Let’s paint with monster truck toys today! This simple preschool art project works well for younger artists and is perfect for the toy car and truck lover. Use favorite toys to make modern art and then follow it up with a monster truck car wash! This preschool painting idea works well at home or in the classroom.
Monster Truck Painting
Monster trucks are all the rage at our house and have been for quite a while. Recently, my son Bear {4 yrs} and I created a fun new game called Monster Truck Bowling.
It was a huge hit! So I expanded on this success with math and messy art activities.
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Supplies Needed for Monter Truck Painting Idea
Directions to Paint with Trucks
Step 1
Prepare the area by covering all the floor surfaces with a drop cloth. This gets messy so we recommend starting in an area with solid surface flooring like tile or linoleum.
- Tape down the drop cloth or protective covering.
- I covered the floor with a plastic shower curtain, securing it with painter’s tape.
Step 2
We got a super-long piece of paper from our easel and stretched it across the kitchen floor and up the oven door (I covered the oven with plastic as well to prepare for this).
Step 3
We put some paint in shallow bowls and ran the truck tires through the paint in the bowls. Large plastic lids would work for this as well allowing the tires to roll through the paint.
Step 4
We began racing the monster trucks. If we shoved them down the paper fast enough, they’d hit the stove front and flip over.
Bear seemed to really enjoy the boisterous messiness of it.
Clean Up Car Wash Activity
After he was done painting, I created a monster truck car wash in a large bowl of soapy water in the sink by dropping a few drops of dish soap into warm water.
We had fun getting dirty and fun getting clean!
How to Paint Using Toy Trucks
Monster trucks for kids have never been more fun. Using monster trucks to paint allow kids to explore different painting techniques and allows them to make fun and interesting art. Monster trucks for kids will let your child play, be creative, and is great fine motor skills.
Adding Math to this Preschool Art Activity
We have expanded this preschool art project to include some math basics because it is natural to add a little counting into this painting activity!
Prior to beginning the main activity, Bear chose a card out of the pile containing all the numbers 1-10. Then he practiced counting out the appropriate number of monster trucks.
After he did all that, we moved onto the main addition activity.
Monster Truck Math Basics
- Use 2 sets of cards for the numbers 1-5 and a plus sign. {Higher numbers could be used for more advanced learners}.
- Tape down the plus so it didn’t get moved around.
- Draw 2 cards from the stack and placed them on each side of the plus sign.
- Count out the appropriate number of trucks for each number.
- To illustrate the concept of adding numbers together, crash them together into a big pile.
- Count how many monster trucks there are after adding the numbers together.
Materials
- Roll of white craft paper or easel paper
- Blue painters tape
- Plastic drop cloth, tarp, old sheet, old shower curtain, cut up plastic garbage bags to cover floor
- Acrylic paint in shallow bowls or large lids
- Toy cars and monster trucks of various sizes
- Dish soap & water for clean up car wash
Instructions
- Prepare the area by covering all the floor surfaces with a drop cloth. This gets messy so we recommend starting in an area with solid surface flooring like tile or linoleum.
- Tape down the drop cloth or protective covering.
- I covered the floor with a plastic shower curtain, securing it with painter’s tape.
- We got a super-long piece of paper from our easel and stretched it across the kitchen floor and up the oven door (I covered the oven with plastic as well to prepare for this).
- We put some paint in shallow bowls and ran the truck tires through the paint in the bowls. Large plastic lids would work for this as well allowing the tires to roll through the paint.
- We began racing the monster trucks. If we shoved them down the paper fast enough, they’d hit the stove front and flip over.
More Preschool Art Projects We Love at Kids Activities Blog
How did your monster truck painting go? Was the preschool art project your favorite or the monster truck car wash clean up?