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Tag Archives: activities for truck lovers

Backyard Truck Garden

7 / 30 / 19

Backyard Truck Garden | Mama Papa Bubba

It feels like we’ve had a slow start this year, but summer seems to be here in the Okanagan and Sam’s been enjoying his little backyard truck garden again!

Backyard Truck Garden

Here’s what inspired us creating a truck garden… This hilly corner of our yard filled with dirt, rocks, and loads of debris discarded by our big old tree.  Now if we knew that this home was our forever home, we’d probably do something different, but without wanting to invest a whole lot of time, energy, or money, a truck garden turned out to be a fantastic solution.

Of course every yard is going to be different, but I do think the truck garden concept could be adapted to many different spaces, hilled or flat.

Backyard Truck Garden | Mama.Papa.Bubba.

Another fun part of this project?  Other than the little orange pilons and some paint, we only used things we already had on hand to put it together.

Backyard Truck Garden | Mama.Papa.Bubba.

First up were these road bricks…  They started out as regular old bricks left in the yard by the previous home owners, so I painted them grey with a sample of outdoor paint I picked up and then added some little yellow dashes freehand using some acrylic craft paint from the art cupboard.  More than a year later, these have held up super well. What I love about them is that they can be moved and configured how ever Sam likes, and they give him an opportunity to do some heavy lifting.

Backyard Truck Garden | Mama.Papa.Bubba.

The other little upcycle / repurpose project we did was turning some wood and flooring scraps into these road planks.

Backyard Truck Garden | Mama.Papa.Bubba.

I had previously seen this idea on my friend Chelsey’s site, Buggy and Buddy, and when I found a bunch of wood scraps left in one of the sheds, I knew it would be perfect.

Backyard Truck Garden | Mama.Papa.Bubba.

I just painted the boards a charcoal-y black colour using an outdoor paint we already had, then freehanded the white dashes using a small paintbrush, some acrylic craft paint, and an old metre stick as a guide.  And voila – wooden roads and ramps!!

Backyard Truck Garden | Mama.Papa.Bubba.{this post contains affiliate links}

Then we added all of the fun stuff…  Our kids’ garden tool set for raking up branches, creating dirt mounds, etc., a big bin of DIY blocks Brad and his dad made using some 2×4 and 2×8 scraps that were also left in our yard, and Sam’s collection of Green Toys and Wonder Wheels trucks.  All of these have been gifted to him over the years and they’ve seen endless hours of play.  They’re big, sturdy, and made from recycled plastic. These are the ones he has currently:

dump truck

recycling truck

fire engine

tow truck

cement mixer

Backyard Truck Garden | Mama.Papa.Bubba.

I also created a little picnic space at the top of the truck garden using our kids’ picnic table from Ikea and a little black and white striped umbrella, but I didn’t find that it got used a whole lot last summer, so I skipped it this summer and kept those items on our patio below instead.

Backyard Truck Garden | Mama.Papa.Bubba.

It was a cute little set up though!

Backyard Truck Garden | Mama.Papa.Bubba.

Possibly the biggest hit of the space?  This little sit-on excavator we got during a campaign I did with Canadian Tire.  Sam just LOVES it and could spend ages scooping up loose dirt and moving it to a different space or filling a bucket.

Backyard Truck Garden | Mama.Papa.Bubba.

I can’t tell you how much play this little space has seen!

Backyard Truck Garden | Mama.Papa.Bubba.

Here’s a look at the whole thing…  It’s certainly not the prettiest thing, but it’s such a great spot for playing in the dirt, getting filthy, and enjoying trucks.

Backyard Truck Garden | Mama.Papa.Bubba.

One final addition that’s also been a favourite?  These PVC pipe ramps!  While this wasn’t something I felt comfortable taking on myself, I took advantage of my brother being in town and he helped me pick up the largest piece of PVC pipe Home Depot carried and then cut it in half vertically.  We sanded the edges and created these ramps that smaller cars can ZOOM down!

