One or two toy cars quickly became ten, and then twenty, and now we have so many cars we barely have room to store them! Over the years our ever expanding collection of toy cars has been enjoyed with by all our four children, and currently our youngest, three year old Noah, is totally obsessed with them! Cars are a simple, cheap, accessible toy and can be used in so many ways. Here are six of our favourite ways to play.
6 Ways to Play with Toy Cars
1. In the Sand Pit / Sand Tray: Sand is great for making roads, or for scooping and dumping. Combine cars with sand and some other natural materials (rocks, small leafy branches, seedpods, etc) in the sand pit or a sand tray for fun small world play.
2. Race Them: All you need is a large piece of cardboard with a starting line and a finishing line. Find somewhere to rest one end of the ramp to make a slope and you are ready to race. Race two, three or six cars at a time!
Add some extra excitement by building a block wall for them to smash through!
3. Make a Tunnel: Make a simple tunnel by folding the short edges of a piece of A4 (or letter sized) paper over about a centimetre. Tape one of the folded edges to the floor and then gently roll the paper into a tunnel shape and tape the other folded edge to the floor.
4. Add roads: Draw your roads on a big piece of paper or simply transform a large cardboard box into a town. If drawing is not your thing, print out these ready-made roads.
5. Draw With Them: Tape some markers to the back of your cars and zoom around to make art!
6. Make Your Own Car :To make your own car, tuck in or remove the top and bottom flaps of a box, add wheels and some shoulder straps and you are ready to go. Or upscale your child’s car play with a child sized cardboard box car.
Do you have a child who loves to play with toy cars? What is their favourite way to play?
Be sure to check out these other fun play ideas from Kate…
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