Here’s a big list of 22 free and cheap screen free ways to entertain kids. These are perfect for road trips, waiting rooms, and restaurants. You can even use these ideas when your kids have to sit through a practice or game for a sibling or when they are home sick for the day.
Before I share my really long list of screen free ways to entertain kids on a road trip, I want to give a little background on why I decided to write this post.
Do you remember when you were in school and found out there was going to be a field trip? One of the first questions was always “How long is the bus ride?”. Why? Because that was usually the most fun part. A field trip was even more awesome if you had at least an hour to talk and play games with your friends.
Sometime between then and now kids have started losing the ability to entertain themselves. I think as parents we need to teach them! I’ve got a big list of screen free ways to entertain kids – perfect for car rides and waiting rooms.
My son recently went on a field trip and every kid spent the entire time playing on a phone or tablet for the entire bus ride. (And he’s only 8!). Go to any restaurant, waiting room, or even carpool line and you’ll see the majority of kids playing on a device.
There is definitely a time and place for these devices, and I totally admit to using electronics to entertain my kids. However, I think it is incredibly important that kids learn how to entertain themselves WITHOUT devices too. (This can be said for adults too!).
Some of my greatest and funniest memories with my kids have happened on long car rides when we’ve been doing silly things together as a family.
So here is my list of 22 free & cheap screen free ways to entertain kids on a road trip:
Note- none of these ideas cost over $10!
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1) String Games
I LOVED string games as a kid. In fact, I had the exact book pictured above. I can remember riding home from school with my carpool friends and seeing if we could beat our record for how many rotations of cat’s cradle we could do.
If you loved cat’s cradle, making the Eiffel tower or witches broom, I bet your kids will too. Once you learn a few simple string figures, all you need to do is keep a piece of string in your purse and then you can play anywhere.
You can order the Cat’s Cradle String book HERE
2) Look out the window
Seriously, let them look out the window. You might be surprised how long your child is perfectly content to just watch the world go by. Didn’t you like to just sit and think sometimes as a kid? Warning- this may require you to leave their phone or tablet at home though!
When I was still in the brainstorming phase for this post, I asked each of my kids what their favorite thing to do on a car trip was. My 8-year-old son chose looking out the window as his favorite screen free activity!!!
3) Eat Snacks
This is an easy way to keep kids occupied in most places. Our favorite snacks to stash in my purse are gummies, raisins, squeezy apple sauce and baggies of cereal. If you are going on a car trip, portion out the snacks into ziplock baggies ahead of time to cut down on mess.
Note- This is the activity my 6-year-old daughter chose as her favorite 🙂
4) Dry Erase Cards
I LOVE Usborne Books & More’s wipe-clean cards. They are a little larger than a deck of cards, but still small enough to fit in your purse. My personal favorite way to use them is to hole punch them and put 5-10 cards on a binder clip. Then you can rotate which cards you carry with you.
You can order a set here: https://h5513.myubam.com/search?q=wipe-clean+cards
Each set comes with 1 dry erase marker. I personally prefer the Crayola dry erase crayons. These are especially if kids will be using them unsupervised in the back seat of the car. The Crayola Dry-erase crayons are washable and won’t stain clothes like a regular dry erase marker.
5) Play Memory Games
I’m going to the store and I’m buying…. Apples, Beach chairs, Cat litter, Doughnuts, and Eggplant!
Did you play this game as a kid too?? Each person starts by saying “I’m going to the store and I’m buying” and then they pick an item. The next person starts the same way, then has to say what the person before them is taking and add their own item to the list. This continues until the list is so long no one can remember it anymore.
You can change the game up by choosing different places to go such as “I’m going to the beach and I’m packing” etc. You can also make a rule that each item has to start with A, then B, then C and so on.
This game is one of our family favorites. We have spent hours sitting around a campfire creating ridiculous lists of items we’d buy. This is another game that can be played anywhere anytime.
6) Cookie Sheet and Magnets
Cookie sheets are lifesavers on long car rides. You can get them at your local dollar store, and they make a perfect play surface in the car. Kids can use them as a little desk for their coloring book, and if you find the type with an edge crayons won’t roll away.
My kids love to use magnets on their cookie sheet. You can buy fancy travel magnet sets BUT it’s so much cheaper to make your own. Simply buy a cookie sheet for $1 and then order a few magnets like the ones pictured here. Be sure they sturdy and big enough that they won’t accidentally be swallowed though!!!
See all the Melissa and Doug magnets available HERE
7) Find the Colors of the Rainbow
This game is best for really young kids. All there is to it if you first try to find something Red, then Orange, then Yellow and so on until you find all the colors of the rainbow.
8) Paper Pencil Games
I love paper-pencil games because once you learn a few they only require paper and a pencil. Here is a HUGE list of games. My personal favorite is the dot game!
Usborne Books & More also makes a great purse-sized book full of pencil-paper games:
9) ABC Game
The Alphabet Game is similar to the Colors of the Rainbow game. You can either look for objects that start with each letter of the alphabet or if you are on a car ride you can look for each letter of the alphabet. If you are looking for the letters, the rule is you can’t move on to a new letter until the current letter is found though!
