Road Trippin’ with Kids & Games

Planning a road trip for the Labor Day holiday? Traveling with kids and family? I know it’s not always easy keeping your children preoccupied in the car and trying to avoid the infamous question of “are we there yet?” I remember as a child, I would ask my mom where we were going and she would respond, “CRAZY!”

Here is a fun game for your pre-schoolers or toddlers on the road….

Travel/Car Scavenger Hunt 
Give each child a list of items to watch for while driving. Check off each item when they find it.  Think ahead about where you are travelling – its great to pick items that match the scenery or you can even make it a learning lesson! Just make the list ahead of time. For younger children who can’t yet read, it is sometimes easier if you draw a picture on a piece of paper with the words right next to the image so that he or she knows what to look for.

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The ‘Mozart Effect’ & The Benefits of Music and Children

Whether it is Raffi, the Wiggles, Disney music and more – most children love music. Like most preschoolers, your child or a friend’s kid most likely already loves music and has favorite songs that he or she likes to listen to over and over. So how did this happen? Did you encourage it? Long car trips? Or did they hear it at home?  Preschoolers are a great age to introduce and expand their musical horizons. I grew up in a household where my dad played the guitar and I played the piano – I am very thankful for growing up in a musical household and the “torturous” days of piano lessons (wink, wink). Even my little cousin Spencer received a drum set this past Christmas and I was thrilled to see him tap the beat and use the cymbals so well! He even ‘air-guitared’ Bon Jovi’s Livin’ on a Prayer.

In 1997, a man by the name of Don Campbell wrote a book called “The Mozart Effect: Tapping the Power of Music to Heal the Body, Strengthen the Mind, and Unlock the Creative Spirit” which discussed a theory that listening to the musician Mozart can increase one’s IQ and that playing specially selected classical music to infants will benefit their mental development.  These theories can be controversial, but I do agree that the relationship to sound and music (both played and listened to) have not been explored enough.  Campbell wrote a follow up book called “The Mozart Effect” where he stated …

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