Sneaky Teacher: Bust Kids' Brain Drain While Running Errands, Driving in the Car

July 20, 2011— -- intro: Worried about your kid's brain melting in the summer heat? A day of running errands can be a great opportunity for parents to sneak in summer learning for kids.

Parenting.com shares a few fun ideas for making the most out of your next trip to the grocery store, bank, bookstore and more -- plus, things you can do at home and great games to help keep kids' minds sharp in the car as you go from place to place.

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quicklist: 5title: In the Car text:

Simon Says: Ask your child to touch his nose, kick up his leg, put his hands in the air and so on.

Look for...: Challenge your kids to find (with a little help from you) something in the car or outside the window that's in the shape of a square. Then try a circle, a triangle and so forth. Look for colors next, then sizes.

Scribble Art: Give all passengers a washable marker, paper and a hard surface to write on (use a book or lap tray). Have everyone draw one squiggly line on the paper, then trade with someone else. Now try to make a picture out of what's there. Can each of you guess what the other's drawing shows?

You Don't Say ...: Make a list of words that no one's allowed to say, such as "car," "tree" and "dad." When someone utters a forbidden word, she has to entertain everyone else with a silly song or story tied into the day's errands (or some other "punishment" of your family's devising).

Repeat After Me: Have the youngest child in the car start by saying, "I have something in my pocket, and it's a _________" (she should fill in whatever object she wants). Each subsequent player repeats that sentence and adds an item to the list. The trick: You have to name every object in the correct order or you're out.

Dig for Digits: Pick a number -- as simple as 4 or as hard as 102 -- and see who can be the first to find it on a street sign, billboard, or license plate.

Get more parenting tips from "GMA."

For more ways to prevent summer brain drain, visit Parenting.com.

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