Messy fun with toy cars
This is a great fun messy painting activity for kids who love cars. It's also a fun way to explore comparisons (e.g. bigger than/smaller than) and colour mixing. You can make a dynamic car artwork with your track painting by sticking pictures of cars on top.
Time: 30 minutes
Age: Under 5's, 5-10's
Level: Easy
Materials
Shallow box - optional but it helps to contain the mess. It could be a plastic tray or you can cut down a cardboard box like we did.
Selection of toy cars which can be washed afterwards. Try to pick a range of sizes, smooth wheels/patterned wheels etc
Pictures of cars from magazines
Lay out newspaper and put paper in the bottom of your shallow box
Put different colours of paint in different trays
Ready to paint
Set out a selection of cars. With older children, spend some time looking at the different wheels - which ones are bigger/ which are smaller; which are smooth/ which are patterned etc. Try to predict how their tracks will look different to the others.
Cars ready to get messy
Dip the car wheels in paint
Have fun racing your cars over the paper and watching what sort of tracks they make.
Try different colours
Try bigger cars
Try smooth wheels
Have fun racing up the sides of the box
Cut out pictures of cars from a magazine - or draw your own
Stick pictures of cars onto the tracks painting.
Finished car track painting
