During the Ride
"Mum, I'm bored, what can I do?"
During the ride you can entertain them for a while with some games and tricks
Kids react in many different ways to a boring ride, but most of the time it doesn’t take long until you hear: “Mum, I’m bored, what can I do? “, “I am hungry!”, “Dad I must wee!” and of course the famous “When do we arrive?“. We parents feel very soon irritated and we can be sure of a bad start for our adventure trip. Try not to drive much longer than 2 hours without a stop, and if possible, not more than 5 hours per day. Select gas stations or restaurants with playgrounds for children.
Never ending questions
- “Who knows an animal starting with an A?
Alligator, aveja, aguti” - “Which animals are nocturnal?
Monito del monte, puma, lechuza” - “Which animals live in Africa?“
- “Which animals/plants live in Chile?“
- “Which animals eat plants?“
- “Who doesn’t live in Chile – the Nandu, the Tricahue or the Tapir?“
- “What trees do you know by the name?“
“Yes” and “No”
Think of an animal. Now the kids have to ask questions that you only answer with “Yes” or “No” in order to guess the animal.
Is it bigger than me? – Yes
Is it an herbivore? – Yes
Does it live in Chile? – No
Does it have fur? – No
Can I find it in a circus? – Yes
Is it an elephant? – Correct!!”
“Plant begins with R, which letter follows?“
“A – no, I – no, O – yes. I know it, the rose – Correct!!”
Equipment list
Especially boys love their equipment. Let them count all items. “What is in the backpack, what do we need for camping, what is there to eat?”
Experience drawings
Your kids take their sketch blocks and pens out of the explorer-pack. Now you explain to them where the trip goes to. “There is a path that goes through the woods. In the background you can see a volcano with snow. If we are lucky we will see woodpeckers. We are going to pitch our tent in the middle of the forest. On the bonfire we are going to roast some sausages.” Now the kids can draw what you described.
Seismograph
Let the kids draw with a pencil very slowly a line on the block. Each pothole makes the “needle” draw a little quake. The line will look especially funny after a few miles on a gravel road.
Compass
With the compass the kids can define the driving direction, location of the Andes Mountains, the dessert and the Pacific coast.
Memory games
“I have a compass in my back pack. I have a compass and a pocketknife in my backpack. I have a compass, a pocketknife and matches in my backpack. I have a compass, a pocketknife, matches and a torch in my backpack. I have ���”
Audio books, videos & Gameboy
We adults, are often surprised that even toddlers can remember text with unbelievable easiness. Use the travelling time to offer your children enjoyable teaching audio books. Many parents are astonished how much fun children do have with it and how quite the ride can be. If nothing helps or the travelling time is much to long, than grant yourselves a time-out with the newest inventions in entertainment technology.
