Car Tunes: Musical Games for Kids

Is there anything a parent dreads more than a long car ride? Especially those of us who are resisting the siren call of the portable DVD player? Hours and hours on end with a child or two can seem like veritable eternities for everybody involved. However, with the aid of a handy radio, you can at least eat up some time with these carpool games.

• Singer Profiling: When listening to a song on the radio, engage your kids in an imagination game about what they think the singer looks like - skinny or fat? Short or tall? What color is their hair? What kind of clothes do they wear? Where do they come from? You'll be amazed at some of the ideas your kids have. This, of course, works best if they have no idea what they're listening to.


• Pick An Instrument: When a song starts playing, do your best to mimic one instrument with your mouth - the bass, the drums, the guitar, et cetera. You don't have to do it perfectly, but put feeling into it. Once you're in the groove, try to get your other passengers to pick instruments of their own and join you. When they least expect it, turn the volume on the radio down really low so all you hear is your family a cappella arrangement.


• All The World's A Song: Have one passenger name something to sing a song about. One other passenger (or you, the driver), has one minute to come up with a song about that thing. They must sing the song at full volume to the entire car. When they're done, they get to pick the next topic and singer.