TRAVEL BOX GAMES
Make a travel box for your child. You will need a sturdy container
with a lid that can be used as a game board or table. An aluminum
cake pan with a plastic lid works well. Cut out a large piece
of felt to fit on the inside of the lid. Cut out small felt
shapes of different colors and store them in a small zipper
bag. Inside the pan, store a pad of paper, some crayons, a pair
of dice, a deck of cards, the large piece of felt and the bag
of felt shapes. You might also include a small cloth bag with
a drawstring. Fill the bag with small plastic cars, animals,
people, etc. |
FELT BOARD - Your child would lay the pan lid on his lap
upside-down and then place the large piece of felt inside the
lid. This will be his felt board. Then he can arrange and rearrange
the felt pieces on his board, however he wishes.
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| CARDS - Play Fish or War with your
child, or just let her enjoy sorting the deck of cards. |
DICE - Here are some ways to use the dice. Your child can
roll the dice and try to get pairs. Or you can call out a number
and your child rolls the dice until he gets that number. Or
your child can play a game where he rolls until he gets a one,
then he rolls until he gets a two, and so on up to six.
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| GUESSING GAME - This is a guessing
game involving some of the small objects inside the cake pan.
Hide one of the objects from the pan into the drawstring bag
and let your child try to guess what is hidden inside without
opening the bag. |
ADDITIONAL TAKE ALONG TOYS -
Dot-to-dot books
View Masters
Quiet Books (with things to button, zip, and snap)
Books
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VIEWING GAMES
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COLOR HUNT - call out a color and type of a vehicle.
Example: Blue Truck. See who can find the first one. |
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COUNTING - Many miles disappear when you are counting.
Set a time period (such as until 3:00 or until we reach
a certain mile marker). "Let's see how many campers
we can count." Or, another time, you might decide
to count semi-trucks. |
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LETTERS - Older children can look for letters
on signs to spell their names and other words. Younger
children may not know how to spell but they can look for
special familiar letters. Another letter game is to pick
a letter, such as, B and everyone looks for things that
start with the B sound. |
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PAPER AND CRAYON GAMES
Large tablets of paper and crayons are best. (Sharp pencils
can be dangerous for young children if the car makes a sudden
stop).
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PICTURE BEGINNINGS - Draw a few lines or shapes on the
paper. Have your child make something out of your beginning
shapes. Accept whatever they draw. Never tell children
what to draw. If they ask for ideas, suggest that they
draw something happy. |
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ADD A FEATURE - Two or more people can work at this
activity. The object of the picture is to end up with
a picture of a person. Everyone takes turns drawing on
one feature of the person at a time. The picture is passed
around until everyone has had two or three turns. These
turn out real funny. |
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WORD GAMES
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ANIMAL SOUNDS - Make animal
sounds and let your children take turns naming the
animals. If your children are able to do so, let
them take turns making the animal sounds. |
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MATCH-UPS - Name an object
that usually is associated with another object or
objects. Let your children take turns naming it's
partner.
Examples: salt/pepper; fork/spoon; shoes/socks;
table/chair, etc.
Do not be too particular, accept any answer that
has an association of any kind. |
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COLORS - Name a color and have
your children take turns naming things that are
always that color. See who can name the most.
Example: Yellow = lemon, banana, corn, daffodil
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STORY - Start a story with
your children. Stop often and let them tell what
would happen next. Children of all ages can usually
participate in this game. |
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