Five Fun Ways to Sneak Learning into the School Run

Expert Reveals Five Fun Ways to Sneak Learning into the School Run

The school run can be stressful at times, from traffic jams to back seat spats – not to mention long car trips over the weekend or school break,. However, parents may be missing a trick to fit in a little literacy learning and calm, according to ABC Reading Eggs literacy specialist and mum, Sara Leman. Sara shares five simple ways to turn traffic, or a lengthy car trip, into a teaching opportunity for kindy kids:

Adorable little girl using tablet in car on car seat. Trip . High quality photo. Image courtesy of Reading Eggs.

🚗 Sign Spotters

Turn the car ride into a letter-hunting adventure. Create a grid with focus letters and challenge them to spot road signs or objects outside that match the letters on their grid.

Why it works: This activity connects written letters with their sounds, for a teaching method called phonics, which is essential to early reading.

🚗 Clap and Count

Look for objects or landmarks out the window and say them out loud. Have your child repeat the word and clap the syllables. For example, if you see a “bus stop,” they clap twice.

Why It’s Great: Syllable clapping boosts phonological awareness, which is the ability to recognise that words are made up of smaller sounds, such as syllables.

🚗 Plate Palooza!

Spotting licence plates is a fun, versatile phonics game. Simply ask your kid to look for letters on licence plates and come up with a word with that letter.

Why It’s Great: This game builds phonemic awareness, which is the ability to identify and manipulate the individual sounds, or phonemes.

Mum driving car with kids in the back seat. Image courtesy of Reading Eggs.

🚗 Chop it Up

Give your child a simple CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) word, like “man.” Have them break it down by sounding it out and doing a “karate chop” motion with their hands after each sound.

Why It’s Great: This activity helps with phonemic awareness and spelling. The physical chop action makes it easier for kids to focus on individual sounds, improving their ability to segment and blend sounds.

🚗 Revving Rhymes

Spot a letter on a road sign or in your surroundings. Have your child say the letter, its sound and a word that starts with that sound, like “mouse.” Next, challenge them to think of a word that rhymes!
Why It’s Great: Rhyming also helps kids develop phonemic awareness by identifying sound patterns, which is an essential early literacy skill.

🌟 BONUS: For when you need to concentrate

Even the best drivers sometimes need peace and quiet to safely navigate traffic. That’s when self-directed educational programs are invaluable. Simply pass them a tablet and let them get lost in an educational app like ABC Reading Eggs, which uses evidence-based literacy principles and a colourful world filled with fun critters to make learning to read fun.

It’s the perfect habit to get into, as kids can build their reading ability in just 15 minutes a day. What’s more, 91% of parents see an improvement in just a few short weeks of regular usage. Whether you’re on the school run or heading down the coast, there’s a fun and affordable way to keep kids entertained and amp up their education before the school bell, or following the afternoon pick up.

For more information on Reading Eggs, visit their website.

🚗 Do you have a tip for keeping the kids entertained on the school run or road trip? Drop us a comment at info@theinnerwestmums.com.au