Hallway Tape Roads

from 24 months · 20-30 min · Gross motor

What you need

Stick two long lines of masking tape down the hallway floor to make a road, with a bend and a crossroads.
Draw dashes down the middle with the felt tip.
Turn the cardboard box on its side at one end to make a garage.
Drive a car along the road with them, stopping at the crossroads to look both ways.
Let them drive, park and make up where each car is going.

A road on the floor turns a pile of toy cars into a whole little world, and it stays there for the next play too.

Pretend play: Deciding where the cars are going is making up a story.
Crawling and kneeling: Following the road down the hall keeps them moving the whole time.
New words: Stop, go, park and crossroads all come up naturally.

Listen to the sounds and words they use for the cars. Many toddlers keep the same game going for days once the road is down.

Masking tape lifts off most floors cleanly, but test a small piece on wood or carpet first.

Easier: make one straight road with a garage at the end

Harder: add a car park drawn in tape and ask them to park each car in its own space