Donna’s Day: ‘Go to the Moon’ word fun travel game

Kristina Zajic, speech pathologist and mom of 8-year-old Aisha and 10-year-old Elizabeth, loves bins. She has sand-toy bins, Barbie bins, ball bins, pretend-toy bins, office-supply bins and even nail-polish bins.

“When I walk into Target and see a new color, I’m inspired to have the fresh look for the season,” she said. “That’s why I snapped up two bright travel-size bins for my daughters before our three-hour car trip to stay in their grandparents’ fifth-wheel RV at a campsite in the Redwoods.”

For no-tech car-trip entertainment, she filled the bins with new sunglasses, treats and plenty of challenging card games, activity books and art supplies.

“My oldest daughter does get carsick,” she confessed. “That’s when the girls put reading and card games on hold for a while, and we play brain games together. The miles and twisty curves fly by.”

Here’s a word game that’s fun for kids and adults to play together in the car, or however you travel this summer. My daughter taught it to us on a winter car trip.

“Go to the Moon” got us through snowstorms, slippery mountain roads and being asked one too many times, “Are we there yet?”

The person who is “it” thinks of three things that have something in common, such as a mango, pineapple and papaya, all tropical fruits.

“It” then says to the other players, “I’m going to the moon and taking along a mango, a pineapple and a papaya. Who wants to come with me?”

Given the clues, the first player tries to figure out what the items have in common, then names a fourth item that fits the category, such as “banana.”

Another, more complex example might be, “I’m going to the moon and taking along the Twins, the White Sox and the Tigers,” all professional baseball teams. A fourth item that would fit could be the Royals.

If the item fits, “it” responds, “You may come with me.” The next player names an item.

If the player names an item that doesn’t fit, he or she may try again on the next turn. When everyone finally learns the common element, the round is over.

Topics can be as simple or as complicated as you choose. Try to accommodate even the youngest in the family when playing.