Traveling With Children: Word Games!

Here is a selection of fun word games to play with your kids while traveling. They will help keep your children entertained when you are out and about and develop various skills.

Long car journeys can sometimes be pure horror, especially for small children. As a mom, you can make the ride more enjoyable by teaching them some fun word games.

Word games for travel are the perfect opportunity for parents and children to have fun together. You will also be able to kill time as you approach your travel destination.

Young children have short attention  spans, so bring some toys with you and plan on various activities to keep them entertained so they are happy on your family outing.

Word games are particularly well suited for this because they train children’s ability to concentrate. You need to focus on letters and sounds. They also help you practice reading, writing, and spelling.

Remember, even a drive can be a great opportunity to help your little one grow. Below are a few examples of fun word games.

Word games for kids on the go

To make the next long trip with your little ones as good as possible, take a look at our selection of word games:

1. I see what you don’t see

This game is easy to learn and ideal for preschoolers as it can keep them entertained for a long time.

The instructions are simple:  a player “sees” something and repeats the phrase “I see what you don’t see…” and gives a hint: “I see what you don’t see and that is red”. All other players in the car take turns guessing what the mysterious object might be.

2. Places

In this game, a player sees the name of a place and says it out loud. The second player then has to say another place name that starts with the last letter of the first place.

For example:  The first player sees a place name on a street sign and says it out loud. The next player can say the name of any place as long as they start with the last letter of the first. The game then goes on and on.

3. The story of the unknown word

With this game you can have a lot of fun and at the same time it challenges your child’s creativity. Think of a word that is as graphic and descriptive as possible and tell your child. Now your child has to make up a sentence or a short story with that word. 

If he or she doesn’t know the meaning of the word, you can explain it or turn the game into a game of definition. In this way you enable your child  to find meaning for the word and create a story. 

4. Alphabet lottery

First you have to  write all the letters of the alphabet on a piece of paper. Then number the letters, leaving some space next to each letter so that the children can write something down there.

To play this game, the children now have to write a word next to each letter that begins with it. You start with “A” and work your way up to “Z”.

Since not very many W ö rer starting with “X” or “Y”, every word that contains these letters counts. The first child to finish the list wins the game.

5. The story begins …

This game is the perfect option to nurture your child’s undiscovered storytelling talent. This game can be played in two variants. In the first variant, the first person starts and says a single word, after which the next player says another word, and so on.

The goal is not to be the person who ends the sentence or the story. 

Another way to play this game is to say a full sentence rather than just a word. The next player to act then adds another sentence. Be curious what the story will bring!

6. Crocodile

At the beginning you choose  a topic, then the first player thinks up a word. The next player then finds a word that begins with the last letter of the previous word.

If the word ends with an “E” or “S”, you should try to use the second letter of the previous word. Spelling plays an important role here. 

7. Animals, material, vegetables

This game can be very short or forever, depending on how creative the players get. In this game one player thinks of things and the others find out whether it is an animal, a material or a vegetable. 

The other players can ask up to  20 questions to which the player who thinks of the word can only answer yes or no. 

It can sometimes get really complicated to guess the word – when you consider that a wooden table was originally a tree, i.e. a plant or a vegetable, or a leather shoe could be considered an animal. But such confusions make the game all the more fun.

Finally, we have to emphasize that  drivers should not participate in these word games for children. It is important that he or she is not distracted. However, the other passengers can have hours of fun with these simple games!