Half the Fun is Getting There – Games for Kids of All Ages
Family camping trips are great for everyone. The kids can burn off their excess energy at the beach, the lake, or on the hiking trails, and parents get the chance to share their love of the wilderness with the kids. But for some families, the driving trip on the way to the campground is the most challenging part of the whole adventure. If you aren’t sure what to do with your kids on your next long drive, pack a few of these travel games in your knapsack and keeping things fun the whole way there.
The License Plate Game
This classic game is a staple of all road trips, and it has a few variations. The easiest version is to ask kids to look for letters of the alphabet, one letter at a time. They can get the letters from road signs, billboards, and, of course, license plates. When someone finds “A,” everyone moves on to “B” and so forth. License plates come in handy for tricky letters like Q, X, and Z!
A variation of this game for older kids is to try to spot license plates from every state in the U.S. (excepting Hawaii and possibly Alaska). For younger kids, print out a map of the U.S. and let your child color in the states as you spot license plates from each one. Keep these maps over various road trips and see if you can get them all filled in.
Yet another variation involves making up sayings to go with the letters on license plates. RGF might be “really good Friday” or “rabbits go frolic.” And you can watch for different collections of numbers, like numbers all in a row (4, 5, 6) or groups of three of the same number (3, 3, 3) on one plate.
Fun with Maps
If you get tired of being asked “how much farther is it?,” try giving your child their own map. You can photocopy part of your road map or atlas, then show your child how to use signs and markers to find your location. If your child is old enough, you can ask them challenging questions like “what’s that mountain range over there?” or “how many miles is it to Round Lake?” Part of the fun of travel for kids is getting accustomed to different place names, river names, and the look of the land. Ask your child to pick out their favorite town name or to let you know when you’re going to cross different rivers or forests. You can pick the town or city you’d most like to live in someday or watch for the funniest looking car.
Kids can also have fun making their own maps. They can draw a different picture for every big town you go through or of different landmarks like bridges, mountains, and rivers. At the end of the day, line all the pictures up for a visual reminder of where you’ve been.
Secret Writings
If you have more than one kid in the car, have one child close their eyes and put out their hand. The other child uses their finger to trace a letter on the palm of the out-turned hand. Try to guess the letter, then trade places. If the kids are good at guessing, they can try spelling out whole words.
Two kids can also enjoy playing classic paper games like Hangman, Tic Tac Toe, and the paper version of Battleship. Card games like Crazy Eights, Old Maid, and Gin Rummy are also great ways to pass the time. And don’t forget to sing songs. Nothing passes the time like a sign-along!
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Car Games - Miles of Entertainment on the Road
Are you tired of being asked “are we there yet?” Take the pain out of road trips with these fun, portable kids games. If you want, put a local spin on any of these by using landmarks, cities, and billboard signs you see along the way for inspiration.
My Aunt Alice
You probably played this classic game yourself when you were a kid. This is a memory game that works well in the car and is great for elementary and middle-school aged kids. One kid starts it out by saying, “I went on a trip with my aunt Alice and I took along a ____.” They fill in the blank with something that starts with the letter A, such as an aardvark. The next kid repeats this sentence and adds their own addition to the suitcase, something that starts with the letter B. “I went on a trip with my aunt Alice and I took along an aardvark and a badminton set.” The third adds something that starts with a C. “I went on a trip with my aunt Alice and I took along an aardvark, a badminton set, and a cupcake.” Continue on for as long as you can or until you reach the end of the alphabet.
Word Association
This game is best—and silliest—when you move quickly, spitting out the first thing that comes into your head. The first person starts with a word, something like “river.” The next person says the first thing they think of, say “flow.” And the next “go.” And the next “stop,” and so on.
Who am I?
This is a guessing game for older kids (or adults). One person, the “lead,” starts by thinking of the name of a person, either real or fictional, dead or alive—but with a first and last name, such as Nancy Drew. They announce to the group “my first name starts with N.” The group gets busy thinking of famous people whose last names start with N, like Napoleon Bonaparte, Nora Roberts, Nicholas Cage, Nancy Reagan—but they keep these names to themselves.
The person who thought of Napoleon then comes up with a question that fits Napoleons life, something like “Did you try to conquer Europe?” If the lead can think of the person they have in mind—or any famous person for whom the answer to the question is yes—they can answer “No, I’m not Napoleon.” They’ve managed to defend their person’s identity for the moment and someone else take a turn. If they can’t think of anyone who fits the question, then the person who asked it gets to ask one question about their person (Nancy Drew), something like “are you living?” “Are you fictional?” “Are you a woman,” etc.
