Five on Friday: Our Top Five (Short & Long) Car Ride Activities

1.    Punch buggy--you know that game that you try to be the first one to see a VW Beetle and then shout, "Punch Buggy!" and slug someone? Well somewhere along the way my kids just started shouting “punch buggy, no punch backs” without actually punching anyone! So now I’m so down with this game.

2.    PICK UP YOUR FEET! When you go over a railroad track. The little kids always win this one because their feet don’t touch the ground anyway.

3.    Hold your breath past a graveyard---my absolute favorite. Because when they’re holding their breath, they are QUIET! I’m going to start telling them we also hold our breaths when we go past houses. And trees. And people. And other cars.

4.    Themed playlists to listen to: either with songs based on the activity we’re driving to (zoo, beach, vacation) or one called “Dedications” where each song is dedicated to a different family member (each for a reason) They love waiting to hear if their song comes next.

5.    Another one for the ipod: upload story CDs from the library to listen to. Make sure you upload plenty in case they end up not liking/wanting some of them. We listened to one about chocolate on the way to Hershey Park that held everyone’s interest. We tried another chocolate-themed one on the way home that didn’t (but they decided they wanted to hear the first one again, so that worked out) Other favorites: any of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid or Kevin Henkes stories (Lily & The Purple Plastic Purse) .