When we heard about the Name Recognition and Writing Series hosted by Preschool Powol Packets I knew it was a chance for us to complete an activity I have had in my head for some time. After the success of our DIY Car Track Busy Bag I wanted a way to use Adam’s love of cars tracks as a way to introduce him to recognising and forming the letters in his name. As a result we created a giant car track.
First I had to find a suitable material to use for our car track. As the warmer days are upon us I wanted the activity to be used outside and be on a large scale. The material therefore had to be waterproof, durable and withstand wet grass. Wood seemed the obvious choice. However, it had to be light weight in order for Adam to move the large pieces around himself and require no cutting or sanding as I do not have the required tools available. I also didn’t want to spend too much as I would need 20 strips of wood – how picky am I! After much searching I finally the perfect material in the DIY shop B&Q. Interior tongue and grove cladding was lightweight, came in packs of 5 and only cost £3.07 per pack.
After purchasing 4 packs of cladding Adam and I set to work painting them black. We mixed black acrylic paint with wood glue. Adam thoroughly enjoyed painting – although we did have several words about not painting the cardboard box we were standing on!
Once the cladding was dry I had to work out a way of painting white lines on our road. Experience tells me that I am not very good at painting roads and have an inability to paint in a straight line – just take a look at my last attempt! On our name writing car track I attempted to use a rectangle sponge and sponge paint the lines on – apparently I also can not sponge paint in a straight line either.
My second attempt was to draw around a rectangle and then use Tip-Ex to paint on the white lines. This started off really well. The small Tip-Ex brush helped me to create the lines. However, there was one small issue. I realised I only had a 20ml bottle with approximately 160 lines to paint. My final method was to use masking tape to create an outline for me to paint inside. I used 3 reels of masking tape!
Once three coats of white paint and a coat of black paint on both sides had dried I finally got see if the masking tape method had worked. For some one who is unable to paint I was very pleased. The car track was huge and took up most of our garden. I think we will be sticking to a maximum of four letters!
It was time to use the wooden car track to write Adam’s name. Although our D looks more like an O Adam knew straight away it was his name. I made the name first so Adam could see it and then dismantled the pieces so Adam could have a chance of creating his name by himself. He was very pleased with the results.
Not only did Adam use his outdoor car collection on his car track name but he brought his large indoor car collection out too.
I can see our giant car track being used frequently over the summer months. Ramps, obstacle courses, car races are just a few activities we have planned!
Remember to check out the dozens of ideas for name recognition and writing from other bloggers at Preschool Powol Packets.
Equipment:
* Interior Tongue and Groove Cladding from B&Q. We purchased 4 packs
* Black Acrylic Paint
* Wood Glue
* White Paint
* Masking Tape – lots of it
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Such a lovely idea and a great way to understand letters. I think I may see if I can adapt this one as an activity for Coombe Mill, you have had some lovely outdoor craft ideas on Country Kids the last couple of weeks thanks for sharing.
That’s a great idea and I love all the other car tracks you’ve made too. We’re expecting twins later this year and I know my two older boys would love making some of these and playing with our newest additions once they’re old enough 🙂 Popping over from Country Kids.
Love it! I love the multi-purpose activities 🙂
– Ayelet from Strength In Words