Our Road Trip Playlist for Kids

We just embarked on a three month adventure in the Southern part of the U.S. For the past few years we have traveled down South in the winter for a variety of reasons (involving work opportunities and the desperate desire to avoid Michigan winters). We did our first trip with just one child, and now, five years later, we have three. Each year has been a little different in terms of the amount of time we spend on the road, if we fly for a portion of the trip, if we take two cars or one, and so on. Last year, it wound up being me in one car with the then five-year-old, three-year-old and one-year-old. Let’s just say it was less than perfect. By the end of the road trip I think each child had puked at least once, and we’d had one or more potty accidents. There were quite a few tears as well (and not just in the eyes of my children). Last year I tried endless snacks, individual snack bags, gifts every hour of the trip, and I had about 15 audio books to choose from–none of which truly captured their attention.

This year, I wound up having less time to plan our journey because we kept changing our departure date and finally just packed up and left one morning to avoid days of impending snow and doom. I did have time to go to the library to get a few audio books and to download some stories on an old iPhone that I figured out how to use as an MP3 player (I’m a little slow with technology!). We wound up just having a few choices, and they happened to be the right ones, because my kids loved them. Despite driving in snow, sleet, and rain all the way from Michigan to Florida, my boys were mesmerized by these stories and music and they did absolutely fabulous. I feel like we actually hit a sweet spot with the travel this year. Even though it was long and exhausting, it wasn’t filled with fighting and puking! Yes!

Here’s our road trip playlist that kept my kids (and me) happy for the whole trip.

1. Flat Stanley’s Worldwide Adventures Audio Collection: Books 1-12 My kids have read the first few Flat Stanely books, but honestly, I didn’t even know about the Worldwide Adventures. My library just purchased these, and so we were one of the first families to check them out. Twelve books! Wow, who knew these would be so much fun. Flat Stanley and his family travel all over the world, visiting different historical sites from the Great Wall of China to the Grand Canyon. My four year old absolutely loved these, and every time I tried to change to something else, he would yell for more Flat Stanley. We got through about seven of the CDs, and that accounted for hours upon hours of enjoyment.
2. Jim Gill Sings the Sneezing Song and Other Contagious Tunes This CD provided more laughs than you can imagine. Listening to songs about old sock stew, sneezing, and a silly dance contest, my kids were in stiches. We didn’t put this CD in until the end of the trip, but when we did, it was on repeat for about three hours before we reached our destination. Now that we are here, they listen to it literally every day. It’s hilarious, and something everyone from my two year old to my six year old enjoys.
3. Classical Conversations Timeline We originally bought this CD last year to supplement our homeschool curriculum, and we pulled it out again for this trip. We’ve been listening to it often here in Florida as well. A full timeline of world history starting with creation (yes, it has a Judeo-Christian emphasis) all the way to President Obama. The tune is catchy, and you find yourself singing phrases like “Roman Republic, Golden Age of Greece, Pelopponesian Wars, Persia Falls to Alexander the Great, India’s Mauryan Empire, Myans of Mesoamerica…” while washing dishes. It’s a great tool for getting some history “pegs” into your kids brain so that later when they learn all the facts, they’ll have the order already in their mind. Plus, it’s just fun. My kids love this, and “Timeline” was actually one of my youngest child’s first words!
4. Around the World Stories You may have seen me share about these on social media, because when I discovered them I was super excited! These audio stories are downloadable to your computer, phone, or mp3 player, and they are adventures from around the world. Stories are set in different countries and with local characters. They intersperse culture in the stories by introducing foreign language words and phrases, local cuisine, and customs. Right now there are 32 stories, but the creators add to them each week. I signed up for the full year subscription, to get all the stories, but you can choose a monthly subscription as well. I honestly haven’t come across anything like this.

There you have it. Not too extensive, actually. For a three-day trip, these few resources kept us occupied the entire time. I loved not having millions of CDs to sort through in the front seat, and this seemed to hold their attention better than offering endless snacks or cheap treats every hour. I’ve been hanging on to these CDs while we are here too, and I really need to send them back to the library…renewing them again is selfish, right?

What’s your roadtrip playlist? I’ll be sharing what I listened to in an upcoming post. I basically streamed podcasts for about 18 hours straight (and loved it!). 

Do you get out of town in the winter, or is summer your season of travel? I’d love to hear what keeps you and your kids occupied on your adventures. 

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