Object inquiry skills
Toddlers pretend they are driving a car and then use blocks to build and play with roads of their design.
Baby Touch and Feel Cuddly Animals by DK Publishing
[Invite toddlers to join you in the block center. Sit on the floor facing toddlers. Pretend you are holding and moving the steering wheel of a car.]
I am driving a car. I am moving the steering wheel of a car.
Let’s all pretend we are driving a car.
[If toddlers are familiar with the “Wheels on the Bus” song, sing the first verse several times. Invite toddlers to sing with you while moving their pretend steering wheels.]
I am driving my pretend car to the grocery store. I need to buy some milk.
Where are you driving your pretend car?
[Encourage each toddler to say where he/she is going in his/her imaginary car.]
[Stop moving your imaginary steering wheel and look both ways in a pronounced manner when you describe the following driving experience.]
I see a stop sign. I will stop my car and look both ways. There may be other cars coming or people walking near my car. I do not want to hit another car or person while I am driving.
Do you see anything while you are driving your pretend car?
[Follow-up prompts, if needed: “Do you also see a stop sign?” “Are there other cars ahead of you or next to you?”]
Let’s stop driving our cars now.
Cars and trucks go on roads. A road is like a big line for trucks and cars.
[Display picture of cars and trucks on a four-lane road. Point to and move your finger along the road when you describe it.]
Some roads have many cars and trucks. Our picture shows a big road. There are many cars and trucks on this road.
[Point to the width of the four-lane road when you say it is big. Pause for toddlers to look closely at the picture. Respond to any comments or questions.
Display picture of a car on a small road.]
Some roads have a small number of cars or trucks. Here is a picture of a road with just one car on it. This is a small road.
[Point to the width of the road when you say it is small.]
Some roads are long. People can drive their cars or trucks far, far away on a long road. Some roads are short. People cannot drive very far on a short road.
[Encourage toddlers to tell about their experiences on roads. Example: “Have you ever been in a car or truck on a road that had a lot of cars and trucks? What happened?”]
Do you live on a long road or a short road?
We can use our blocks to build some roads. We can build a big road or a small road. We can build a long road or a short road.
Then we can move some of our cars and trucks on the roads we build.
[Sit near the block shelf to help toddlers take turns removing blocks. Actively interact with toddlers as they use the blocks. Encourage toddlers to verbalize their plans and ideas. Model sharing and friendly interactions. Example: “Trinity, may I use this block, please?”
As toddlers begin to lay blocks onto the floor, ask about their ideas. Example: “Haley and Elijah, I see you started making your road. You placed firetrucks on it. How can you make your road longer?” Listen and respond to toddlers’ ideas.
Provide guidance and assistance as needed during the activity. Sit close by to observe and describe toddlers’ actions. Point out long and short roads. Point out big and small roads if toddlers created roads with different numbers of lanes.
Ask questions that support problem-solving. Example: “Haley and Trinity, let’s talk about the bus and truck. Haley is making the truck go on this road. Trinity is driving her bus on the same road. What can you do so the truck and bus do not bump into each other?”
After about 10 minutes, gather toddlers and support the process of putting away blocks and toy vehicles.]
We learned about roads today. We pretended we were driving a car. We looked at pictures of a big road and a small road. Then we put some blocks in a line to make roads for our cars and trucks.
[Describe highlights of toddlers’ road work. Examples: “Some roads were long. Some roads were short.” “Some roads were big and some roads were small.” “Our cars and trucks went on the roads we built.”]
There are likely to be differences across toddlers in their ability and willingness to participate in imaginary car driving at the beginning of the activity. It is fine if some toddlers prefer to watch you or other toddlers engage in driving a pretend car.
Anticipate and enthusiastically accept differences in how toddlers use the blocks. Generally toddlers will lay the blocks flat, end-to-end, or side to side. Some toddlers may enjoy placing one or two blocks on the floor and playing with little cars on the blocks. Other toddlers may be eager to build roads that intersect with one another. It is not necessary to teach a toddler how to build a road with blocks.
Toddlers will differ in their level of interest in the basic road differences introduced during the activity (big, small, long, short) and their readiness to use these concepts in working with blocks. Over time, toddlers will develop and try out increasingly complex ideas in block play.
Some toddlers may prefer to stack blocks to represent buildings rather than build a road. Gently encourage a toddler who is stacking blocks to connect his/her activity to the road-building efforts of other toddlers. The building (stacked blocks) could be placed next to a road.
Often toddlers bump into one another as they move around. Their understanding of spatial relations is still developing. Show toddlers how to hold blocks at the end to avoid bumping one another with a block.
Toddlers may come and go from the block activity. Encourage a departing toddler to tell you his/her plan. Example: Ask a toddler to say “I am all finished” or “I am coming back.”
