• Home
  • Meet Sarah
  • Free Starter Kit
  • Shop Resources
  • Search

How Wee Learn

Out of the box learning ideas, playful art, exploring nature, and simple living - that is How We Learn!

  • Quiet Time
  • Letters and Numbers
  • Art
  • Science
  • Get Outside
  • Shop

Toy Truck Games: Learning through Play

February 7, 2014 by Sarah 4 Comments

My experience in the Kindergarten classroom has taught me that wee ones love toy truck games.  Racing, following, crashing, lining up, parking, backing up, towing …. and the list goes on!  The amount of imagination, creativity, and pure play that comes from toy truck games is amazing!

playing with toy trucks

Best of all, the trucks or cars can be anything!  I have seen mini carrots zoom and sputter across tables, and shoes race through the halls.  Wee ones are so creative, and it seems somehow or another, throughout a day in the Kindergarten classroom, someone somewhere is playing with toy trucks (real or carrot)

My Sammy and Benjamin both adore playing with trucks and cars at home, just like with our parking lot small world.  I thought it would be fun to keep track of how Sammy played his toy truck games throughout one morning.

Toy Truck Games:

Painters Tape Racetrack

how we learn through toy truck games

We used painters tape to make a road throughout our family room and around the island in our kitchen.  We love our painters tape!  Painter’s tape makes a fantastic road (we have used it on carpets and furniture as well without an issue).  The toy truck games Sammy played with this road were many.  He simply drove the trucks around and around, chatting away as he went, “No – this way … you follow me … okay I will … we need more gas … no we don’t …. okay … should we crash … yes please … okay … crraaasssshhhh”  It was not my intent, but this road became a ‘Small World’ for Sammy and he became completely absorbed.  (Here is more information on the benefits of Small World Play) After he had driven for awhile, he decided someone had a flat tire and he needed a tow truck, and then a fire truck too.

All of these toy truck games were fantastic for Sammy’s language development and also helped him develop problem solving skills.

playing with toy trucks

Built a Bridge

building a bridge for toy trucks

Throughout his play Sammy decided he needed to build a bridge.  A soft bridge none the less.  So he used his soft blocks and got to building.  He brought them in one at a time using a dump truck – and hammered them with his hammer before placing them along the line – ever so carefully and meticulously.  Though I was not sure of what his ordering strategy was, it was very clear he had one.

 

building bridges for toy trucks

The trucks took turns going over the bridge and then being put in a traffic jam.  His long line of cars grew and I began to hear those numbers!  Boy do I love when I hear that counting in play.  I helped out a bit when he was stuck, as we are still working on this skill, but for the most part tried to let him work on his own.

Parking Lot

parking lot Toy truck games

Finally, everyone was returned safely to the ‘parking lot’.  This parking lot toy truck game wound up being very educational too.  Little trucks, cars and helicopters doubled up in parking spots.  Regular trucks got a single spot.  Big trucks and airplanes could only park in a designated section – and if they took more then 3 parking spaces they were not allowed.  Such a great sorting activity!

Learning through Play is so important for wee ones.  These toy truck games are very educational.  They help wee ones with problem solving, language development, ordering, and sorting.  I try to observe Sammy, or at least listen, some of the time when he is playing independently.  There are often so many wonderful learning opportunities.  Learning through play is fantastic – and it is also great when an adult is close by to extend or help connect that learning.

Learning Tip:  Add letters or numbers to everything!  Tape is great.  By adding letters or numbers to the trucks or blocks your wee one is much more likely to add that learning into his or her play.

Please consider linking us on Facebook so we can share more creative learning activities with you and your wee ones!  Thank you!

Filed Under: Other Learning Fun, Quiet Time, Toddler, Toddlers Tagged With: cars, imaginative play, trucks

« Painting Salt Dough
A Brilliant Playdough Nature Walk with Kids »

Comments

  1. Mildred Noftle says

    September 22, 2013 at 1:23 pm

    Its so interesting and funny too at times to see Sammy doing what he loves to do and learning at the same time… he is growing so fast.. too fast.. Keep them coming Sarah!
    Busy times there. Its a great way to see the kids and to see what they are up to.

    Reply
  2. Allison says

    November 23, 2013 at 1:26 pm

    I love the ideas in this post, but I especially love your red floors!

    Reply
    • Sarah says

      November 24, 2013 at 6:41 pm

      Hehe – thank you ~! They are not for everyone, but I love them too!

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Parking Lot 'Small World' Play | How Wee Learn says:
    September 25, 2013 at 11:02 am

    […] I posted about Toy Truck Games, I mentioned that Sammy turned it into his own ‘Small World’ in a way.  I decided to […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

The maximum upload file size: 512 MB. You can upload: image, audio, video, document, spreadsheet, interactive, other. Drop file here

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube
FREE Learning Letters Starter Kit
Find even more amazing resources in the How Wee Learn shop!

Visit my Sponsor Oak Meadow

For every step of your journey
  • For Ages 3-5
  • For Ages 4-6
  • For Ages 6-8
  • For Ages 6-12
  • For All Ages

Shop Resources


Copyright © 2022 · How Wee Learn · Privacy Policy · designed by blogger boutique · Genesis Framework

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Accept Read More

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT
136 shares
  • 3