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What’s the school run like for you? We have a habit of running late so it usually consists of me pleading, urging, cajoling, shouting, pulling, merrily encouraging (!) my kids to walk the 1.5 mile uphill journey to school… and desperately hoping that the teacher is still stood at the door as we belt around the corner!

This week, my 2yo managed to walk the whole way for the first time. Whilst I’m really proud of her (that’s a 3 mile round trip!), there’s also part of me that knows the school run is going to be even more stressful challenging from now on… I now have to get TWO children up that hill!

I have learnt that the best way to get kids walking (and at a decent speed) is to give them something else to think about. So this got me thinking about all the techniques I use to keep my kids motivated and / or distracted when we’re on the school run.

8 games to play on the school run

Number Spotting

Shout out a number and the first person to find that number (on a door or a bin or a car registration plate, etc) gets to choose the next number. You can also try this with letters or colours.

Singing

Yes folks – I am that person who has a song for every occasion! Current school run favourites include The Sun Has Got His Hat On (wishful thinking!), You Are My Sunshine and My Napsack On My Back (valderiiiiii, valderaaaaa).

Top tip: if you sing faster, they’ll walk faster!

Bug Safari

This one is a little time consuming so is generally limited to the walk home. Bascially, you go hunting for bugs and snap a photo of any that you find. Bonus points if it’s a bug you haven’t yet spotted on the journey.

Races

You can’t beat a good old-fashioned race to get the kids moving. Think running races, jumping races, skipping races, one-eye-closed races – wherever your imagination takes you! I definitely recommend donning some athletic wear for this one though – those patent leather stilettos just aren’t going to cut it! Fabletics has some really cute, affordable options which would be perfect!

I-Spy

I-Spy is a classic. And it’s very apt for the school run because you’re thinking about letters (give yourself a gold star, mummy!)

I spy, with my little eye, something beginning with [insert first letter of item]

If you’ve got little ones with you, you can use colours instead.

I spy, with my little eye, something coloured [insert colour of item]

Car Cricket

Take it in turns to “bat”. The batter scores a point for every car that goes past with a 0 in the number plate. If a car goes past without a 0, that person is out and it becomes the next person’s turn.

Don’t Step On The Cracks

I think every child has played this game on the school run at some point! You have to make sure you don’t stand on any of the cracks between the paving stones. I can tell you from experience that this game is particularly challenging if you’re trying to push a buggy at the same time!

Scavenger Hunt

This is another one best kept to the trip home. Decide on a category of things that need to be collected and the person who has the most at the end, wins. Here are some examples:

• Sticks
• Stones
• Conkers
• Leaves
• Things beginning with the letter T
• Things coloured blue

Top tip: You might want to provide bags to put the items in if you don’t want to end up carrying everything yourself.

What is your school run like? Do you take the car or do you walk? How many kids do you have in tow? What tips do you have for getting to school on time? Let me know in the comments section below!

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