Easy Inexpensive Backyard Truck Garden | Mama Papa Bubba

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Muddy Monster Truck Derby Sensory Bin

1 / 22 / 191 / 22 / 19

Muddy Monster Truck Derby Sensory Bin | Mama Papa Bubba

Okay, so before you see this awesome muddy monster truck derby sensory bin and think it’s all fun and games over here all day every day, here’s what you need to know…  This morning Sam came along for the school run in undies, a t-shirt, and a sweater.  In minus four degree {celsius} weather.  No pants.  No socks. No boots. And no jacket.  Let alone a toque or mittens.  Thank goodness we do the whole car blanket thing and he at least had that once in, but you guys – this morning was a doooozy.  We got home, I moped a bit, he continued to shout and whine and throw things, and I made a cup of coffee and gulped the whole thing back in bed with the door closed.  Then we hugged it out, agreed to start our morning over, cleaned up, and put this sensory bin full of mud and monster trucks together.

Thank fricken goodness sensory play and calm music have the power to turn a day around.

Muddy Monster Truck Sensory Bin | Mama.Papa.Bubba.{this post contains affiliate links}

Here’s what we used to put this taste-safe, scented, amazing-feeling sensory bin together…

  • one of our go-to Sterilite sensory bins (any shallow bin will work)
  • cornstarch from our play cupboard (when it comes to cooking with it, I always use an organic version)
  • cocoa powder
  • a couple of small toy monster trucks

and later on, these Green Toys cars too.

Muddy Monster Truck Sensory Bin | Mama.Papa.Bubba.

If you haven’t guessed yet, our ‘mud’ for our monster truck derby sensory play is CHOCOLATE oobleck!!

Muddy Monster Truck Sensory Bin | Mama.Papa.Bubba.

We didn’t even bother mixing this up in a separate bowl!  Sam just dumped the cornstarch and cocoa powder straight into our bin…

Muddy Monster Truck Sensory Bin | Mama.Papa.Bubba.

Then whisked it up…

Muddy Monster Truck Sensory Bin | Mama.Papa.Bubba.

And mixed with a wooden spoon as I gradually added water.

Muddy Monster Truck Sensory Bin | Mama.Papa.Bubba.

You can play with the amounts of each ingredient to create thicker or thinner oobleck, but here’s our recipe…

CHOCOLATEY OOBLECK
  • 2 cups of cornstarch
  • 1/2 cup of cocoa
  • 2 cups of water

Whisk the cornstarch and cocoa together well.  Add the water and stir with a wooden spoon {or better yet – your hands!} until the oobleck has a uniform in texture.

Muddy Monster Truck Sensory Bin | Mama.Papa.Bubba.

I gave the chocolate oobleck one last mix before Sam very enthusiastically popped his monster trucks in.

{It goes without saying that Chloe was in on the fun in approximately 2 minutes flat.  Seriously – this kitty of ours loves sensory play just as much as Grae and Sam do!}

Muddy Monster Truck Sensory Bin | Mama.Papa.Bubba.

It obviously depends on the size of your bin, but our layer of oobleck was thin enough to leave very visible monster truck tracks and Sam noticed right away.

Muddy Monster Truck Sensory Bin | Mama.Papa.Bubba.

Muddy Monster Truck Sensory Bin | Mama.Papa.Bubba.

He also realized how insanely neat oobleck is to touch and hold and squish.

Muddy Monster Truck Sensory Bin | Mama.Papa.Bubba.

As for the mess?  With activities like this one, I just remind him to keep his hands in or over the bin.  The truth is that the oobleck mud dries up on surfaces and is a cinch to wipe up, but I still don’t want it all over the kitchen obviously.

Muddy Monster Truck Sensory Bin | Mama.Papa.Bubba.

