Categories Travel Game

Looking for an on-the-go game that can be played anywhere, anytime? Put down the hangman and tic-tac-toe—here's a new one for the family! A great travel game, waiting game, or anytime-you-feel-like-it game. This is a great game to whip out on your next summer trip to keep the kids occupied and their minds active!

What You Need:

• Pencils for each player
• Paper for each player, or printed copies of our template

What You Do:

1. Draw your own template: each player draws a grid with five boxes going across and five boxes down. Leave enough room to write a word in each box.
2. Take turns choosing a letter for the top of each column. Common letters like A,D, L, S, and T are easiest.
3. You've filled out the columns, now it's time for the rows! Along the left, list five categories, such as animals, foods, states, colors, girls' names, countries, or movies.
4. Set a timer for three or four minutes. Each player fills in as many boxes as possible in the time allowed. For example, in the animal row, letter T column, a player might write "tiger."
5. When you're finished, go over everyone's answers. If you'd like, brainstorm some options for the blank spaces that had your child stumped.

This is a nice game to have up your sleeve for long waits at the doctor's office, a summer road trip, or anytime you need to bust some boredom with very few supplies on hand. It gives kids practice writing, grouping, and thinking. And filling in all those boxes is a great way to learn to think out of the box!