The boys and I are excited to go to Monster Jam in DC this weekend! I thought it would be a lot of fun to make this weeks homemade Monday theme Monster Trucks. These activities are a lot of fun and most of the supplies we had around the house so it didn’t cost a penny to do.

POPCORN SENSORY PLAY TRUCK RALLY

MT- PC BIN.jpg

This is a fun twist to the typical sensory bin. Instead of the usual corn kernels or rice, this sensory bin uses popcorn! I chose popcorn because it is a safe filler for little ones who like to put things in their mouth. It is also a different texture to explore. And we happened to have a lot of it in the pantry.

What You Will Need:MT- PC SUPPLIES.jpg

  • Bin
  • Drop Cloth
  • Popcorn (Plain without lots of oil or seasoning is best)
  • Toys (Trucks, Scoops and Cups)
  • Assessories (Ramps, Tunels, Cones and Flags)

How To Make Your Popcorn Truck Rally:MT- PC PLAY

  1. First layout a sheet or drop cover of some sort on the floor.
  2. Fill the bin with popcorn. You can pop your own or use pre-made.
  3. For the next step you can either preassemble the truck rally or let your little on do that setup.
  4. Time to play!

MONSTER TRUCK CAR WASH

MT- CW WASH

Now that your trucks have had their rally they are ready for a wash down. This monster truck car wash is another great sensory play option. I suggest doing this activity outside or in the bath tub because it can get a little messy.

What You Will Need:MT- CW SUPPLIES

  • 2 Bins/Containers
  • 1 Bottle of Shaving Cream
  • Trucks
  • Washing tools: tooth-brush
  • Bubbles (Optional)
  • Ramps (Optional)

How To Setup Your Car Wash:MT- CW TRACK JUMP

  1. Set-up your two bins next to each other. Spray shaving cream into one of the bins and add water to other bin. The first bin is the car wash station and the second is for rinsing.
  2. Next have fun! They can drive the trucks through the suds and scrub them down with a tooth-brush. My boys got super creative and wanted to add a ramp. The car wash became a snow jump activity. They would shoot the cars down the ramp and have them jump over a few trucks or even jump the trucks and land in the water. This activity provided about an hour of imaginative free play, it was great!

MONSTER TRUCK LETTER SMASH

MT- CC CRUSHThis is a fun way to use your monster truck to teach letter recognition, site words or phonics.

What You Will Need:MT- CC SUPPLIES

  • 1 Monster Truck
  • Matchbox Cars
  • Dry Erase Marker/ Peel off stickers
  • Materials for track

How To Setup Your Smash: MT- CC 3.jpg

  1. Write letters or use easy to peel off letter stickers on top of matchbox cars.
  2. It’s time to let the kids build a jump or obstacle course for the monster trucks.  Let their imagination be their guide.
  3. You will need to be the one to lay out the cars for the truck to jump. The great thing about this game is that you can gear it for their level. If they are learning letters than set up three cars each with a different letter in a separate pile. Ask your little one to drive/smash a particular letter and see if they can recognize it.  If they have advanced to learning how to read call out a simple words such as car, jam, or fun.  Lay out a pile of cars spelling out simple words. Encourage your child to listen,  sound out the first letter and see if they can find the labeled car that matches the sound.  Repeat for middle and ending sounds as they drive over the cars.

MONSTER TRUCK KNOCK DOWN

MT- TB GOThis activity is a mix of bowling, crashing and educational fun! This activity can be used in many different variations. You can keep it simple and let your little one bowl using their monster trucks. You can use this activity for educational as well. It’s perfect for color, shape, letter and number recognition.

What You Will Need:MT- TB REC

  • 1 Monster Truck
  • Building Blocks
  • Educational tools: Objects with Numbers, Letters, Shapes & Colors
  • Paint Tape

How To Setup Your Smash: MT- TB NUMBER

  1. Setup blocks on leveled flat floor area spaced apart by about six inches. Places desired educational tool on top such as a letter block, shape or number card.
  2. About three to four feet away from the blocks place a start line using paint tape.
  3. Ask your little one to knock down a particular block. For an example say knock down the block with the number 2. Reset and repeat as many times as you would like to play.

DOTTER CAR COUNT

MT- TD DOTMy boys love bingo dotter activity sheets. I ran out of ink in my printer so I came up with this variation.

What You Will Need:MT- TD SUPPLIES

  • Monster Trucks or Match Box Cars
  • Paper
  • Bingo Dotter

How To Setup The Car Count:DSC_0129.JPG

  1. Setup your supplies at a table or desk before inviting your child to participate. I drew a small box at the bottom the paper.
  2. Next set desired number of cars above the box.
  3. Invite your little one over. Ask them how many cars/trucks they see. Ask them to use the dotter to make that number of dots in the box.