New Friday, new theme! Welcome to our weekly series, Preschool Fun. Today our activities center around something we aren’t using much right now, but kids still love. That’s right, CARS!
Start by asking your child a few questions.
It’s important to let them express themselves and feel their opinions are validated. Plus, it’s neat hearing their responses!
- What does a car sound like?
- Have you been in a car? Did you like it?
- What color car is your favorite?
As a librarian, I always encourage reading a book.
If your child loves cars, there’s a strong chance you have a book at hand. If not, find a book that might have a picture of a car in it and have them point it out. Still no car book? No worries – we’ll make a book at the end of this!
It’s song time!
You know the tune to “I’m a Little Teapot”? Let’s sing “I’m a Little Race Car”!
I’m a little race car, with four wheels,
When I go fast, it makes people squeal,
When I rev my engine at the race,
I vroom, vroom, vroom at a supersonic pace!
There are tons of videos on cars you can watch. Pick your favorite! My eldest likes “Cars, Cars, Cars” from Storybots, and my youngest likes “Baby Car” because the love of “Baby Shark” is strong in our household.
Now, let’s use our imagination and pretend to drive a car.
Have your child sit on the floor and do the following. (Or, if you have one, sit in a box! Decorate the box to look like a car.)
- I’m putting on my seatbelt.
- I’m driving very fast.
- I’m driving very sloooooow.
- The lights are turning red. What do I do?
- The lights are turning green. What do I do?
- Turn around!
- Honk the horn!
- And park!
- (Optional: Discuss opposites – fast/slow, stop/go)
After you do that a few times, play Simon Says. You tell your child what to do, but you have to say, “Simon Says!” If you don’t say “Simon Says,” they shouldn’t do it. Some car-themed examples: Simon Says put on your seatbelt. Simon Says honk. Simon Says go fast. Simon Says go slow. Simon Says vroom.
This week, instead of science, we’re doing math by making a car track!
Get out some tape (masking, painters, whatever you have that you can use without ruining your floor) and have your child make a car track around the room. Use a ruler or tape measurer to measure it! Challenge them to make a road 5 inches long. Then 8. Discuss which road is longest. Which road is shortest? How can you make a road longer? Can you make a road 5 inches longer? Can you make a circle? Can you make a square?
Once your track is done, have cars roll around it! For extra fun, make road signs (stop sign, directional sign, traffic lights, etc.) If you don’t have a toy car, you can glue spare buttons on a toilet paper roll.
For our art activity, let’s paint with cars.
If you don’t mind getting a toy car a little painted, dip the wheels in paint and let it roll around on paper. Tire track art! If you’d rather not get the toy painted, make the above toilet paper roll car with buttons and use that.
Have a dirty (or painted) car? Time for car wash sensory play! Have a bowl of soapy water and a bowl of clean water. Let your child scrub their toy clean with the bubbles and then rinse. Don’t forget to dry! Use clean paint brushes or sponges to get it sparkly.
Last, make your own car book!
- Staple papers together and have each page represent a different color car.
- Write (or have your child write) “The car is ____” (The car is blue, the car is red, etc.)
- Illustrate! (Draw, color, cut out pictures from magazines, print out pictures, etc.)
Hope you had fun, and I’ll see you next week!
