Three hours of highway, two kids in the back, and twenty minutes in, the first question: "Are we there yet?" Time for word games for road trips. No materials, no screens, just a bit of Spanish and good spirits. And without anyone noticing, last week's vocabulary stays wide awake.
Word Games for Road Trips: 5 Ideas for the Car
Veo veo, Spanish I spy. "Veo veo… algo rojo!" Whoever names the thing in Spanish goes next. Works with any landscape, and little ones love it.
The license plate game. A car passes, its plate has a C. First to shout a Spanish word starting with C, casa, coche, cielo, gets the point. Guaranteed noise.
Translation ping-pong. One person says an English word, the next answers in Spanish and throws a new word. Fast, faster, fastest. Whoever hesitates picks the next word.
Word chain. mesa, azul, luna, agua: each new word starts with the last letter of the one before. Perfect for long drives, because it never ends.
20 questions. One person thinks of an animal, everyone else asks in Spanish: "¿Es grande? ¿Vuela?" Only yes or no answers. Everyone practices questions without even noticing.
More games for home: vocabulary games for kids.
The License Plate Game in 3 Rounds
One letter, one word:
Practice on the Road With an App
With VocaScan, an iOS app for the iPhone, your child photographs the vocabulary page and the app turns it into a quiz in both directions. Any textbook, any language. Weak words get their own quiz, which your kid starts alone, and if you enter the quiz date, reminders arrive 7, 3 and 1 day before. On a train or at a rest stop, your kid starts a quick round, 5 minutes is plenty.
Frequently Asked Questions
What word games work without anything?
Veo veo, the license plate game, translation ping-pong, word chain and 20 questions: all of them work with just your voices.
What age does this work for?
Veo veo in elementary school, word chain and 20 questions more from middle school on.
Does it count as studying?
Yes. Your kid pulls words out of memory, and that is exactly what helps them stick.
The Road Trip, in One Scan
With VocaScan, your child photographs the textbook page and practices on the go.
Download on the App Store