Location: outdoor

Materials: toy cars (wooden ones, matchbox cards, whatever you have)

We might think of the toy cars as an indoor toy, but bringing them out to the yard or the playground could open a whole new world of play for your kids. Rolling them down the slide, rolling them along narrow surfaces, and rolling them down big steps can be really fun! In addition to being fun, your kids can practice their theories around gravity, how things roll, cause and effect, and build small and large muscle groups while they play.

Possible extensions:

• Add the cars to the sandbox and explore the different kinds of tire tracks they make.
• Ready to bring the cars back inside? Have a car wash.