You probably spend a lot of time in your car with your kids, right? Maybe you listen to them chat about their day, talk about their homework assignments or even sing along to some of the kid-friendly tunes that are playing on your car stereo.
But what about games? You don’t have to go crazy and spend money on expensive board games or card games for car play.
You can play many fun word games with your kids in the car…and not just once! These word games will help keep your kids occupied, learning important vocabulary words along the way.
Benefits of word games for kids
Improving Vocabulary
Word games can help kids learn new words and expand their vocabulary. This can be particularly helpful for kids who are struggling with language development or for kids who are learning a new language.
Enhancing Spelling and Grammar
Word games can also help kids improve their spelling and grammar skills. By playing word games, kids can practice recognizing and using different parts of speech, such as nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs.
Developing Critical Thinking
Many word games require players to use critical thinking skills to solve puzzles and come up with new words. This can help kids develop problem-solving skills and learn to think creatively.
Increasing Memory and Concentration
Playing word games can also help kids improve their memory and concentration skills. Kids can improve their attention span and focus by remembering words and rules and focusing on the game.
the best word games to play with kids!
Word Search
If you’ve got a bunch of paper lying around and a bunch of kids who love to put stickers in their hair, you’ve got a perfect word search game in the making.
You can either do one big word search that takes a few hours for all the kiddos to finish, or you can break the search up into multiple sessions throughout the day. You can even search the same word multiple times to make it more challenging for the kids.
Hangman Game
Hangman games are a lot of fun to play and they also help kids learn how to read random letters and words. It’s a great way to help kids develop their reading and spelling skills. Kids can either play the game by themselves or have a partner who helps them out by reading the word out loud.
You can keep the game simple and just have the kids write down the word that the partner says. You can also mix it up and have the kids try to draw the word their partner says. This helps improve their fine motor skills and drawing ability.
Scrabble Word Game
Scrabble is a classic word game that’s easy to play and can be played by people of all ages. The best part about playing this game is that even kids who’ve never really been good at words can start winning games if they just play a little bit more consistently.
You can play this game with multiple people, or even play it solo if you have a few scrabble tiles lying around. To play this game, you write the letters of the words you want to find on a piece of paper, then draw out a 7×7 grid on the paper.
You can either write each letter in the grid itself or write the first few letters of each word and then mark the rest of the letters in the grid. The object here is to find words in the grid by making words with the letters you find.
Matching Game
If you’ve got a bunch of crayons lying around, this game is a must try. All you have to do is have the kids draw a picture then match the drawing to the word that the picture is of.
This is a great way to help kids practice their drawing skills, as well as help them develop their visual learning skills. If you’ve got older kiddos in your life, you can even have them draw something they want to draw, or draw something that relates to their interests or hobbies.
You can make this game more challenging by making the image smaller or having the kids draw a complicated or abstract image. This is a great way to make kids think more about what they’re drawing.
BINGO!
Bingo games are great for keeping kids busy, especially when there’s a bunch of them in a small space and they’ve run out of things to do.
You can play traditional bingo, with each bingo card having a different word or phrase on it. You can also play bingo with multiple Bingo cards, where the winner is the person who gets the card with the biggest number on it.
You can play this game solo with the bingo card and a Bingo caller or with a group of people by calling out the words as they are called out on the radio.
I Spy
I Spy is a classic game that is easy to play and can be enjoyed by children of all ages. The game involves one person looking around and saying, “I spy with my little eye something that is [color/shape/etc.].” The other players then take turns guessing what the person is thinking of until someone guesses correctly.
20 Questions
In 20 Questions, one person thinks of an object, and the other players take turns asking yes or no questions to try and guess what it is. The catch is that they can only ask up to 20 questions, so they have to use them wisely.
Word Association
Word Association is a game that helps to improve vocabulary and language skills. One person says a word, and the other players have to say a word that is associated with it.
For example, if the first word is “dog,” the next player might say “cat,” and the next player might say “pet.”
Letter Ladder
Letter ladder is a fun word game for kids that involves changing one letter at a time to create a new word. Here’s how to play:
- Choose a starting word. This can be any word that everyone knows, such as “cat.”
- The first player must change one letter in the starting word to create a new one. For example, they might change “cat” to “mat.”
- The next player then has to change one letter in the word that the first player came up with to create a new word. For example, they might change “mat” to “map.”
- Players take turns changing one letter at a time to create new words. The game continues until someone can’t think of a new word, or until the players reach a predetermined number of rounds.
Alphabet Game
The Alphabet Game involves finding words that begin with each letter of the alphabet in order. For example, the first player might say “apple” for the letter A, and the next player might say “ball” for the letter B. Players can only move on to the next letter once someone has found a word for the previous letter.
License Plate Game
The License Plate Game is a fun way to pass the time while looking out the window. Players try to spot license plates from as many different states as possible and keep track of which ones they have seen. The winner is the person who has spotted the most different states by the end of the trip.
Name That Tune
Name That Tune is a fun game involving humming or singing a song, and the other players must guess what it is. You can stick to children’s songs or songs from popular movies to make it easier for younger kids.
The Rhyme Game
In this game, one person says a word and the other players have to come up with a word that rhymes with it. For example, if the first word is “cat,” the next player might say “hat,” and the next player might say “bat.”
Categories
In Categories, one person chooses a category (such as “fruits,” “animals,” or “colors”), and the other players take turns naming things that belong in that category.
If a player can’t think of anything, they’re out. The game continues until there’s only one player left.
Storytelling
In this game, one person starts telling a story, and the other players take turns adding to it. For example, the first player might say, “Once upon a time, there was a little girl named Sarah.”
The next player might say, “Sarah lived in a small cottage in the woods,” and so on. The goal is to create a fun and imaginative story together.
Word Chains
Word Chains is a game where one person says a word, and the next player has to say a word that starts with the last letter of the previous word.
For example, if the first word is “apple,” the next player might say “elephant,” and the next player might say “tiger.”
Word Scavenger Hunt
In this game, players look for words on signs and billboards that start with each letter of the alphabet in order.
For example, the first player might spot a word that starts with the letter “A” on a billboard, and the next player might spot a word that starts with “B” on a road sign.
I’m a former teacher (and mother of Two Childs) with a background in child development. Here to help you with play-based learning activities for kids. ( Check my Next startup Cledemy.Com)