Sensory Car and Truck Activities for Kids
When it comes to keeping children with hearing loss engaged, implementing sensory activities into their daily routines can make a significant impact on their development.
While there are numerous sensory activities to choose from, car and truck activities are particularly effective as they cater to a child’s love for speed, movement, and exploration.
Moreover, car and truck activities can be easily transformed into sensory activities for babies 6-12 months, where the focus is not only on play but also on stimulating the child’s senses such as touch, sound, and sight.
In this article, we will explore the benefits of incorporating car and truck activities into the routine of children with hearing loss and give you some ideas on how to make these activities more sensory-rich.
Transforming Car and Truck Activities into Sensory Activities
Let’s rev up those engines and have some sensory fun with car and truck activities for kids.
You can definitely turn a run-of-the-mill car and truck into a sensory experience for your kids!
By adding textures like sand, rice, or foam to the car tracks, kids can experience a world of different things to feel.
Or why not grab some musical instruments like drums or maracas and let them create sound effects for the cars and trucks?
At our house, big trucks like fire trucks and construction trucks are a favorite with my boys! They love rolling them up and down the hallway, or taking them into our backyard for an outside adventure.
And let’s not forget about the power of color! Painting the toy cars and trucks with bold and contrasting colors can create a visually stimulating experience.
These simple transformations can turn a regular playtime into exciting sensory play for kids to explore.
In the next part of this post I’ll talk about a few different car and truck activities for your kids, and what materials you need to make these activities come to life in your own home!
Car and Truck Activities for kids
A. Car Racing
Are your kids obsessed with cars and trucks? One of our favorite activities is car racing.
And, you only need some simple items, that you likely already have around your home!
Materials needed: toy cars , car and truck ramps, race car track mat
Help your child set up a ramp for the cars to race down. You can see how long it takes each car to go down the ramp.
The kids can also take the race track mat and have a competition where they race each other around the mat!
Sensory modification: Driving trucks down a ramp, or driving around the race car mat are both ways to get movement sensory input for your child.
Your little ones will have a blast zooming their cars down the ramp and racing around the race car mat!
B. Car Wash
Looking for something fun to do with the kids this weekend? How about turning your driveway into a bustling car wash?
And, I guarantee that all of the materials you already have in your own home!
All you need are: toy cars that you have in the house, soap, water, sponges, towel
You can set up this activity outside if you don’t want water and bubbles in the house! Provide a bin to put the cars in and let your kids “clean” the cars by dipping the sponge into the water and washing the cars with it.
When they’re done they can dry it all off with the towel!
Sensory modification: incorporate lots of bubbles into the water for a soapy clean effect
You can even paint the cars with washable paint first, and then wash the paint off in the water.
This adds a fun, “controlled mess” element to the play, and turns the playing into a 2-step process that keeps kids enagaged for longer.
Also check out these quick and easy water activities and bubble activities for kids where you can use the cars and trucks in these activities as well.
Your little ones are sure to love the opportunity to get their hands wet while pretending to be professional car washers!
C. Truck Construction
If your little one is a budding engineer, then truck construction is the perfect car and truck activity for kids.
All you need to get started are: wooden building blocks and construction vehicles
Help your child build a tall tower with the help of the construction vehicles. And then, if you like, take a car and demolish it to build a new structure!
Sensory modification: the act of building the blocks and then crashing them down is a fun way to get sensory input!
If you’re looking for a little more “messy play” and want to make your own construction site, Busy Toddler has a post on creating a construction site sensory bin with shredded paper.
Whether your little one is a budding builder or just loves playing with trucks, this activity is sure to provide lots of entertainment.
D. Truck Obstacle Course
The Truck Obstacle Course gives your child the chance to put their toy trucks to the test.
With ramps, tunnels, and cones to navigate, they’ll have a blast honing their driving skills and competing with siblings or friends.
Materials needed: car traffic cones, car and truck ramps, car road tape, monster toy trucks
Your child’s imagination can run wild as they set up the car traffic cones, truck ramps and the road tape to make the most fun and creative obstacle course!
Sensory modification: The feel of the monster toy trucks as well as different textures in the road tape and car ramp involve sensory play. You can even add in sound affects for listening sensory!
Gear up and get ready for some high-octane fun!
E. Trucks + Dress Up Play
My kids love to combine dress up clothes with their big vehicles.
Big vehicles are fun for kids, because they’re huge and the kids can maneuver the vehicle around the house with ease.
Our kids have used their big trucks to run up and down our hallways. We often take the construction truck outside on a local trail to test the truck in a real environment.
Our favorite big trucks are:
Another fun way to play with cars and trucks is to dress up to match the vehicle.
My five year old loves this fireman costume that he wears to play with his fire truck.
We also love this police man costume to play with the emergency vehicles and this construction worker costume to play with the construction vehicles.
Adding in dress- up clothes to playing with the vehicles adds a whole new level of creativity and imaginative play!
Speech and Signing Practice with Vehicles
A way to incorporate speech goals into playing with vehicles is through songs and books about vehicles and cars.
Our favorite songs to sing are Wheels on the Bus, and we love singing while read this Pete the Cat book about a school bus. This song also incorporates a lot of sign language as well, which can help increase your child’s communication.
We also love the poke a dot construction truck book, which provides a fun sensory experience by “popping” the bubbles.
You can even add in speech words to practice like “pop, pop, pop” and practice naming all of the vehicles.
Other ways that you can practice speech goals are by emphasizing key verbs like “go!” and even count, “1,2,3, go!”. before you release a car down the car ramp.
I also like to practice with my kids the different sounds that each truck makes to help with their listening goals practice!
Car and truck activities can be a fun and effective way to incorporate sensory experiences into the daily routines of kids with hearing loss.
By engaging in these activities, children can strengthen their motor skills, improve their hand-eye coordination, and enhance their ability to process sensory information.
Car and truck activities are versatile and can be adapted to suit different ages, needs, and preferences. From building and racing toy cars to exploring different vehicle sounds and movements, there are endless possibilities for sensory exploration and learning.
Don’t forget to download your free Sensory Play Guide!
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