How to Keep Kids Entertained During Summer Road Trip

We’re in te last month of summer which means time to get those summer travel done before the kids head back to school. Two weeks ago, I shared with you some suggested road trips ideas, but a road trip isn’t complete without entertainment. You’ve packed the snacks, downloaded the perfect playlist but it doesn’t end there.  Before you hit the road, here is an how to guide on how to keep kids entertained during summer road trip:

How to Keep Kids Entertained During Summer Road Trip

For us, the key to a successful trip is about getting the girls involve with the planning and ultimately the trip as a whole. For our latest adventure, the girls brought along their new Fire tablet. The tablet is serving multiple purposes.

As we planned the trip, it was instrumental in keeping the kids busy while I pack and get everyone out the door and on time to avoid traffic. With Amazon FreeTime, a free app we downloaded onto the device, it helps us manage how the girls are using the device. I can curate content that’s suited for their age and grade level; I can set educational goals, and my favorite feature hands down is the ability to set screen time limits.

I know that’s the girls’ least favorite feature but as a mom, this is the only way to keep them from spending the whole summer glued to the screen.  The device has about 7 hours of battery life, and if I let them, they will spend all 7 hours either watching movies, listening to music, playing games and maybe if they want to make me feel good, spend the last few hours reading a book.

As we made our way to our destination, I made some printables crossword possible geared towards the theme of the trip. Also, they wanted to catch up on some of their favorite shows, so that bought us a few hours of entertainment.

When I got tired of hearing, “are we there yet?”,  I gave them a fun project – I told them to take some pictures as we drive, so they can add it to their summer essay when they get back to school. Here are a few pictures they took using the tablet minus their gratuitous selfies.

When I asked them why they took this picture, “That house looked so lonely, like who would choose to build a house in the middle of nowhere.”

Surprisingly, the pictures they took with the tablet were pretty good. The Fire tablet has a 2 MP rear-facing camera for photos and 720p HD video capability.  By the time they took the umpteenth picture, we were at our destination.

If your kids want to take their favorite shows with them, you can just download it onto an external MicroSD card for easy access on the tablet.

Because kids will always be kids, we have a slim and lightweight cover from Amazon so that it can protect against any bumps and accidental drops.

Your turn, how do you keep your children entertained during a road trip?