Making the most of car time with kids
It’s no secret that car rides and young children don’t exactly mix well. Parents of young children know the infamous ‘Are We There Yet Syndrome’ like the back of their hands. It begins with basic squirming and restlessness, but in no time can evolve into full-on tears. But when driving is a must, how do we make an enclosed space a more engaging experience for children?
While it may be tempting to reach for an electronic device, a video game or a movie, these aren’t always the most productive tools in the wheelhouse. Instead, make a plan and transform your car into a moving classroom. Before hitting the road, having a set of educational activities at your disposal can make all the difference.
Dr. Wendy Matthews, a clinical psychologist at Mindprint, explains executive function as the mental processes that everyone, young and old, uses to focus their attention, plan what they are going to do, juggle the many tasks that will be needed to carry out the plan, and adapt to any obstacles or changes that might come up along the way.
For children, executive function essentially means learning working memory, mental flexibility and self-control — all crucial skills needed to navigate everyday life. She suggests playing games that practice and reinforce this executive function in young children.
For many parents, time spent with children in the car can actually be some of the best one-on-one time they’ll get all day. With this list of in car activities, you’re now the teacher and your vehicle is your mobile classroom command center. These great activities will help promote and reinforce executive function capacities and rid your car of all boredom.
What’s the Difference?
Observing and analyzing similarities and differences between objects can give students important practice in flexible thinking. The process exercises a student’s ability to consider varying characteristics and adjust thinking as necessary based on the information that is being considered. Help students practice these skills explicitly by having them observe a group of people, objects, or ideas that are categorized by a shared characteristic.
Then pick out and create a list of something within that group that is unique or different. For example, name five objects: pear, apple, orange, carrot, blueberry. Which one does not fit and tell me why? Depending on the students’ ages and ability levels, the anomaly can become increasingly subtle, such as picking out fictional characters from real people, athletes from musicians, reptiles from mammals.
Listen to Audiobooks
Audiobooks can be a great opportunity to develop a student’s reading comprehension skills without actually needing to read. Audiobooks can be a particularly good option for children who struggle to read on their own for longer periods of time. As children listen enraptured in a book’s story, they benefit from the opportunity to listen and comprehend without the other challenges.
Listening together gives the opportunity to pause the audio and discuss what you have heard and ensure and/or deepen a child’s level of understanding. Reading comprehension is fundamental to all academic subjects and improvements in reading comprehension will benefit students in innumerable ways.