• Keeping your kids busy on road trips can really be a challenge. My family takes at least one big road trip a year, so I have begun to complete a list of things that work for us to keep the peace (and the whining) to a minimum.

    One of my favorite games for our kids has always been I Spy. As our kids get older though, and begin to read and be more cognizant of their surroundings we give a little twist to the classic I Spy by making it more specific. Each of the kids get a sheet of paper on a clip board. The paper lists all fifty states. The object of the game is to find each of the plates during the drive. You can also include pictures of the plates so your more visual non-readers can play the game too!

    Alaska and Hawaii always have fifty points for us

    We like to give different plates different point values. For example, plates for the states you are traveling in could be worth only one point. You are guaranteed to see some of those. The farther away the state is, the more points it is worth. Alaska and Hawaii always have fifty points for us. The person who first sees the plate and calls it gets the points. We only allow a maximum of five of each state’s plate. This helps to eliminate hearing the same state being called a million times.

    A round only lasts between gas stops. While filling the tank the kids tally up their points to see who won the round. Keep track of all the rounds and at the end of the trip you can give out small prizes.

    We generally get a few hours out of this game with our kids. Mostly because they are aware of what the ultimate prize is, and my kids are super competitive.