http://www.freeimages.com/photo/582093

[This series includes lots of ideas for a “toddler date” –  something fun and simple to do with your toddler. The big picture ideas apply to any locale. The specific examples are from the Eastside of Seattle.]

Maybe it’s a boy thing… but… my toddler son LOVES to just stand at the street corner watching cars go by, saying “Car! Car! Truck! Car! Bus!” as they pass. When we are waiting for his sister outside a class, he can do this for 20 minutes at a time.

This gets old for me much faster than that, but I liven it up a bit, and start giving more details about the cars I use it as a chance to teach him new words: “red car”, “big bus”, “loud motorcycle,” “delivery truck”, and so on. It’s a great way to teach categories and adjectives.

If your child is a car fanatic, check out my Transportation Theme with recommended crafts, books and songs and lots of hands-on STEM activities related to cars.