronics some! It is also great for social skills when you work together to find the plates.
Tips: If you visit a famous landmark or park (Grand Canyon, Disney World, Mount Rushmore, ect...) walk through the parking lot with your board and you will get to check off a bunch of plates! We did this at the Grand Canyon and got around 11 plates all at once!
Restaurant Bingo! Another popular bingo game is Restaurant Bingo! Many young children can recognize popular restaurant chains by their logo even before they can read! I use this game like my regular Road Trip Bingo Game.
I make each one of my own children a "Road Trip Binder" when we go on long road trips. I put the following things in it: Road Trip Bingo Boards, License Plate Bingo, Restaurant Bingo, Road Trip I Spy, Car Battleship, crossword puzzles, word searches, and other fun activities. I do allow them to watch movies and play electronics but I try to limit that as much as possible (I want them to see our beautiful country!). Another great idea is to print out maps of your trip and have your child trace the road at each stop!
If your child is working on articulation skills, you can download an articulation app such as Articulate it by Smarty Ears (iTunes) or Articulation Station by Little Bee Speech (iTunes) and have them practice their sound with the app. You could also ask their Speech Therapist for some articulation worksheets to take with you on the road!
I have made a version of my Road Trip Resources for my TPT store. This produces includes upgraded versions of my Bingo Boards and also an I SPY on the Road game. It also includes instructions and tips on how to work on speech and language skills with these activities. Click Here to go to TPT and get it!!!
