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Last summer, I made all sorts of car activities to keep my then two year old daughter entertained on a long road trip. At one point my husband looked through what I had made and he saw an earlier version of this magnetic car track. He took one look and said that it wouldn’t keep her busy for more than a minute. Thankfully he was very wrong and this cookie sheet activity was one of her favorite things. It has stayed in our car ever since and it still gets taken out every so often.
As we prepare for another summer road trip, I decided to upgrade the old cookie sheet activity and make my daughter new magnetic road maps. This also gives me the chance to show you guys how we made such a simple craft. If you have gone on a trip with a little one, you will know that cookie sheets are great. They allow your child to play with something like this matchbox car track on their lap. Because of how handy they are, we ended up also getting my daughter a car seat tray. But we still use our cookie sheet for magnets and as a quick thing to hand back to her instead of need to strap the tray all around her.
How to Make a Matchbox Car Track as a Road Trip Cookie Sheet Activity
Supplies:
- Car track printout (I used these road maps from The DIY Mommy)
- Laminator (or clear packing tape)
- Magnetic tape
- Cookie sheet
- Matchbox cars
- Cardboard
- Hot glue
Creating the Car Track:
To start, you need a picture of a race track or some sort of roads. I found these two really neat road maps on The DIY Mommy. After printing them, I cut them out, laminated them, and cut them out again. If you don’t have a laminator you can cover them in clear packing tape instead.
Next, I stuck magnetic tape on the back of them. If you look at the reviews for any type of magnetic strip you will see people complaining that they don’t have a strong magnetic hold. I found this to be the case as well, but for this craft it doesn’t matter too much. The magnets are more to help keep everything on the cookie sheet in your child’s lap in a moving car. They don’t need to hold upside down or anything. Anyways, I like that the magnetic strips aren’t as appetizing to swallow if they do somehow get peeled off unlike smaller round magnets.
Then, I tested the tracks out on my smaller than standard cookie sheet for the car. I got a Dollar Tree cookie sheet, but you can also get a cookie sheet from Amazon. Having one in the car is great for magnetic things like this race track, but it also serves as just a good flat surface for your kids to use in the car. The first time we used it, my daughter was still rear facing, so it works for either direction.
Creating the Cars:
Then, it was time to make the cars. I bought cheap matchbox cars from the Dollar Tree to use. First, I tried to just put a strip of magnetic tape on the bottom of them. Since the magnet didn’t touch the cookie sheet, it didn’t hold at all. So, I hot glued a small strip of flattened cardboard on the bottom of each car. Then, I stuck a strip of magnetic tape to the cardboard. Now that the magnet was actually touching the cookie sheet, it held.
Now, I had a new and improved set of road maps and cars to give my daughter to use during our upcoming road trip.
Outcome of Magnetic Car Tracks Cookie Sheet Activity:
I will have to update this once we go on our road trip, since my daughter isn’t even going to get to see it before then. My guess is it will be a hit just like the previous one I made her. It was super easy and straightforward to make, so making a few new ones every once in a while to keep them novel is easy. Making a variety of road maps and using a variety of cars are all simple tweaks that you can make to keep them unique. I also think a train themed one would be fun and will probably make one before we leave. These Thomas mini trains would work perfectly with a picture of train tracks.
Overall, it is a simple craft that will give some car entertainment for kids. If you are planning a trip of your own make sure to check out some of my other travel craft ideas like laminated paper dolls that look like your kid’s favorite stuffed animal. What do your kids like to do during long road trips?
Update: My daughter enjoyed her updated car tracks. She didn’t get as excited as I expected about having new tracks, but she still enjoyed switching between them. My 17 month year old son also ended playing with them during our road trip. Check out what else I made and brought for my preschooler daughter and toddler son on our road trip.