If the lead successfully defends themselves, someone else can take a turn. For instance, the person who thought of Nicholas Cage might try to think of the most obscure fact they know about the actor, in order to stump the lead. So instead of asking “Are you a famous actor?” they might say, “Were you in Raising Arizona?” If the lead can’t answer, they get to ask a pointed question about the lead’s name.
Because this game takes a lot of thought and planning, it isn’t necessary that the group go in order. If one person has a lot of questions ready to ask and no one else has any, go ahead and let the person ask, since this keeps the game moving forward. This is a fun game to play with mixed generations, since some will know all about Harry Potter while others are well versed in the lives of Mickey Mantle and Doris Day.
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Ghost Scary With Friends Your Out CreepNothing is more classic than telling ghost stories around the campfire. But have you ever wondered how to tell a really spooky story? There are tricks to keeping any audience’s interest, whether you’re talking to kids or to your parents.
First, think through your story. Are you telling the tale of a murdered ghost who haunts a seaside town? A roaming madman who pursues travelers with an axe? How about a thump-thump-thumping limb, buried under the floorboards? If the story has some secrets to be revealed, such as the identity of the limb’s owner, decide in advance when you want to share the secret. It’s most effective to hold that kind of information back as long as you possibly can, so your listeners are on the edges of their seats.
This is called building tension, and you want to do it as much as you can. Set up your story by introducing the main characters and giving a little background if needed, such as the tale of the murder that leads up the ghostly haunting. If your audience is small, you might add in details that fit your listeners. For instance, if you little sister loves peppermint ice cream and cats, you could have one of the townspeople (maybe the one who will be haunted) also love peppermint ice cream and cats. That will help your sister feel a kinship with this character, so she’ll care more about what happens in the story. And it’ll be scarier! You can do the same thing with all your listeners, if you have enough characters.
This is called building tension, and you want to do it as much as you can. Set up your story by introducing the main characters and giving a little background if needed, such as the tale of the murder that leads up the ghostly haunting. If your audience is small, you might add in details that fit your listeners. For instance, if you little sister loves peppermint ice cream and cats, you could have one of the townspeople (maybe the one who will be haunted) also love peppermint ice cream and cats. That will help your sister feel a kinship with this character, so she’ll care more about what happens in the story. And it’ll be scarier! You can do the same thing with all your listeners, if you have enough characters.
Continue to build tension by posing questions you don’t answer. For instance, you might have the townspeople ask each other who could be haunting them? They don’t know the answer, and neither do your listeners. You do, but it’s best if you don’t tell—keep this a secret until your big reveal.
CUse your voice to set the tempo and drama in your story. Because ghost stories are often told in the dark, your voice is a very powerful tool. You can, of course, get louder and quieter during the story. Speaking softly can be just as powerful as being loud, since it means your listeners have to lean in and strain to hear you. A classic technique is to get very quiet, almost whispering, as you lead up to something exciting—then suddenly let your voice boom! By the same token, you can set the pace of the story by speaking more quickly and more slowly. Speaking slowly sounds ominous and scary, where fast speaking is best for parts of the story that move fast, like times when your heroine is running away from a monster or when your hero is thinking fast, deciding what to do.
Now it’s time to try telling your own story. Here is a very rough framework you can use, but it’s up to you to fill in the details and make this interesting. Who are the characters exactly? What are their names? What do they do for a living? Do they have pets? Where do they live and what does the town look like, or their house? How will the story end? And most important of all, decide how you want to share the key details. A little at a time? All at once at the end? Try to pick the method that creates the most tension.
The Basic Story.
A family moves into a house. They hear weird noises in the attic and in one of the rooms. Sometimes they hear a sound like a leg being dragged across the floor, or someone coughing and wheezing. They’re sure they’re haunted by ghosts. [Add your own haunting details.]
An old woman shows up and explains that long ago, a husband and wife lived in the house. They took in the local school teacher as a renter for the year. The wife thought the husband was falling in love with the school teacher, and she started to hate her husband. They argued all the time. After a few months, they hated each other so much, they wanted to kill each other.
One night, in a fit of rage, the husband grabs his axe and swings at his wife, ready to kill her. He plunges the axe into her heart. As she dies, he tries to say he’s sorry, but she just laughs. “Fair’s fair,” she cackles. “I’ve been poisoning you for weeks!” Sure enough, the man dies that very night of arsenic poisoning.
And the old woman who told this whole story? She’s the school teacher who started it all. Some people in town say she got the couple to kill each other on purpose so she could inherit their house. And now, some people say, she’s here to kill this family and take back the house that’s rightly hers….