Part way through his play Sam asked for something for the monster trucks to drive over, so that’s when I offered him a few little Green Toys cars.  We lined them up just like you’d see at a monster truck show and after getting a thorough drizzling of mud, the monster trucks began driving and jumping over them.

Muddy Monster Truck Sensory Bin | Mama.Papa.Bubba.

Muddy Monster Truck Sensory Bin | Mama.Papa.Bubba.

Although this addition was initiated by Sam, starting simple and adding things in here and there during play is one of my go-to methods for extending play activities.

 Muddy Monster Truck Derby Sensory Bin | Mama.Papa.Bubba.
Muddy Monster Truck Sensory Bin | Mama.Papa.Bubba.

Also his request?  ‘A tool and a bucket’, plus later on, a ramp which I chopped from an almond milk carton.  This was during a full one-hour play session and though I have a feeling that it would have lasted significantly longer, we had to put it on pause for nap time.  With the promise that he could continue later on in the afternoon, of course.

Muddy Monster Truck Derby Sensory Play | Mama Papa Bubba

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Homemade Christmas Truck Ornaments

11 / 29 / 1812 / 1 / 18

Homemade Christmas Truck Ornaments | Mama Papa Bubba

One of the Christmas traditions I just adore?  Making a new Christmas ornament with each kiddo every year!  It’s such a fun one-on-one project and I think the kids really love hanging their newly made decorations on the tree {and revisiting their old ones each year}.  The type of ornament we make is often inspired by something they love or by a favourite book, and this year Sam’s little homemade Christmas truck ornaments were inspired by Little Blue Truck, the star of a collection of books we’ve read again and again.

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Easy Paper Tunnels for Little Car Lovers

7 / 9 / 18

Easy Paper Tunnels | Mama Papa Bubba

Sometimes the very simplest things turn out to be the biggest hits, don’t they?  Take these insanely easy paper tunnels for example…  A totally random idea, thrown together on the spot, and yet Sam just loves them. 

Easy Paper Tunnels | Mama.Papa.Bubba.

Do all little car lovers have a ‘thing’?  I once nannied a little car lover who was obsessed with speed bumps.  Like LOVED speed bumps.  And Sam’s thing? Tunnels.  

Easy Paper Tunnels | Mama.Papa.Bubba.

I don’t know what it is about them exactly, but he just freaking looovvvves tunnels.  He’s constantly searching them out for his toy cars and will basically transform anything he can into a tunnel.  Even if it’s your leg – hope you didn’t plan on moving any time soon {hah!}

Easy Paper Tunnels | Mama.Papa.Bubba.

So this afternoon when he woke from a nap talking about a tunnel for his purple concrete mixer, this little paper tunnel idea popped into my mind and it couldn’t be easier.

Easy Paper Tunnels | Mama.Papa.Bubba.{this post contains affiliate links}

Basically you need two things –  washi tape and card stock {I love this stuff from Ikea – it’s super sturdy and the colours are gorgeous}.  Oh, and a hard surface of some sort.  All I did was cut some of the card stock in half and kept some whole, then folded little tabs on each side, and washi taped them to our coffee table to form little rainbow tunnels.

Easy Paper Tunnels | Mama.Papa.Bubba.

Easiest thing EVER.

Easy Paper Tunnels | Mama.Papa.Bubba.

He collected up a bunch of different cars and trucks, placed them in the middle of the table, and then drove them around and through the paper tunnels one-by-one.

Easy Paper Tunnels | Mama.Papa.Bubba.

One thing I really love about this activity besides it being so easy is that while the paper tunnels are fairly crash proof, the fact that they’re just paper taped down onto a table encourages Sam to practice slow, controlled, gentle movements – something that doesn’t always come naturally to him.

IMG 4372

These remain on our coffee table currently and probably will for a while, but when we’re done with them, we’ll just take them off and tuck them away until next time, probably reusing the same paper tunnels several times over.

The Easiest Paper Tunnels for Little Car Lovers | Mama Papa Bubba

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