If I had to choose only 1 type of toy for my son to play, it would, without question, be matchbox cars. He spends hours each day playing with them - and much of that play includes "lining them up". I decided it would be fun to create a game based on his current passion, and of course - share it with you.
First, print out "car"d template (1 sheet will yield 10 cards). I purposefully left the boxes in the template blank - so that you could fill them in based on the colors of cars that you have in your household (or create more cards). Next, have your child help you color, then cut the "car"ds (we mounted ours on construction paper to make them a little more durable - laminating or printing on card stock will also help them last a little longer).
To play the game: Gather all of your cars and sort according to color. Place a piece of 8 1/2 x 11 paper on the floor in front of the "car"ds. Take turns choosing a "car"d, then position the cars on the sheet of paper according to the pattern/colors on the "car"d. After each turn, the player must place their cars back in the "parking lot".
This game provided us with an easy opportunity to talk about colors, practice counting. It was also a good way to test his understanding of directional words (to the left of, on top of, under, etc..).
Is there someone residing in your house who would love to play this game as well? Download "Car"d Game template HERE.
If you like this idea, you'll also like the "Parking Spot Matching" Car Game that Kristina featured last year:
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Book Spotlight: Do you ever wish your kids liked vegetables a bit more?
Children's author Sahar Bergis has written an adorable book called Lili's Strawberry House that teaches kids about vegetables. We have been using it to get my son excited about eating his veggies! Next week we'll be sharing a few book related activities with you! If you haven't seen the book before, you can check out more information here.
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Did You Know?
Starting June 1st we will be sharing a monthly Toddler Approved newsletter filled with more awesome activities for kids, parenting tips and tools, and other great resources. You can sign up on the blog's sidebar or click the link here to sign up.
I am actually thinking of using some of them while teaching my own kids.
kids learning and fun
great idea! thanks for sharing!
Thanks so much for this great idea! I modified it slightly to include it in a box full of train-themed activities as a birthday present for my toddler's friend. It was a huge hit! Now I want to make a set for my daughter 🙂
You can see my post here:
unschooltheteacher.blogspot.com/2013/08/train-activity-box.html
Thanks again!
Hi! I LOVE your idea for using toy cars to aid in learning colors and patterns! Such a great idea. I can't wait to print a set for my daughter.
We featured your idea in a round up we did on similar do-it-yourself toy car ideas.
feltwithlovedesigns.com/2013/08/02/links-with-love-diy-toy-car-activities/
Thank you for sharing your ideas! Love your blog!
This is such a cool idea!!!!!!!! Thanks for making it easier for us by sharing your printable. Can't wait! Sharing this on FB now….
Great idea! My son would love this.
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Fantastic! I love this and so will my son. Going to make this today. Thank you.
My boys already thank you for this project! HA! And I'd like to put a post with a link back to your details on our activity blog: BusyBagCentral.blogspot.com Will post a note when it's up! Thanks for the printable and the ideas.
Thanks so much!!
One of the best DIY ideas I've seen in a long time, thanks for sharing!
I LOVE that you paired color and pattern matching with cars!
Wow, this is such a great idea! My almost 3 year old is nuts over his cars, but we always end up playing with them in the same way… you know… vroom vroom around the house! I agree with the others… you're brilliant 🙂
Alexis
LOVE it too! So simple and clever 🙂
Brilliant! Thank you for sharing! This is going on my To DO list ASAP!
Love this idea! Brilliant I am going to create this ASAP!
We have so many cars at home 🙂 that would be a great way to play with them. Thank you 🙂
I really love this idea! It looks like it is time to dig out JDaniel's cars!