Sunday, 21 May, 2017 - 12:00
Category: 
Activities
Games for Students when travelling to school camps

School camps, school excursions and road trips with a busload of energetic students can be challenging, to say the least. Forget headphones and some quiet time – you will need to stay on your toes to keep your students positive, focussed ... and in their seats!

School camp and school excursion veterans will tell you that preparation is the key to a successful road trip – both before and during your school excursion or school camp.

A little bit of extra work and planning before you leave will pay off handsome dividends, and ensure you all arrive in a good frame of mind.

If you are on a day school excursion, some simple games will fit the bill. If you are heading out of town, or even interstate, you will need to map out your journey beforehand and pick out parks and places of interest to stop along the way.

If you need to re-fuel on the way, try to plan your stops in towns with good recreational areas. If time is short, at least give students a chance to stretch their legs – and expel some energy – with mini-breaks along the way.

Park the bus at the local oval and get students to run around the oval once, or kick a soccer ball around in the park before everyone piles back on the bus.

Quick Tip!
While on the bus plan to use the games and fun activities on the following pages to keep students focussed and entertained!

Top tips for road trips!

The poking...the prodding...the wriggling...the noise...School camps and school excursions can seem overwhelming when you’re on the bus and your students are getting bored and fidgety. These tried-and-tested travel games and activities will help to banish boredom and keep your students focussed and engaged.

01 ROAD TRIP BINGO
Print off paper ‘bingo’ cards – a wide range of template bingo cards can be found on the internet – and hand them out to students, along with a clip board and a pencil or texta. Call out numbers one by one in a clear voice from the front of the bus. The first student to cross off all their numbers is the winner.

Helpful tip - An alternative game to traditional bingo is Silent Bingo. Instead of creating bingo cards with numbers, create custom-made bingo cards with pictures instead of numbers. Your bingo card might contain pictures of a truck, roadside motel, a four-wheel drive vehicle, a road house, an eagle, a fence, a gum tree, cattle, sheep, a baby, a wombat warning sign, a dog on a lead, a 60-km road sign, an 80-km road sign etc. Students put a cross through the picture when they ‘spy’ that item out of the window. The winner is the first person to cross out their entire card.

02 CELEBRITY HEADS
In the weeks leading up to camp or day excursion, gather images of famous people (head only) and arrange and photocopy them on to one page, with space underneath each photo for a dotted line. Hand the sheets out to students, along with a clip board and a pen or pencil. The challenge for students is to correctly identify the name of each celebrity ‘head’ in the shortest possible time and write their answer underneath each photo on the dotted line. The first student to correctly identify all the celebrity heads is the winner.

Helpful tip - Custom tailor your celebrity head challenge to suit the age group of your students. For example, younger students will better identify with images of cartoon characters/teachers from the school/TV characters, while older students will better be challenged with photos of politicians, sporting stars, historical figures and movie stars.

03 I WENT TO THE SHOP

This alphabet-based game is ideal for a smaller group of students, i.e. students travelling in mini-buses or cars. In fact, the game can be played with as few as two players, but it’s more fun when everyone joins in. The first player says “I went to the shop and picked up…..” followed by something that begins with A, such as “I went to the shop and bought some apples.” The second player repeats what the first student said, but adds something that begins with ‘B’. So he or she might say ‘I went to the shop and I bought some apples and bananas.” The game continues with students adding items beginning with C, D and so on. If someone forgets an item they are ‘out’. The last player to be able to recite all the items on the list wins.

Helpful tip - Feel free to give hints to younger students….not only will it keep the game going for longer, but can help them learn by listening to and processing the hints or cues you provide.

04 CAMP INFORMATION PACKS
You will already have gone through the basics of camp – school camp rules, behavioural guidelines, activities etc – during class, but the long bus trip is an ideal time to re-iterate it all with ‘school camp information packs.’ The packs can contain information including:

  • A map of the camp area and surroundings, so that students can familiarise themselves with dormitories, bathrooms, camp kitchen, emergency exits etc
  • Behavioural guidelines and school camp rules
  • A detailed itinerary, including meal times and activities for each day
  • Meal plans and menus
  • Important safety information, including contingency plans in the event of a fire, what to do if they get lost/disoriented on camp, and how to deal with other emergencies.

05 CAR CHALLENGE
The Car Challenge is a simple game for older students, which helps them to develop observational skills. Arm each person with a clip board, a pen or pencil and a pre-printed sheet containing the names of a range of different car/truck and motorcycle models. As students see the cars/motorbikes on the list, they cross or tick them off. The winner is the first student to complete their list.

Helpful tip - The Car Challenge can be adapted to suit younger students by including car colours – red, blue, orange, yellow, green, black and white – on the list, instead of models.

06 SING ... SING A SONG
Music – and singing - is good for the spirit….and helps pass the time! If you are travelling with older students, consider asking a couple of them to put together a playlist on (your) phone, digital device or CD. Discuss the best option with the travel company before you leave, and whether they are happy for you to play music on the bus. Younger children will enjoy sing-alongs such as Row, Row, Row your Boat.

07 TIC TAC TOE
A traditional favourite, Tic Tac Toe is a simple strategy game that requires only two people, a piece of paper, a clipboard to lean on and a pencil. It’s a good idea to print off sheets of Tic Tac Toe templates, so students can quickly get into the game. The game itself is very simple: Student One places an ‘X’ on the grid, while Student Two plots an ‘O’. Students continue taking turns until one player has three across.

08 MAPPING YOUR JOURNEY
Print off maps of your journey, highlighting points of interest and planned stops along the way. Knowing how to read a map is a valuable life skill, and encourages students to think about time and distance. Providing students with maps – particularly younger students – will help nip that age-old cry of ‘how long now?’ in the bud! If students can roughly work out where they are on the map, it will give them a better idea of how much longer they have to go.

FINALLY Include lots of drink and healthy snack breaks – and ensure students bring a bottle of water with them on board. Staying refreshed and hydrated will keep everyone in better spirits.

Travel checklist
• Printed maps for each student
• Drinks and snacks
• Words for sing-a-long songs
• Template sheets of bingo cards, Tic Tac Toe and the Car Challenge
• Clipboards and pencils for each student
• Small prizes for giveaways
• School camp information handouts.