BRAIN BOOSTER GAMES FOR CAR AND PLANE
Summer is full of long weekends, family vacations, and trips to visit relatives before school starts. Leisure travel is a lot of fun, but it may require hours in a car or on a plane to get to distant locations. Here are ways to make the time fly while boosting brainpower with fun and educational games:
Packing for a Trip
Players say, "I'm going on a road/plane trip and I am going to bring..." then each player names an item to bring (serious or silly). The catch is that each item must start with a letter of the alphabet -- in order. So, the first person might bring an apple. The second player says the first phrase, repeats the apple, and then adds something to the list that starts with "B." The game becomes more and more interesting as the list grows. It's great for building auditory memory (the skill used for following directions in the classroom), visualization skills (the skill used during writing expression), and brainstorming (another important skill for written expression).
Category Chant
Players all tap a rhythm (i.e. legs, legs, clap). While maintaining the rhythm, players take turns naming items in a category (i.e. "farm animals" or "things that fly") in rhythm until someone misses the beat or can't think of another item for that category. Pick a new category and keep going!
Alphabet Treasure Hunt
Find the letters of the alphabet in order on billboards, car license plates, and signs (for car rides). Find the letters in order in magazines and on signs (for airplane trips).
Brain Booster Bingo
Prepare bingo cards before the trip (cover them in clear contact paper if you want to be able to reuse them). Try stickers or markers so you don't have chips sliding all over the car. In each square of the bingo card, put:
Random letters -- Players mark a square when they see an object along the trip that starts with that letter.
Categories -- Put phrases such as: thing that fly, farm animals, words that start with "D," etc. in each square. As players identify items in the category, they mark the appropriate square.
Random numbers -- Players mark a square when they see the number on a billboard, sign, or license plate (or in a magazine).
Equations -- Put age-approipriate equations in each square. Players mark the square when they see the answer on a billboard, sign, or license plate (or in a magazine).
Be safe and have fun on your trip!
Toni M. Schulken
MS, OTR/L