Toddler Car Art: Painting with Toy Cars to Teach Toddlers and Preschoolers

Toddler Toy car art is the perfect learning craft for your toddler. It’s a great sensory activity, and preschool craft that’s simple. Also, the kids love it.

Toddler Car Art

“Painting with toy cars” were the exact 4 words that my son needed to hear to send him into a crazy frenzy. He was so excited. He ran to his sister and could hardly get the words out to tell her what we were going to do.

My daughter thought we were going to paint his toy cars, (entirely) so she got all excited too, and then a little disappointed when she found out that wasn’t what we were doing. I guess if you don’t mind cleaning off a bunch of paint from toy cars, that is an activity you can do. Cleaning off wheels is a lot easier.

My daughter, and her little creative self, decided she would use the cars as a guide and paint them on paper. She loved that.

My son, he jumped right onto the idea of the cars going through the paint, I couldn’t get the paint out fast enough.

Here’s how we did it.

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How to do Toddler Car Art: Painting with Toy Cars

Supplies:

Toy Cars (if you have a son, you probably have a bazillion of them)
Paint
Paper

Instructions:

We started with about 4-5 toy cars. My son has a TON, but I wasn’t about to clean 80 cars, so I made him pick 4.

You could do this a couple of ways:

Place small puddles of paint on your paper and have the kids drive through them, however they want. Let their creativity flow.

Put some paint on a paint pallet or plate and let them dip the car wheels into the paint, and then go to town on the paper.

We did the first option. My son LOVED it. I think this is the longest he has spent on a painting project in a long time.

Variations to Toddler Car Art

You could easily use this activity as a great learning opportunity, and the kids won’t even know it. To be honest, I didn’t see the potential of it until we had finished. However, I definitely will be doing this craft again, so I’m hoping to throw in some more learning.

Learning Colors with Toddler Car Art

Set up the paints with the primary colors. Ask the kids to use a certain color with their car. Prompt them to do the same with each color after. You could even have them do 3-5 different sheets of paper with only a certain color.

Another great option would be to get cars of different color and have them match the car color with the paint color. Drive the same color car, through the same color paint.

Learning the Alphabet while Painting with Toy Cars

Another great learning opportunity is using the alphabet. One way to do it is have them dip the cars in the paint, and then ask them to draw a certain letter with their car. This is great for motor skills AND learning the alphabet AND writing the alphabet AND coordination.

The second option would be to already write out the letter, filling a sheet of paper, with a marker and having them trace over it with the car and paint.

Learning Shapes with Toddler Car Art

You could have them draw shapes instead of letters. You could also make it a little challenging and have them draw a shape with a certain color.

If letters are too advanced for your little one, have them trace a zig zag line instead.

In case you were worried, the paint came right off the cars, super easy. It was a super easy clean up. I would recommend cleaning them right after, but even if you don’t, it should be bad.

Let me know how your car painting goes, and if you’re looking for great letters to paint, check out my paint by letter activity here.

Another great painting (and learning) activity for toddlers is Q-tip Painting, so be sure to try that out as well.

Related: Q-Tip Painting for Preschoolers, Toddlers and Kids

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