Customer Reviews

Carschooling: Over 350 Entertaining Games & Activities to Turn Travel Time into Learning Time - For Kids Ages 4 to 17

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Some of the author's suggestions seem far-fetched for use in a moving vehicle. She has kids popping balloons to find fun messages inside; banging on drums; stopping the car to examine roadkill; cooking foil-wrapped packages of food on the car engine...all these and some other suggestions of the author's are educational and memorable, no doubt, but also distracting for the driver in heavy traffic or at high speeds.
I doubt, too, that the average vehicle could contain all the storage bins full of supplies, coolers full of healthy snacks for the "carschool cafeteria", and backpacks full of books and toys that the kids pack for themselves--and still have any room for groceries, luggage, etc.. If you spend a LOT of time in the car, it might be worth the upkeep and expense to equip the car this way.
Still, there are good car activities in this book, mostly of the 'find stuff out the car window' type, though she offers some fun activities with paper money and coins that kids will like. And the mental math games are fun.
Basically, if you strip away the 'laughable/too distracting to the driver' activities, then this book is really no better or worse than any other car entertainment book.

Carschooling puts every other book on car travel with kids to shame. I spend a bazillion hours commuting in the car with my 3 children and I have been driven nuts by traditional car games and songs. This book brought some sanity back to my family's commute adn we actually look forward to getting in the car each morning. My son Ben's favorite thing is the math chapter. Doing the dashboard decimals and fastlane fractions has improved his ability to do mental math drills. My daughter loves to flip through the book and read the information highway trivia to everyone in the car. Because of this book we now stop when we see historical markers and learn a little history on-the-go. You cannot imagine the difference this book has made when we're stuck in commute traffic, some of the simple but clever ideas have actually helped my kids get along better in the car. We even do car-dancing in teh car now. My copy is already dog-eared, marked up, and worn and may fall apart before we exhaust all the fun and educaitonal games. If you travel in the car with kids, then beg, borrow, or buy a copy. In fact, auto manufactueres should make this book a standard feature in every family car.

I'm a mom who spends a lot of time with my children in the van. I saw this book at my library and as I thumbed through the pages I was amazed by the really unique ideas for learning on the road. I knew I had to have this book and keep it in my glove compartment. Shortly after I bought it, we were at a dead stop in a traffic jam. My kids were antsy so I just pulled out the book and found all kinds of things you can do with coins and dollar bills in the car. I rummaged through my purse for some spare change and a few dollar bills and gave them to the kids. My kids were fascinated, they quit fussing, and then we started talking about the interesting historical things you can find on a one dollar bill. That one idea alone saved my sanity. I'll never be without Carschooling in the van. It's the best travel idea book I've ever read.

I've never seen anything like this book. My kids have had a ball playing the games in it,especially the ones in the Language Arts and Foreign Language chapters. The activities are so DIFFERENT than most car travel games....they are just a whole lot more interesting and fun. My daughters are learning more in the car than they learn in school, and they REMEMBER what they learn cause they're having fun!!!

I am a homeschooling mother of three children, and I spend most of my time like many other homeschooling moms---driving from here to there all day long. I have always tried to utilize the time in the car, especially for my younger children, in an educational way. When I picked up this book-- I could not believe it!! Carschooling is us!! It is exactly what our family has been doing for years in an unorganized way and this book pulls it all together for us. Carschooling is a great book! For years my children have been learning "on the fly" and Ms. Keith has shown me how to organize that learning. This book has given me validation and helped me to put in perspective our family’s homeschool experience. With Carschooling as a "curriculum" guide, I can come up with many ideas of my own, too! Something especially helpful and fun are the gray boxes "From the Information Highway." These are little informational snippets that provide useful conversation for short or long trips. This book is such a great resource!! It is full of games and product information galore....It also has sprinkled throughout wise advise from the author who is obviously an experienced homeschool mother. Thank you Ms. Keith--

The title is excellent. Great Concept. Road trips, commuting, outings...... Kids today spend more time in cars than imaginable previously.

Many fun but completely impractical suggestions. The more doable ideas are not so creative. It is not a bad book but didn't offer anything new to us. Think music games, word games, craft projects, books on tape and storage. However if you are at a loss maybe this book is for you.

What a great book!

I wish I would have had it this summer on my family "car" vacation. (The airplane mode of travel doesn't seem to be an option anymore.) I look forward to using many of the ideas in this book during the up coming holiday season on our way to the grandparents.

The original ideas in this book far exceed the "slug bug" or "row row your boat" games and songs I played with my brothers and sisters in our family car. Additionally, Diane Flynn Keith has come up with ideas for activities for your shorter cross town excursions too. I have already done some of her activities and they worked.

A must read for anyone who drives a car with children inside.

Using Diane Flynn Keith's ideas has made my driving time enjoyable, less stressful, and has helped me be a better parent. I don't hear anymore, "are we there yet?"

This book is an easy read and more importantly fun!

Diane Flynn Keith has offered what no other book has offered: freedom from the "Are we there yet?" moans from the backseat. "Carschooling: Over 350 Entertaining Games & Activities to Turn Travel Time into Learning Time" takes advantage of the free time that children often have in cars and turns it into learning time. It would be a mistake to view this book as solely for homeschoolers; it is for anyone with children ages 4 to 17 (and beyond). There is no other book like it on the market. If you are a parent and you ever drive with children, trust me, you need this book!

Thomas Nixon
Author, Bears' Guide to Earning High School Diplomas Nontraditionally
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This parenting book is for your family. I have used this book with my own family too. Carschooling besides being well written is very informative and truly unique. Carschooling is such a great resource book I leave in my car and reference it whenever the occasion calls for it. (Lately, that has been frequently.) I have found it works the best for me and my family during heavy traffic times. My children are in the back seat clammering for something to do when I hand them the book and ask them to search the table of contents and come up with something to entertain themselves from it. They find satisfaction from choosing the subject matter they wish to discuss by themselves.

As a parent and teacher there isn't a better one on one parenting book to get the dialog going with my children. It is far superior to the old dreaded "how was school today" question. Carschooling helps me get to know my children as individuals because the conversation starters suggested in the book are insightful and less threating to them. Who knew car time would lead to bonding time?

As a teacher I think this is one of the greatest books to come along in quite a while. I always hope my students' parents will back up what they learn in the classroom by being actively involved in their child's learning when the kids are at home. They often ask me for suggestions for activities they can do and now, I just recommend that they get a copy of Carschooling and use it. Every subject is addressed in the book in the most fun adn creative ways. I can't imagine any teacher, or parent, or student not loving it. A big thank you to the author for making my job (both as a teacher and a parent) a lot easier.