"Get lost" drive

One activity we had to include in our summer before school starts up again is what I call a "get lost" drive.  Basically, you drive around with no particular destination for a set period of time, letting the kids determine where to turn and which direction to go.

We've tried this before, but it hasn't worked so well as a spur-of-the-moment thing.  My kids don't make decisions easily, so giving them five seconds to decide which way to turn and them not being able to decide generally leads to melt-downs all around.

This time, however, I had the genius idea to have each child write down five random directions and then we went through the ranks.

We may or may not have had to delay our trip by my locking the keys in the house and waiting for Hubby to come home to unlock the door.  No really, I meant to do that . . . yeah.

Anyway, we started out and had the kids take turns telling me which way to turn at each intersection.

Here's me, the fearless driver:

The kids, actually cooperating.

 We started out wandering through several subdivisions and decided to make some new rules.  In the future, I would also have each child roll a die to determine how many blocks/stop lights/intersections we go before turning again.  After a bit of parent direction, we finally got out into the countryside.

 

We even found an amazing little private pond.

Now, what are you waiting for, load up the family and try a "get lost" drive of your own.  See what you can discover.