CARS and TRUCKS and Things That Go!

But mostly cars and trucks, because we have other full posts about trains and space ships! Print this sheet and laminate (one for each child) for having in your car. They don’t really need to mark them off to make it a contest.

Jack’s first round with these little diggers was in a plate of cinnamon sugar before he was 2. Since, they’ve been in water, sand, Floof, Cheerios, water beads, this flour and baby oil mix, and Grandma even brought snow in the house a few times! Hours and hours and hours of fun for Grace too.

Making your own cars and trucks is also terribly fun - even for Grandma! Jack and I made so many Melissa & Doug wooden vehicle kits back then - I painted, Jack stickered, and we added lots of googly eyes to those cars and trucks! M&D doesn’t make as many kits any more, but even building one would be fun. I had some practice a hundred years ago with Andy’s Pinewood Derby cars and boats, and I soon had to let go and let Jack do the painting! Then he let me help with the stickers!

All young truck lovers need to know about Twenty Trucks, especially the Snowplow Song. I still play it every year! But they have music videos about EVERY KIND of truck. So fabulous!

We recently highlighted this new The Digger Dance book in our newsletter. When a young boy’s grandmother tells him that diggers can dance, he wants to see the dancing in action! But the diggers stay parked in a row outside their window while it rains. They decide to bake together while they wait, and as he scoops and shovels sugar, digs into the dough, he realizes baking and diggers have a lot in common! Later he gets to see the real diggers dipping low, lifting high, swinging, bending, and spinning! The Digger Dance by Judy Ann Sadler and Yong Ling Kang. And there are real Dancing Diggers!

There are SO MANY great vehicle books to get excited about - you don’t really need our advice. But we have to mention this Ultimate Series. Yes, pop-up books can get destroyed, but consider it a lesson in teaching the "treasure" in books, and, when there are missing parts after a while, know that it was well-loved. I started with them when Jack was nearly three, and I think they are also a good small motor skill kind of thing. They serve different purposes at different ages. Vehicles has more than 60 movable parts - help a crane lift its load, open the hold of a cargo plane, make a helicopter spin. We are no longer an affiliate with Amazon, but I kept the links for your convenience; some have also been spotted at Costco!

Fire trucks are especially loved, with Uncle Terry having been a real Fire Chief. There is a new Firefighter’s version in the Ultimate Series. And probably Fire Houses near you that might be open for a visit. Our local Minnesota Fire Museum has a lousy website, but it is a cool spot in real life, open the 2nd and 4th Saturdays of every month, 9am-4pm. Maybe give them a follow on Facebook to follow events? The kids will love it.

Growing up out east, I also have to mention the yearly Hess Trucks that my brothers and grands have been gifted through the years. They have amazing detail, and every light, bell, siren, and whistle. Each year they launch a new design - everything from trailers with motorcycles and race cars, to firetrucks and space shuttles. The first word out of a child’s mouth is always, “W-o-w!” Stock up on your C batteries - these trucks last for generations.