Springtime Driveway Race Day – Easy Play, Craft, and Snack Ideas

Looking for the perfect springtime outdoor play inspiration? Keep reading this post, sponsored by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser, to learn how simple craft supplies and smarter snack options found at Walmart helped us create a day full of fun in our own driveway. #GoldfishGameTime #CollectiveBias

The weather has been all over the place lately. But the upside to that is we’ve had a couple of unexpected, gorgeous days in the past few weeks, reminding us that the official start of spring is just around the corner. Even if most of North East is buried under two feet of snow right now, spring is still coming . . . eventually.

Even if we were in the middle of a blizzard, Hayla would ask play outside. So of course that’s been her number one request lately. Don’t get me wrong, I love that she wants to be active and outside as much as possible instead of sitting in front of a screen. But this time of year, it’s really hard for me to get around in the squishy, soft and muddy grass of our backyard. Until the ground dries up, I’m relinquished to the driveway, which can be a real bummer on our play time, unless we really put our imaginations to work!

After a grocery trip for lunchbox staples with my mom ended with browsing the craft aisles, I decided to surprise Hayla with a special driveway race day that would keep her smiling and active, while keeping me out of the mud!

DIY Checkered Flag Tutorial

The best props are those that ignite the imagination and can be used in a million different ways. I wanted to stick with things that I knew Hayla could use for all sorts of games through spring and summer vacation, whether she was alone or with other kids. I bought some new chalk, mini orange cones, and hit up the craft supplies to make paper bunting ribbons and checkered flags for our race day finish line.

To make a checkered flag, you need:

• 1 wooden dowel rod
• 1 white piece of felt 
• 1 black piece of felt 
• Sturdy glue
• Pencil

Making the Checkered Flag

1. Using the wooden dowel rod as a guide, fold one end of the white felt over to create a pocket to hold the dowel rod and mark with a pencil line. This will serve as your cutting line in step two.
2. Holding the piece of white felt vertically, cut 8 equal sections, not cutting past your pencil line. I started by using craft scissors, but on our second flag attempt, found out that my rotary cutter made cleaner, more even cuts.  
3. Holding the piece of black felt horizontally, cut 8 equal strips.
4. Weave the black felt strips with the white felt sections and secure the ends with glue. If your littles are doing this craft, white school glue will work just fine, but you may want to hit it with a little super glue or hot glue action to ensure the flags hold up for the long haul.
5. Once your checkerboard weave is completed, glued, and trimmed (if needed), glue the dowel rod in the pocket by folding the white felt around the dowel rod to the pencil line. Parents: you definitely want to use a heavier glue for this part!

Check out my tutorial video to see how this felt checkered flag comes together!

Any Way is Okay – Racing Ideas

I love projects like this because they’re so inclusive and adaptive. No matter if you’re a mom to many or looking for some one-on-one time, a driveway race track can work. Plus, there are a lot of ways for me to get actively involved in the playing, which is always tricker with outside games. Just because I’m a wheelchair mom doesn’t mean I can’t be a fun mom! Josh and my sister were both able to be here for our race day, which made Hayla even more excited to try to beat them – especially outrunning Dad!

There are so many ways to use the race track:

• Speed  – race against others or the clock and see if you can beat your own best time
• Balance – who can make it across the finish line first on an invisible balance beam?
• Agility – Hop on one foot, jumping jacks, skipping, lunges, jumps, army crawls, rolls, cartwheels. Anything goes!
• Wheel vs Wheel – grab the bikes, roller blades, scooters, (and wheelchairs too), to see whose wheels are the fastest.

The Snack That Smiles Back®

Now that basketball is over for the season, we’re looking for projects to help keep Hayla active and happy, Her competitive spirit is already showing and the love of running and being part of a team definitely puts a smile on her face, so I’m pretty sure I’ve got a long future of being a sports mom ahead of me. Seeing her face light up at the sight of her very own race track tells us that Track and Field sports are probably in her future too! Whatever sport season we’re in, when you play hard, you need the right fuel. That’s one of the reasons why we picked up Goldfish® crackers along with other smart snacking options, like fresh fruits and veggies, along with the rest of our race track supplies at Walmart.

Check out Goldfish crackers on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram @GoldfishSmiles. Get more ideas for meals, snacks, games and family fun when you click here.