Car trip playlist

Next time you're heading on a long car journey, let the kids take control of the music but under one condition: their playlist has to match the length of the journey.

A young girl in a car, using headphones with her device. A young girl in a car, using headphones with her device.

Things you need

  • Pencil and paper
  • Upcoming family car trip
  • Your favourite music app such as Apple Music or Spotify.

The challenge

Step 1

Determine where your longer car trip will be and approximately how long this will take. For example, when you visit your Grandparents in Griffith, it might take two hours to drive there

Step 2

Get your child to put together a playlist to match the travel time you've estimated to get to your destination. They could include songs, podcasts, or even audiobooks that they think everybody will enjoy.

Step 3

See how closely their playlist matches the actual trip time.

The conversation

  • Talk with your child about converting between units of time. For example, 60 seconds is one minute and 60 minutes is one hour. How can they use this knowledge to help them create their playlist?
  • Bonus activity: Instead of creating a playlist of songs for a car trip, they could create a programming schedule for a family movie night including time for dinner and snacks.
  • Bonus activity: You could help them create a 10-minute playlist for the morning to get them get energised for the day, or a 15-minute tidying-up playlist for the afternoon.

Road safety tips:

When travelling as a passenger remind your child of the following:

  • Always buckle up safely and stay buckled up
  • Be a safe passenger by talking quietly and not distracting the driver
  • When we leave the car always get in and out of the car on the footpath side.

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