Extra support
Enrichment
Object inquiry skills
Toddlers use pretend tunnels (cardboard boxes) in building and playing with roads they make with blocks.
Tunnel (see Option 1)
Be Prepared: Secure several smaller cardboard boxes that can be cut and incorporated into roads made by children in Option 1. Different types of boxes, such as shoeboxes and oatmeal boxes, add variety to the activity. Cut openings in both ends of boxes to create tunnels.
Offer the boxes as pretend tunnels in the road-building segment of the Option 1 activity. The use of tunnels can promote toddlers’ emerging spatial relations skills by adding a modest challenge to building and using roads with tunnels.
Toddlers will benefit from figuring out where to place a tunnel and how to use the blocks in relation to the tunnel. Some children may line up blocks end-to-end on both sides of the tunnel. In this arrangement, toy vehicles will move on the floor side of the box when going through the tunnel. Some children may want to place blocks (their road) in the tunnel. Toy vehicles will move continuously on blocks in this arrangement; they will not experience a bump when moving off and onto the blocks when going through the tunnel. A spatial challenge in this road construction plan occurs when the blocks are wider than the box. Children who pursue a solution to this challenge may ask you to cut a side off the box so it can fit over blocks they have lined up for a road.
If a toy vehicle happens to be too tall to move through a tunnel, engage toddlers in a discussion of what is happening.
Some toddlers may find it challenging to create a road that includes a tunnel. Approach the situation as a problem for child(ren) to solve. Offer encouragement. Use questions or hints that can help a child find a solution on his/her own rather; avoid arranging the blocks as a demonstration of what might be done. In addition to the road-with-tunnel arrangements suggested in the activity description above, some children may create a road with their blocks and place a box on top of the blocks.
Anticipate that some children may wish to alter their road construction after moving their toy vehicle through a tunnel. Some children may want to eliminate a “bump” (if blocks do not go continuously through their tunnel), and children who placed a box on top of their road may wish to stabilize a tunnel that moves a bit when a toy vehicle goes through it.
Extra support
Enrichment
Object inquiry skills
Toddlers use props to create pretend settings or activities at the destination points of roads they create with blocks.
(see Option 1)
Extend toddlers’ road-building work (see Options 1 and 2) by providing materials that children can use to create a place or activity at the end and/or beginning of their road. Children may use toy dishes for breakfast before embarking on a trip in their toy vehicle to their place of work or a farm or their child development center. Children could include a stop en route to their destination, such as a gas station or store. The materials you provide are likely to shape the theme of toddlers’ play with the road.
Talk with toddlers about their play ideas. Describe their actions and offer positive comments. Example: “Your kitchen looks like a cozy place.” Describe play themes that emerge. Some toddlers may assume the role of an animal as part of the play.
Toddlers enjoy playing in groups, and often need guidance and support from their caregiver. Be prepared to help toddlers share materials, take turns, and assign roles. Generally, if there are several toddlers working with blocks, it is a good idea for one adult to stay seated on the floor in the activity area to facilitate early interactive play and to serve as a coach for social problem-solving.
If toddlers become very excited during the activity, interject a short pause for a drink of water, or suggest a nighttime theme. Encourage a minute of rest, disguised as a play theme. Example: “It is bedtime on the boat. Where will the cat sleep?”
If toddlers wish to exclude another child from the play, tell them everyone can play. Assist toddlers in considering various roles friends can play, such as the little brother, cousin, or uncle. Stay close and help toddlers resolve issues that arise from playing in close proximity, and from sharing materials.
It is a good idea to keep track of how much time is needed for cleanup from an activity that involves different items from different parts of your room. Give several reminders, such as ten minutes (and then five minutes) before cleanup.
Extra support
Enrichment
If toddlers have a unified theme in their play, such as a favorite restaurant or an emergency (a fire, accident) at their destination point, identify a book on the topic that can be shared with children later in the day.
Materials needed: small soft blocks, figures or smaller vehicle toys, *road pictures (Option 1), books about construction, paper, crayons, construction hats
Place small soft blocks on a low table with figures or smaller vehicle toys. Display the *road pictures. Place books about construction in the block center and book area. Cover a table with paper and provide crayons for toddlers to draw roads. Encourage toddlers to drive little cars on the roads they draw. Place construction hats in the dramatic play area to extend the construction work activity.
*Printables provided
Materials needed: blocks, chalk, toy vehicles
During a gathering time, provide blocks for toddlers and preschool-age children. Some toddlers may carry the blocks from one area to another. Encourage toddlers to help make the road. Talk with children about places you know they have traveled by car. Example: “Andrew and his family followed a road from their home all the way to his grandmother’s home.” Outdoors, provide chalk and toy vehicles for toddlers to continue road work. Infants who can sit without support will enjoy holding blocks.
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