Math on the Road: Fun Road Trip Math Games for Kids

Math games for kids are a fun way to keep learning going all year round. Now that summer is here, you’ll have a lot of time to spend with your children. If you’re like a lot of families, you probably don’t want your children to lose those math skills they learned last school year.

Fun Math Games for Kids to Play on the Road

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Fuel Efficiency

This game is great for older kids who are learning about distances and division. For this game, tell your children how far you’re going to travel and about how many miles per gallon your car gets. If your children don’t have strong division skills yet, try averaging your miles per gallon to the nearest ten or five. For example, instead of 23 miles per gallon, tell them that it’s 25 miles per gallon. Have your children calculate different things for your road trip such as how many times you’ll have to fill up gas, how far you’ll have to go before stopping at a gas station, and which city the gas station will be in.

Math Signs

When traveling on the highway, you tend to see a lot of numbers. You see speed limit signs, mile markers, and exit numbers. Set a timer a set period of time. It can be anything from 10 seconds to 1 minute. Have your children write down every number they see before the timer goes off. Once the timer goes off, it’s time to do some math. Your children will need to select four of their numbers to add, subtract, multiply and divide. Have your children create a math equation using all four operations that results in the largest answer (or the smallest answer).

Car Tallies

For this activity, your children will need paper and a pencil. At the same time, have your children begin counting how many cars there are of each color. To make things simpler, you can designate certain colors they need to look for, such as red, yellow, white, and blue. Your children should keep track of the amount of cars they see by making tally marks for each color. After awhile, have your children count up their tallies and see who spotted the most of one color.

License Plate Place Value

This is a great math game that helps teach your children about the importance of place value. As you’re driving on the road, have each child write down a license plate number. They will then need to mix up the numbers to create either the largest or smallest number. Teach them to do this by letting them know that a larger number in a higher place value will create a bigger number, while a smaller number in the higher place value will create a lower number. For example, to make the largest number using the license plate 58019, your children will need to mix up the numbers to create 98,510.

Math is an important skill you need to teach your children, no matter how young or old they are. The best way to do this is to practice different math skills as often as possible. Playing math games for kids in the car is the perfect way to squeeze in a little learning while having some fun with the entire family. Looking for more math games for kids? Check out our cool math games that get younger kids excited about numbers! We also have some great outdoor math activities for kids!

What other math games for kids do your family play in the car? Tell us in the comments.

Don’t forget to check the supplies needed as well as suggestions for board games for the road.