10) Scavenger Hunt
Scavenger hunts are a great way to pass time in the car. You can find a pre-made one like the one above or make your own. These can also be a great activity for beginner readers. Below is one I made with my kids. They each picked something we would try to find and I made sure the words were simple enough they could read them. (Note- that night we did not find a zebra, camel or roadkill)
11) The Story Game
This game will be sure to get your family laughing. One person starts by finishing the statement “Once upon a time there was…”. Then each person adds to story BUT you can only say one sentence at a time.
12) Sticker Books
Sticker books have saved my sanity so many times. I love them for sick days, snow days, car trips, waiting rooms, restaurants, church… ok anytime. My 4-year-old son said sticker books were his favorite thing to do on a car trip.
My favorite sticker books are by Usborne Books & More. You can get a basic sticker book anywhere, but if you want to get the biggest bang for your buck you need to go with Usborne Books & More. They are high quality, affordable (between $7-10), have lots of pages and almost all are also educational. There are over 50 to choose from so every kid should be able to find one they like! I love any activity that involves fun and learning!
You can view them all and order HERE
13) Play I-Spy
Hopefully, everyone knows how to play this game, but just in case here’s the basic rules. One person picks out an object and says “I spy with my little eye something (whatever color it is)”. Everyone else has to guess what the object is.
14) Joke Books
Q: Why can’t a nose be twelve inches long?
A: If it was, then it would be a foot.
Kids love joke books, and parents like them because the kids are happy 🙂 My favorite joke books series are the Laugh Out Loud Jokes for Kids by Rob Elliot. It’s full of corny jokes like the one above.
15) Audio Books
We drive to Indiana about 2 times every year. The trip is 10-12 hours one way. We have listened to A LOT of audiobooks over the years!! We have also managed to spend almost nothing on audiobooks too! All 3 of my kids listed audiobooks as one of their favorite parts of car trips. It’s always exciting to hear a new book.
The first place to check for audiobooks is your local library. Ours has books on CD that can be checked out, and they also have digital audiobooks that can be rented. They also have audiobooks on the app Libby you can access for free with a library card.
If you can’t find what you want at your library, start a free trial with either Audible or Kindle Unlimted just before your trip. Both have a huge selection and very generous trial programs.
Our favorite books that everyone in my family has enjoyed are any of the Nancy Drew books, Chronicles of Narnia (we did all 7 over 2 years!), Adventures in Oddessy, Because of Winn Dixie, The Three-Ring Rascals, Percey Jackson series and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
16) Busy Bags
Busy bags take a little work to set up, but then provide lots of educational fun for the kids. Pinterest is loaded with ideas. Here is one of my favorites sites though:
Busy bags require printing, and color printing is best. Be sure to read my post on HP instant ink to see how you can save tons of money and still print in color.
17) Sing Songs
A good playlist is always an excellent way to pass time. If you don’t have a way to play music, you can always just sing. Who cares if you know all the words…making up new lyrics is half the fun 🙂
18) Knitting Spool
I had one of these as a kid and LOVED it. They are plenty small enough to fit in a person, and kids as young as 4 or 5 can learn to use them. I’ll be honest though, I have no idea what you do with the rope you make. As a kid, I just loved making a long rope!
Here’s a link to a really low-cost one on amazon, and below is a video with directions on how to use it.
How-to Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-P24dSP2Lg
19) 20 Questions
One player thinks of an object. For younger players, you may want to say what category the mystery object fits into such as an animal, place, food etc.
The other players take turns asking Yes or No questions. They continue asking questions until they can correctly guess the mystery object. You can make it a rule that the object has to be guessed in 20 questions, but we never keep track when we play.
20) Read a Book Out Loud
I frequently have a book stashed in my purse. We often pull out our current read aloud whenever we have a few moments to spare. Doctor’s offices, the carpool line, and restaurants are perfect places to sneak in a little bit of reading.
We’ve read a lot of books, and below I’ve listed a few of my family’s favorites. All are perfect for reading to multiple ages at once.
My Father’s Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett
This might be our favorite read-aloud of all time. It’s got adventure, humor, and riddles! I highly recommend printing this map and these activites to look at while reading.
Anna Hibiscus by Atinuke
There are multiple books in the series, and all are made of several short stories. These books are perfect for when you know you only have a short time to read. Kids will love learning about what it’s like to live in Africa.
Lulu and the Duck in the Park by Hilary McKay
This is a hilarious book about what happens when a little girl who loves animals decides to put a duck egg in her pocket. This book is full of opportunities to say “Oh no, what do you think will happen next?”
Toys Go Out by Emily Jenkins
The best way to describe this book is that it’s what you would get if you put Toy Story and The Brave Little Toaster together and made it into a book. Kids will love imagining what life is like from the perspective of their toys.
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by e.l. Konigsburg
This book is about 2 kids who run away and go live at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. We had fun discussions of what it would be like to live in a museum while reading this book.
21) Mad Libs
Mad Libs are a super silly way to entertain the entire family and sneak in a little bit of learning. Did you know they’ve been around for 60 years?!?
You can order them on Amazon, find them at Dollar General or even print them for free.
22) The License Plate Game
The License Plate game is a classic road trip game and an absolute must for long trips. The basic idea is to try and identify as many state license plates as you can. You can keep track with printables or even apps.
I recommend THIS PRINTABLE from ScouterLife. There are also LOTS of free apps available.
I hope you’ve enjoyed my really big list of screen free ways to entertain kids!
Below is a quote from The Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. Take time to enjoy your road trips with your family. Don’t waste precious together time on your phones and tablets.
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