Where Have You Been?

This clever idea, submitted by a carschooling mom in Arkansas, is a great way for kids to keep track of all the different places they have been, and it’s especially ideal if you are traveling on a long road trip.

Before going on a car trip, she copies or prints a map of the United States for each carschooler:  Next, she purchases an inexpensive package of stamp rings.  (Each stamp ring has a different symbol or picture on it, so the kids can tell them apart.)  The kids pick the ring they want and put it on their finger:  As they ride, carschoolers watch for license plates from other states.  If they see one, they locate that state on their map and stamp it with their ring.

An alternative version is to mark off cities, landmarks, topographical features, or anything else you can think of!