Road trips are an awesome adventure to take together as a family, but sometimes they can be long. If you have children in the car asking, “are we there yet?” here are some fun French learning road trip activities to ensure that everyone has a good time together along the way.
These games and activities require little to no preparation, so even if you hop on the road last minute, you can have a list of activities to keep everyone entertained.
Plus, all these games or activities can be played in French as well.
Psst! Scroll to the bottom for our FREE French road trip activity package!
Rhyming games
Fun, quick and easy and can be played for as little or as long as you like.
“I rhyme with hog, I am a ___________(frog 🐸 )”
“I rhyme with make, I am a ____________ (cake 🍰 )”
“Je rime avec bleu, je suis un ______________ (feu 🔥 )”.
“Je rime avec gâteau, he suis un ___________ (château 🏰 )”.
I Spy
A classic game that is easily played on the road. Depending on the age of your child, you could play by “spying” a certain colour, or for older kids, have them spy something based on the letter it begins with. This game can easily be played in French to practice colours, basic vocabulary and much more! In French we say : “Mon petit oeil voit…” = My little eye sees….
Play-dough
Now, this activity can get messy depending on your kids, but it can also ensure lots of fun. Using a cookie sheet (the deeper the pan the better) as a tabletop, your child can place the cookie sheet across their lap and using play-dough, create whatever suits them! You can incorporate French by asking them to create various animals or letters … “Peux-tu faire la letter D avec ta pate à modeler?”.
P.S. I have seen this work wonders on a plane as well!
Items required:
-cookie sheet
-play-dough (click here for a recipe)
–Click to check out our playdough mats
Category words
This game requires a bit of prep work, but no more than 5 minutes. Decide on a category or two, and have them find at least one word that begins with each letter of the alphabet for that category. It could be related to the place you are visiting, things you might see on the road, or something easy like animals!
Items required:
-pencil/crayons, paper
-clipboard (or you can use a cookie sheet and magnet which is used for some of the other activities listed!).
Word hunting
Give your child a notebook with words to find as they look at their surroundings. Encourage your kids to write them down. Ask your kids to find things around them that begin with a specific letter, for instance, “Write down all the things you see that start with the letter H”Afterwards have them read the words back to you. You can even turn it into a competition by setting a time limit, and the person who finds the most words in that time frame wins!
Items required:
-pencil/crayons
-paper
-clipboard or cookie sheet with a magnet.
Magnets
Bring magnets in the car along with a cookie pan and you have another easy on the go activity. The magnets can be letters and your child can practice spelling their name and words, or bring animal/dinosaur/people magnets, and have them create their own storyboard! Depending on the age of your kids and if they can see/reach each other in the car, you can use the letter magnets to play hangman as well!
Items required:
-cookie sheet
-magnets!
Car colour search
There are many free pintables you can find online, or you can create your own. Colour in a car for every different coloured car you find on your road trip. You could also change this game to truck spotting and see how many different trucks can you find on the road. With truck spotting, you could create a checklist, or have your child write them down as they spot them! This is a great way to practice your colours in French and practice transportation vocabulary. Plus, you can count at the end to see how many of each coloured car you spotted!
Item required:
-clipboard (or use the cookie sheet and a magnet)
-printable
-crayons
Roadtrip BINGO
Find different things out the car window to complete your bingo card! This is something you have to have ready prior to your road trip. You can find many free printables online, or make your own with different car brands, restaurants, or everyday things you might see along the road. You can find a free one in this package!
Items required:
-your bingo card
-crayons (or something to mark off the items on the bingo card)
License plate game
See if you can spell your name first based on the letters you see on the cars license plates. Play in French by spotting the letters and naming them in French.
Alphabet game
Start with the letter A, and try and find an object or thing that starts with A. Then continue on and work your way through the whole alphabet. This game can be played as a cooperative effort with everyone in the car, or on an individual basis.
Who Am I? Qui suis-je?
Think of a character from a movie, book or tv show that your child has seen and let them ask questions until they figure out who it is. You could also play based on animals too! Similar to the game guess who, but just on the road.
What do you prefer? Que préfères-tu?
Ask your child what of two items they prefer. You then ask what they prefer between the winner of the first question and another item. For example, you might ask… What do you prefer- cereal or toast? If they answer cereal, you can then ask, what do you prefer, cereal or ice cream? Ice cream or dogs? Etc. This is a fun family game that can go on for hours!
“Que préfères-tu?”, pron: “kuh pray-fair tew?”
Scavenger hunt
You can literally create any type of scavenger hunt for on the road. There are many free printables online, or you can create your own. Depending on the age of the child, it can be a scavenger hunt using pictures, or a written-out list. You can find a free one in this package!
Items required:
-Scavenger hunt list
-crayons
-clipboard
Freeze dance
It’s a little trickier to dance in the car but still possible. Get those arms moving, head bopping and feet tapping to the beat but when the music stops, everyone has to freeze. The passenger is in control of the music, and everyone else in the back can dance and have a blast!
“On va danser!” = we’re going to dance, pron: “ohw vah daw-say”
Have a fun family road trip this summer and let us know if you play any of these French learning road trip activities! Enjoy the journey that you are about to embark on and make some great memories! Merci!