It’s no secret my son loves cars and trucks (and pretty much all vehicles). So it should come as no surprise that his favorite books revolve around those things with wheels. I’ve been dreaming up vehicle-related craft ideas, most of which I’m not sure the 2 1/2 year-old is patient enough for (who has time to wait for things to dry?).
But then I heard the Play-Doh calling my name. Actually, it was screaming, all because of this book:
It was almost too easy to think of what we could do to bring this book alive.
We have literally read Making Tracks (Tonka) a thousand times — Woe to those who miss or change a word when reading it to the little guy.
Now we had used construction vehicles to mess around in Play-Doh before, but when I collected the trucks and cars with the deepest treads on their itty-bitty tires and suggested we make our own tracks, Monkey got excited. I mean, REAL excited.
We had lots of fun comparing truck treads and their tire marks in the Play-Doh.
And if you’re making tracks with trucks, what better way to roll out the Play-Doh than with a road roller?
How have you made a book “come to life” for your little ones?
Linked up at JDaniel4’sMom and Mommy’s Adventures
Keitha says
What fun! We also like to make tracks in shaving cream and paint.
admin says
We haven’t tried it in paint yet – little guy worries about how dirty his cars are. We have done shaving cream, with me wiping them off each time, lol, but it was fun!
Adrienne says
That’s a great activity! Very cute!
admin says
Thank! Loved your post with the horseshoe crab!
Ginny Marie says
So much FUN! And you even had black play-doh! At preschool, we put some brown paint on paper, and let the kids roll a tractor through the paint as though it were mud to make mud tracks. Messier, but fun!
admin says
Yes, black is his favorite color, so when I found some at Halloween I stocked up….
Love the paint idea – I will have to remember that when he is passed the “don’t get the car dirty” stage.
Jacklynn says
That looks like a ton of fun! What a great idea 🙂
admin says
It was! That’s the first thing he wanted to do for the next 3 days.
Isabel says
oh my…..what fun! My daughter loves play-doh and dinosaurs; these two items together could equal an afternoon of fun. Thanks for the idea; i hate to admit that i would have never thought of it!
admin says
Oh mine have played wth dinos and Play-Doh, too! We even have little ones just for it.
JDaniel4's Mom says
JDaniel would love this! The books looks like lots of fun!
Thank you for linking to Read.Explore.Learn.
admin says
Thanks for hosting! I’ve been wanting to link up for a while now but never get to typing out my posts…
Tara @ secretsofamomaholic.com says
I have to say we have a lot in common! I have a 4 yr old and a 2 yr old! My son also loves anything with trucks, cars or trains (Thomas to be specific). I love, love, love this idea! I’m going to buy him the book and play doh for his easter basket! I’m sure he will love the hands on activity linked to the book! Great idea!
Tara @ secretsofamomaholic.com says
Ginny’s comment sparked my memory- we have a cars aquadoodle that make tracks when you drag the cars across it. It comes with Lightening McQueen and Mater…for a quicky-no cleanup kinda day! My son loves it.
admin says
Oh, now that sounds like a winner! I’m thinking my little guy would LOVE that – might need to look for it for Easter or his birthday! (And I love the no clean-up…)
Tara @ secretsofamomaholic.com says
I know- the cleaning gets out of hand. I feel like that is all I do some days! I bought the cars Aquadoodle in Toys R Us during Christmas time & got a GREAT sale on it. Originally- it was $30 which I think is very expensive for an Aquadoodle! So keep your eyes peeled for a sale on this bad boy! I think I paid $18.
admin says
Thanks for the tip – I’ll be looking around for it to be on sale, maybe an early Easter one…