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20 questions
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Backpack – let your child pack a backpack of their favorite and special things – stuffed animal, snacks, favorite books, small toys from home – items they can have access to anytime
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Book about the local area you are traveling through – talk about the area with your child, learn about where you are traveling
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Car bingo
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Check out books on CD from your local library
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Coloring books and crayons
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Counting cows – count all the cows that you see
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Crossword puzzles that are age appropriate
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Dreams – talk about your child’s dreams, goals and aspirations
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Family spelling bee
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Favorite music – make a CD or playlist on an MP3 player of the family’s favorite songs that you can sing along to
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Find 100 – choose something to count 100 of – flags, Church buildings, McDonalds, red cars
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Find the vehicle – make a list of the different types of cars you see, look for unique ones; or look for different colors
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Geography game – Start with the letter A, and name any place in the world that starts with the letter A; then move to the letter B. You can do this with anything – movies, food, animals, …
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GPS – hand your GPS monitor or phone to your child and let them watch your progress on the map
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I spy
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License plate game – Look for plates from different states, or special words or bumper stickers
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Map monitors – give your child a map, and have them follow your trip along on the map
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MP3 player with your child’s favorite music
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National Park Passport Stamping book – These small blue books can be purchased at any National Park visitors center, and then you can stamp at each National Park, Monument or Site that you visit
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Paper, pens, pencils, crayons, colored pencils and a clip board – hours of drawing
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Pipe cleaner creatures – buy a supply of pipe cleaners and let your kids create their own creatures for hours
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Play the A to Z game – take turns finding something that starts with the next letter in the alphabet
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Portable DVD player or built in DVD player – watch movies!
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Practice math skills or spelling words
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Reading – bring books or magazines for children to read
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Rock, paper, scissors
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Sight see – look out the window and point out the sites around you
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Small toys
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Snacks – bring plenty – pull out one at a time; bring mostly healthy snacks, but a few fun ones as well
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Sticker books
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String crafts – look online for hundreds of string craft and game ideas
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Travel games – buy a set of travel games (small, magnetic, easy to travel with)
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Travel games you can find online and print out
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Travel journal – kids write down their thoughts or draw pictures about the trip
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Travel scavenger hunt – make a list of things you are likely to see on a road trip, and have prizes for the winner
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Video games – hand held, entertaining or educational
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