Making a road maze
Here’s a fun activity we tried – creating a road maze! All you need is some masking tape. The kids taped the masking tape all over the floor, making roads that intersect and form a fun maze. You can even add buildings along the sides of the roads. And, of course, we had cars driving through the maze. It was a blast!
Paper car tunnels
Since my son is obsessed with cars, we’re always looking for new car activities. These paper tunnels are a fun addition to our playtime! My son loves using larger pull-back cars because they roll further down the tunnels. For extra fun, we also use tape roads, so the cars can zoom through the tunnels on their own little highways. It’s been a hit in our house!
Egg Carton Car Craft
We had this egg carton saved for a while so we decided to transform it into cars. First, we cut the egg carton compartments out, and painted on them. Then came the fun part — decorating. We used large buttons, googly eyes, stickers, markers, and feathers. We attached the strings to some of the cars, and my toddler got really excited to pull the cars around. These DIY toys inspire creativity and fine motor skills. It’s a win-win for both fun and development!
Pressed Flowers Contact Paper Car Craft
You’ll need:
- Clear contact paper or packing tape
- Cardboard (we used cardboard from a cereal box)
- Flowers
We created this beautiful car craft using pressed flowers and cardboard from a cereal box! First, we cut out a car shape from the cardboard. Then, we placed contact paper on one side, arranged the pressed flowers on top, and covered the other side with contact paper. You can also use packing tape instead of contact paper. For longer-lasting results, it’s best to use flowers that have been pressed and dried in advance, but freshly pressed flowers work just as well. This craft turned out so pretty!
Build the longest road track
Challenge accepted! We set out to build the longest Hot Wheels track ever. Using Hot Wheels Straight Track set, we connected as many pieces as possible to create an epic road. To add some excitement, we placed random boxes and books under parts of the track to make hills, and positioned a big box at the end to catch the cars. The key is to start from a high point to give the cars enough momentum to reach the finish. It was so much fun watching the cars zoom down the track!
Here’s a color sorting activity that we recently did, that was fun for my 3-year-old and my 8-year-old.
We have a container of various cars but sometimes other toys make it to this container. I brought colored sheets of construction paper, and the children’s task was to place cars/toys of the matching color to the correct color sheet. It took them about 15 minutes to organize all toys and I had time to do the dishes.
Bubble Bath Car Wash
This time we decided to introduce an element of frothy fun by adding a bubble bath to our bathtub play. My son loves his toy cars and when he saw foamy bubbles he immediately used them to play car wash. We grabbed his toy cars and covered them in bubbly foam. With a brush, we cleaned them and rinsed them with water. This bath time car wash became a favorite pastime, combining imaginative play with sensory exploration. The same activity can be done for washing toy animals.
Roll cars down the slide
Rolling cars down the slide is a simple yet entertaining activity that can keep our toddler engaged for quite a while. All you need is a slide or any flat surface that can be angled. We like to use a stair slide set on the stairs. We also love to add a ramp at the bottom to make the cars jump into the air. Just grab a container of cars, start rolling them down, and watch the fun. Then, do it all over again!
Play with color-changing cars
Playing with color-changing cars is a favorite activity for my kids. They especially love using them during bath time. I bring a cup with ice and cold water, and they dip the cars into the cold and hot water to watch the colors change. Sometimes, I set up bowls of hot and cold water at a table for them to play with. My son adores these color-changing cars, while my daughter enjoys the color-changing sea animal toys. It’s always a hit!
Beans and trucks sensory play
Beans and trucks sensory play is a favorite at our house! Beans are our go-to sensory base because they’re easier to clean up than rice or sand. I usually spread a large sheet or tablecloth on the floor, then we pour out the beans and bring in our construction toys. My son loves using an excavator to load beans into the trucks. Sometimes, we bury little toys under the beans for a fun treasure hunt, or use a bulldozer to push the beans around. As with any activity it’s especially fun if we haven’t done it for a while, so I try to hide a container with beans and take it out only once in a while.
Car restaurant pretend play
I underestimated the benefits of pretend play. You can teach kids so much by pretending to do various things. For example, here we made a restaurant for our favorite toys (cars), we set up plates and cups and pretended that the cars were eating and drinking. I took a psychology class recently and learned that through pretend play you can work through different scenarios. For example, you can make sure that the cars wash hands before eating, and if one of the cars didn’t wash hands it might have gotten sick. For older kids it’s very interesting to play school with kids, you get to find out what’s happening in school. You can pretend that one classmate is not treating another classmate right, and how to handle things in this case. Pretend play is a safe place for kids to experience emotions since things are happening not to the children themselves but to the toys.
Paint and wash cars
One of my son’s favorite activities is painting on toy cars and then washing them. It’s perfect for bath time but can also be done outside if you’re feeling adventurous. We did the same activity with my daughter when she was little, but we used animal toys instead. It’s always a hit and lots of fun!
Color match wheels to cars
I’ve been saving pouch caps and wanted to use them for a fun car-related activity. We came up with a great idea: matching the color of the wheels to the color of the cars. It turned out to be a creative and enjoyable way to play while learning about colors! These printable cars are free to download.
Build a tower and crush it with a truck
It’s a lot of fun to see a tower being crushed into by a truck. We have been using these Stacking Cups for a variety of activities.