Brain-Building Games to Play in the Car

By Susie McDaniel, DPT and Beth Ardell, MPT*

A family road trip or even daily errands in the car can offer great opportunities to build cognitive skills. Cognitive skills are the mental tools that one uses to think, reason, remember, and learn. This list of brain-building games to play in the car can help people of all ages to strengthen their cognitive skills:

Build a Story in the Car: This game starts with the phrase “in the car there was…” and the first person fills in the blank with anything, such as “a French goat.” The next person repeats that and adds another object or phrase (e.g., “In the car there was a French goat cooking on a George Foreman Grill”). The game ends when one of the players forgets part of the story. Encourage kids to picture the scene and try to connect the story with vivid images. 

What it helps: Long-term memory and divided attention

I Spy a Sound: The first person begins with a phrase such as, “I spy something that starts with the ‘S’ sound.” The other players take turns guessing, and between each guess they get another sound clue, such as “I see something that starts with the ‘S’ sound and is the color that starts with the ‘R’ sound.” 

What it helps: Logic, reasoning and auditory processing

Paperless Tic-Tac-Toe: Take the classic game of tic-tac-toe and assign each box a number. Have your child visualize this grid in her mind and call off the box number in which she wants to place her mark. Or, try playing tic-tac-toe by drawing the grid in the air and pointing to the box where you want to place your mark. The game is over when someone wins with three in a row, or when someone loses by taking an occupied spot.

What it helps: Memory, visualization, planning, focus and problem solving

20 Questions: Think of a person or object and give your child 20 chances to narrow down what you’re thinking of by asking yes or no questions. To help them improve their logic and reasoning, teach them to strategize by using questions that will significantly narrow down the categories, such as “Are they alive?” or “Do we have one at home?” 

What it helps: Logic, reasoning and memory

Sing your own Song: Have a blast replacing the words to “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” with your own made-up version. Someone sings the first line, then the next person quickly comes up with and sings the next line, and so on until the song is finished. “Mom and I are in the car.” “Today we are going very far.” “On to Texas, the lone star state.” “It has cowboys, I think that’s great.” “Mom and I and are driving in the car.” “We’re having fun, yes we are.” Move on to other tunes after you’ve tackled this one.

What it helps: Strategy, rhyming, auditory processing and processing speed

Make a Mental Movie: Start with a subject like a puppy and then have your child help create what the puppy looks like; his size, shape, color, etc. Have your child talk about where the puppy is; next to a car, in the forest, etc. Then have your child add details such as the weather or what the dog is saying. By developing pictures with color, size, perception, sound, and background, kids learn how to develop a more complete picture.

What it helps: Attention, logic and reasoning, working memory

Rhyme Time: Have your child choose four rhyming words and use them to create a poem. For younger kids, simply say a word, then take turns coming up with words that rhyme with it.  

What it helps: Auditory analysis, verbal rhythm, memory

Abstract Storytelling: Have your child demonstrate a story, such as “Humpty Dumpty,” by using objects from around the house like paper clips, cups, pillows, chairs, etc. to represent items and thoughts from the story. For older kids, make this more difficult by having your child demonstrate more abstract thoughts. Adages, clichés, or famous quotes work well, such as, “don’t count your chickens before they hatch,” or “no news is good news.” 

What it helps: Executive thinking, comprehension, and visual processing

Sound Bee: Say a two-sound word, like bee or tie, and have them tell you which sounds are in the word (“b” and “ee” for “bee” and “t” and “ie” for “tie”). Then start to increase to three-sound words like cat, (“c” “a” and “t”) and tree (“t” “r” and “ee”). 

What it helps: Auditory segmenting, which is necessary for spelling

If you can keep some brain-building tools in the car, consider these. They take up little space and have no small pieces to lose:

Simon: The original echo game, “Simon,” is great for auditory processing, memory and processing speed.

Bop-It Extreme: This is a fun tool for building many cognitive skills, including auditory processing, logic and reasoning, processing speed, planning, and selective attention.

Stop-Watch: One fun brain-building game with a stop watch is something the brain-training experts at LearningRx call “Ten Things.” This game is wide open for variations and gives lots of laughs. One person simply times another as he quickly gives a list of ten things. The timer gives the category, then immediately says “go”. Examples include ten things that start with ‘B’, girls’ names, state capitals, foreign countries, things in Mom’s purse, things you see that are green, rock bands, sports, etc. The person who gives their list fastest wins. This builds processing speed, working memory, sustained attention and visual and auditory processing. 

These brain-building games and tools will help make your summer car time more productive and, best of all, more fun!

* Susie McDaniel and Beth Ardell are the owners and directors of LearningRx Atlanta-Buckhead as well as the owners of LearningRx Alpharetta-Johns Creek, a brain training center that works with individuals to improve their learning ability through cognitive brain training. Both are mothers who have seen their own children’s cognitive abilities improve greatly through LearningRx programs.  LearningRx offers cognitive skills testing and intense one-on-one brain training that improves academic achievement, boosts self-esteem, and permanently increases IQ.  For more information about these and other learning topics, contact LearningRx Alpharetta-Johns Creek at 770-475-3276 or LearningRx Atlanta-Buckhead at 404-252-7246, or visit www.learningrx.com.