Keep Kids Entertained: Make Custom "I Spy" Pictograph Game Cards for Road Trips

Summer road trips are an annual tradition for many families. Keeping the kids entertained during long road trips can be a difficult challenge. One way to entertain your children and educate them at the same time is to create custom "I Spy" pictograph cards for the trip. This game is portable, reusable and, best of all, does not require batteries!

The traditional "I Spy" road trip game is verbal. One person says, "I'm thinking of an object that starts with the letter A." The other family members try to guess the object. The pictograph cards add a fun twist to the game and help to keep kids from getting bored on long car trips.

Supplies Needed for Custom "I Spy" Pictograph Cards:

White cardstock

Color printer

Word processing software (like Microsoft Word)

Internet access

Scissors

Rubber bands

How to Make Custom "I Spy"Pictograph Cards for Long Road Trips

Be sure to make these cards a few days before your road trip. You can make them as a surprise for when your kids are particularly cranky or enlist their help during the creation phase.

1. Decide how many pictograph cards you want to create. Each 8.5 x 11 inch card stock page should hold about 8 images.

2. Setup your word processing program so that you have a table with 2 columns and 4 rows. Add borders to distinguish between the cards and to give you a straight edge for cutting into smaller pieces.

3. Find free online clipart depicting the items that you want your children to find on the road trip. Be really creative. Your choices will be somewhat limited on your location and destination.

Examples: If you are going to a national park, choose wildlife and nature images. If you are traveling to a city, find images of famous landmarks. You can also look for common images that you might find on a typical freeway or highway such as road signs and vehicles. See the photo accompanying this article for a few ideas.

4. Paste a single image into each cell of the table that you created in your word processing program. Under each image, type the name of the object. This step will help younger children with reading and spelling skills.

5. Keep adding images until you have a good selection of items. Add multiple pages, and plan for at least a dozen different images. You can also make a separate set of pictograph cards for items to find once you arrive at your destination.

6. Cut the images into separate cards using the scissors.

7. Group each set together using a rubber band.

8. Make one set of pictograph cards for each child.

How to Play the "I Spy" Pictograph Card Game During Road Trips

Give each child his or her own set of playing cards to avoid any squabbles. Tell your children that the first person to find all the objects wins a special prize. Be sure to pack a special prize such as a new coloring book.

As a child finds a particular item, he or she can turn the card upside down to indicate the item is found or use a crayon to draw a checkmark on the back of the card.

For a more challenging version of the "I Spy: Pictograph road trip game, use different images for each child.