Oops!  I missed the Monday ~ so this is a Tuesday Playdate!
Everyone is welcome to link up to this post all week long with your play related posts, pics and ideas!

Thank you to thsoe who shared their own tree climbing related posts last week!♥

We live in northern Ontario (technically 'near north').  This means that in order to go to 'the city' we check the weather first, and then head out for an hour's drive either north or south. Two or three hours for a 'real' city.

So while we do not spend much time in a vehicle during the week, and can walk most every where in town, when we do go for a drive, it is a long one.

Our van is equipped with a DVD player, but the rule is that the drive must be greater than one hour and generally, the DVD player is reserved for the trip home.  The stack of books and crayons and activities suffice.  But often Rowan wants some interaction, and lacking sisters with whom to sing endless rounds of 'The Ship Titanic' in the back seat, we turn to the old standbys.

I Spy is the favourite (of Rowan)~ I am immediately depressed when she asks to play... because in Northern Ontario, for 8 months of the year, driving on the highway offers a limited palette: green (evergreens), brown (everything), grey (highway), white (clouds or snow), yellow (highway lines), blue (sky) and orange (highway consturction cones and signs). It gets old, fast.


So we get creative! (and educational, but don't tell the kids that!)
I Spy: The Letter Edition~ I Spy with things that start with a specific letter or sound (still rather limited!).
Alphabet Search~ Find all the letters of the alphabet in order, from signs, vehicles etc.
Rhyming ~ a great game for pre-readers and readers alike... one of us chooses a word and we go back and forth adding rhyming words until we are stumped, and then start again.  It is up to you whether you allow made up words (we do so less now that Rowanis over 5).
20 Questions~ the old favourite~ ask 20 yes or no questions to try and guess the thing the other person has chosen.
Alphabet Themes~ We chose a theme (ie household items) and take turns naming one for each letter of the alphabet (I do 'a', she does 'b' etc.).

And should we happen to be in Southern Ontario visiting family, we always love to play Bury Your Cows!
Each person gets one side of the road, and gets to count any and all livestock that are passed on their side (count fast for big herds!). However, should we drive past either a church or a cemetery on that side, you have to bury your cows and start over.

Tell Us About Your Favourite Travel Games or how your survive the Car Trip...

Blog about it, or any other play related topics, photos or ideas and use the link up tool below!  If this is your first playdate at BTRT, follow this link for the button and complete (but simple!) instructions for participation! Don't forget to add the button and link back ♥

Hint: Use the title of your blog post for the 'name' portion of the link up!