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Games to Play at GamesWondering what the kids will do with themselves during this month’s camping trip? Not to worry – if you arm yourself with a few good games, you’ll be able to organize hours of fun for the whole family. The kids will love these even more if play with them, so unleash the child within yourself and join in the fun.
Hug-a-tree
This game requires two players and one blindfold or bandana. The players must be old enough to lead one another blindfolded, and you might want to start with some guiding tips—to move slowly, hold the blindfolded person securely by the arm, and use words to guide them over roots and other obstacles.
One player is blindfolded and gently spun around three times until they lose their bearings. The other player then leads the blindfolded player through the woods, taking a wandering route so the blindfolded player is even more confused about where they are. They should stay within sight of the starting place. The leader picks a tree and leads the blindfolded person up to it. They say, “This is your tree,” and put the blindfolded player’s hands on the trunk. The blindfolded player can take as long as they like getting to know their tree, feeling its trunk, learning where the branches are, and checking out the roots or other distinctive features. Once they’re finished, the leader guides them back to the starting place and removes the blindfold. Then the player can try to find their tree!
Artist, Model, Clay.
This game requires three players and some open space. One player is designated as the Artist, one as the Model, and one as the Clay. The artist should close their eyes (or blindfold themselves with a bandana). The Model then strikes a pose, something that puts their body in an unusual shape. The Clay leads the Artist up to the Model, so the Artist can use his/her hands to see what shape the Model is in. Without looking, the Artist must move the Clay’s arms and legs until the Clay is in the same position as the Model. It’s important that the Clay be somewhat limp and flexible, allowing themselves to be molded. Once the Artist is finished, he/she can remove the blindfold and see how they did. Then everyone can change roles and play again.
The Hearing Game.
This is a great campfire game, or a fun thing to do during a day hike break. Everyone finds a comfortable place to sit and closes their eyes. Silently, to themselves, they should count the sounds they hear until they reach ten sounds. Then everyone can open their eyes and share the sounds they heard. You’ll be amazed at how well you can tune out certain sounds once you’ve already counted them, moving on to the faintest sounds of nature. A variation of this game involves counting things in nature that are a particular color, such as orange, purple, or red.
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Visiting Relativesby Graciela Sholander, exclusively for Camping.com At Thanksgiving, some families visit relatives they haven’t seen in a while. If you’re going to visit or camp with Grandma, Grandpa, aunts, uncles, cousins or other relatives this Thanksgiving (or any other time), understand that it’s normal to feel different emotions.
You might be really excited about seeing your grandparents! Maybe you can’t wait to play with your cousins. Or perhaps this will be the very first time you meet some of your relatives, and you’re feeling ... well, a little bit scared. That’s OK. It’s perfectly natural to wonder how they look, what they’ll say, and whether or not you have anything in common with them.
Just remember this: Your relatives are not weirdo creatures from outer space! They are part of your family. They may live far away, and you may not see them very often, but they care about you very much. And they’re interested in learning more about who you are and what you think.
So relax, have fun, and try these games to get everyone talking. The best time to play is when people are sitting around – like after they’ve had too much turkey and stuffing. Before you and your family leave for your trip, pack game supplies: writing paper (or index cards), several pencils, and a watch with a second hand.
A Few Of My Favorite Things
Start this game by handing out paper (or index cards) and pencils. Have everybody, including you, write down five of their favorite things, but first pick the categories. For example, ask people to list their favorite animal, song, breakfast food, color, and book. Or, have them write down their favorite sport, pizza topping, amusement park ride, cartoon, and ice cream flavor.
When everyone is done writing, collect the papers. Pick one from the stack and read the answers aloud. For example, you can say something like:
'This person likes soccer, pineapple on pizzas, roller coasters, Scooby Doo, and vanilla ice cream. Who is this person?'
Go around the group and ask everybody, one person at a time, to guess who it is. You can guess, too. Nobody is allowed to say his or her own name – that would make the game too easy! After everybody has had a chance to guess, say, 'Will the person who wrote this please stand up?' The mystery person is finally revealed!
Ask a new volunteer to pick a different paper and read the answers aloud. Then have everyone try to guess who this next mystery person is. The more you play, the more you’ll learn about your relatives, and the more they’ll learn about you, too.
Name That Tune
Ask a volunteer to think of a song. It could be something from the radio, a holiday tune, or even a silly song. Checking your watch, give him or her five seconds to sing any part of the song. Then, ask the group to name that tune. If someone guesses, that person becomes the next volunteer. If nobody guesses, then give your volunteer twenty seconds to sing or hum more of the song. If people still don’t recognize the tune, ask the volunteer to name it – and to choose the next singer.
Have fun! When you add music, games, and laughter to a visit with relatives, the time you spend with them becomes even more special.
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Camp Kids
