Parents, do you remember how it used to be when we took road trips in cars? For many of us, the Game Boy had barely been invented yet, and so there were a lot of stretches on road trips where we had to amuse ourselves with a book, daydreaming – or an activity pack, which we personally used to love! If you’re taking a longer road trip this summer, stop by the local bookstore or dollar store and give your child a taste of how it used to be with some of these fun educational puzzle, word and math games to keep them occupied – and sharp!
‘I Spy’ Books
‘I Spy’ is a challenging game to play in a moving vehicle when you’re whizzing right past things. But fortunately, there’s all sorts of picture riddle books and games that provide the offline educational experience as well as some solo play. Why not hit the nostalgia button with a classic Where’s Waldo book? For littler players, there are some books geared towards kids as young as 2-4.
Word Game Books
We loved doing crosswords, word pairs, anagrams and word scrambles as kids! But most of the cryptograms in the paper were a little difficult to get into for our age bracket. Fortunately, there’s all kinds of word game books for different age groups like Word Games for Clever Kids – and they even have some easier cryptograms for kids to puzzle over.
Activity Books
Do you remember loving those sorts of activity books that had stickers, colouring, and some puzzles in too? We loved those too. Happily, they still make these wonderful activity books, although you may have to order them through Amazon or a local bookstore before your trip! A lot of these books are independently published, so what’s available at your local bookstore may vary! But check out My Summer Activity Book for a great fresh take that will also send your kid on some all-summer-long scavenger hunts.
Mad Libs
Nostalgia, here we come. This is a great offline game perfect when you have two kids (or more), and you wouldn’t believe how educational it can be! Mad Libs are great for teaching basic grammar with fill-in-the-blank prompts. They even have a Junior version for smaller players. Parents beware: once your kids really get into the action, it might be a little gross, but there should be lots of hilarity. And yes, ‘fart’ can be either a noun or a verb.
Math Game Books
A math game book is a great way to get in a little extra practice and keep the brain sharp, avoiding the summer slide! There are several great series of books made for kids to self-test themselves, but there’s all kinds of fun math puzzle books to enjoy like ‘Do the Math!’
While these unplugged games probably won’t always occupy your electronics-minded kids forever, remind your kids that it’s healthy to enjoy new activities from time to time! And all of these activity books will help ensure their handwriting and math skills are in good shape for the fall.
Happy trails!
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