I found this idea for making a car track using Washi tape on Pinterest. Since we’ve been snowed in a lot in the past few weeks and were looking for activities, I decided to give it a try.
The idea is simple enough. I already have Washi tape from packaging Etsy orders, exactly three square feet of unused floor space, and a toddler who loves playing with cars, so this seemed like a slam dunk.
I referenced the Pinterest example a bit, and visited the original site to read what they said about it, but it was all in Dutch so I just closed it and made my own version.
Cool, right? PIN IT TO WIN IT!
Sort of.
Here are five things the original website didn’t mention. Or maybe it did. In Dutch.
1) Your toddler will want to play with the rolls of Washi tape, which he calls “wheels”. You will need a few extra rolls to give him to play with while you make the track.
2) Every time you tear a piece of Washi tape, your toddler will scream, “OH NO! YOU BROKE IT! FIX IT, MOMMY, FIX IT!”
3) Make sure to create enough parking spaces for every Matchbox car, including the ones behind the couch, in the toy bin, under the bed. Because too many cars + not enough parking spaces = road rage.
4) Little sisters are not allowed. “Oh no, Mary! Get her, Mommy! Get her!”
[This is, perhaps, the most important one…]
5) There is a very, very good chance that your toddler might not even really play with the road.
Or maybe it’s just my toddler. He was interested enough to not want Mary Virginia on the road, but not enough to really play with it, even after I showed him how fun it was. Look! You can drive the cars! Which way is it going to turn? OOOOOH, he turned LEFT!
David just parked his cars and then walked away.
I added this toilet paper roll tunnel and he really liked it; he drove his cars in and out of it for maybe 10 minutes.
Which, now that I think about it, makes me think this wasn’t a flop after all. 10 minutes is a long time in a toddler’s economy. There aren’t many things that hold his attention for 10 minutes. Maybe this pin is worth it after all.
Afterward, I gave him the Washi tape roll “wheels” to play with. They occupied him for a bit, too.
Plus, when your friends come over and notice it, they will inevitably comment on how creative you are. So there’s that, too.
Go ahead, PIN IT!! Or just give your kid an empty toilet paper roll.
Love it. Also love the “Get her mommy, get her!!”
Baby sisters are like Godzilla in the toddler’s city.
Next step–find a top to a ream of copy paper and use the tape to create a maze inside with toilet paper rolls and recycled things to use like the bumpers in a pinball game. He puts his car inside and tilts the box top to make them drive through or around the different obstacles. May be better for him a few months but it’s worth a try now.
There are some photos in this post:
http://otinpublicschools.blogspot.com/2012/01/fine-motor-obstacle-course.html
Great idea! pinned
This is GENIUS! Definitely going to do this for my boys!