So easy to do, great way to get kids enjoying and expressing themselves artistically. Plus easy to get them interested in writing!
I saw this on the internet somewhere (it may well been pinterest or one of the many awesome blogs I follow for children’s activities!) and I instantly knew it would be a hit with Reuben (and Toby, although he’s a little young to get the concept).
At the minute, very little that we do together really gets through to Reuben, he is all over the place and has the concentration level of a knat, unless, we involve cars, transformers or diggers and HGVs. So what do you do? Well, you get creative!
This idea is really simple. take a hand full of wax crayons (matching colours if you are anal like I am!) and a few of your child’s favourite cars/trucks/vans etc to attach them to. Take some sticky tape, or electrical tape if you have it, and wrap it around the crayon and the back of the car to strap the two together making sure that the crayon and the bottom of the car are level.
For a young toddler of toby’s age (18m) this was about enjoying using different colours, talking about the colours and playing.
Tape some paper down to your floor, counter or table so it doesn’t slide about, and then “drive” the car around. The crayon will make the marks!
For a child of toby’s age, or just as a fun activity on a rainy day, this is a great idea for allowing the kids to express themselves, however I wanted to challenge Reuben a bit more, so I stencilled out numbers, letters and shapes and had him “drive along” the stencil. This got him used to the idea of the shapes and the movement needed to create them. It was great fun and beyond easy!
For Reuben this was a great activity for revisiting those basics like colours and drawing, and then upping the ante to learn the shapes of numbers and letters by “driving” them out.
Try it out, and if you want to be a bit different try paint brushes (just don’t be too precious about the cars if you go with this option as they will get messy!), felt tips or even chalk on a chalk board.
Harriet x
I think this is an amazing idea. I work in a primary school and feel this would be a good way forward to get our little boys mark making whilst having fun.
Simplistic and effective. I will most definately give it a go!
If you have any other inspirational creative ideas for mark making and art, I would love to hear them.