‘Tis the season of road tripping! My sons and I are hitting the road next week for a “lengthy” (more than 2 hours) trip. I’ll most definitely be embracing car-naps and car-snacks during our journey, but I’m also looking forward to the time “trapped” together to just talk! Here are 5 ways to keep those little minds and language skills expanding while driving around.
1. Audio books: whether through online sources like Audible, or CDs from your local library, audio books can be great way to spark conversations while riding. Pause the recording every now and then to check everyone’s understanding, have your child tell you what they picture the setting and characters to look like, make predictions about what will happen next, talk about character motives by asking questions like “Why do you think George ran into the store?
2. Sing-a-longs: go acapella, turn on the radio, or grab some classic CDs from your stash or local library. Listening to or singing along with music activates the same parts of the brain that are used when expressing speech.
3. Counting: pick an object (my boys usually choose National Grid trucks), take a guess at how many you’ll see on the way to your destination, then keep count as you go. With multiple children, each could choose a different object. Compare and contrast; who has seen the most or the least?
4. Color Spotting: identify the colors of the rainbow. Starting with red, everyone looks out their windows to find something red, and when they do: says, “I found red! A red ____!” Do the same with each of the colors of the rainbow. Stating the color and object together teaches your child how to combine words and builds on their knowledge of attribute and object relationships. This game can also be played spotting letters of the alphabet and numbers 1-10.
5. Alphabet categories: review the alphabet A-Z; pick a category (animals, foods, places, colors); starting with A, each passenger states an item that corresponds with a letter from the alphabet (A is for apple, B is for banana). For older children, you can stretch their memories by having them repeat the items that have been said before adding their own. Categorizing allows us to store and retrieve information in order to understand and communicate more effectively.
Follow it up with a book: Road Trip by Roger Eschbacher
