Letter T - Traffic Light Craft; Trucks: Foil Painting, Sensory Bin, Floor Play, Numbers, Patterns

Choose which ideas you're toddler will enjoy the most learning about TRUCKS today:

Traffic Light Craft: I found this idea on the Letter T Crafts list on the measured mom blog. I drew three circles (stop light) on a piece of white paper and ripped up pieces of green, yellow and red construction paper. Easton helped glue on the pieces of construction paper to the correct circles. We talked about the meaning of each color in the stop light.

Monster Truck Foil Painting: After watching a Youtube Video about Monster Trucks, we used Monster Trucks to paint on Aluminum Foil. Easton absolutely LOVED this activity. I initially thought this would be a painting activity, but we spent about 45 minutes playing before I even brought the paint out (see top left picture). We pretended each monster truck was a member of our family and we watched each other jump over the ramp. Our trucks ate lunch, took a nap and raced some more. I found a similar idea and tutorial on All for the Boys. Here's what you need:

- Aluminum Foil (from the Dollar Store)

- Ikea Table or a piece of cardboard as a surface to paint on - covered and taped with aluminum foil

- Paper Towel Roll cut in half - covered with aluminum foil and taped onto your table

- Ramp (either bought or made out of cardboard) - covered with aluminum foil and taped onto your table

- Monster Trucks (from the Dollar Store)

- Neon Paint mixed with Dish Soap (we used about 2 Tbs. of paint and 1 tsp. dish soap)

Truck Sensory Bin: We had such a great time doing a Truck Sensory Bin today! We made "dirt dough" by mixing baking soda, water and brown washable liquid watercolor together. I bought a huge bag of baking soda and Costco and added water until the consistency was how I wanted it. Then, I used my hands to mix in our brown watercolor. I added our play construction trucks, plastic Letter T's, and rocks (from the Dollar Store) as well as play kitchen bowls and items from Ikea. When Easton was finished playing with the construction trucks, I brought out our monster trucks from the Dollar Store. We built a ramp for them to jump over. I love watching Easton creativity during sensory play! 

Traffic/Truck Floor Play: I bought a Traffic Rug at Ikea a while ago and pulled it out to play with today. We used our Dollar Store Monster Trucks and our Vehicle/Traffic Sign Set I found at TJ Maxx for this activity.  

Fill the Dump Truck: I found our Fill the Dump Truck printable and picture below from the measured mom blog. The numbers go 1-20 and we only worked on numbers 1-5 (when Easton was 20 months old). We used rocks instead of legos. 

Truck Pattern/Number Cards: I started working on ABAB patterns with Easton when he was 18 months old. I know it seems young, but I also know to never underestimate a child's learning abilities. I figured if we had to start somewhere. Some weeks he wouldn't catch on, but I reviewed ABAB patterns anyways. Easton is now 26 months old and can easily do ABAB patterns. Click on the link to print Truck Pattern Cards from the measured mom blog. We didn't do these, but I also love the measured mom's Transportation Count & Clip Cards. The pictures below are both from her blog.

Truck Pattern Cards (ABAB - fire truck, dump truck, fire truck, dump truck)

Transportation Clip Cards