Play & Learn: Tape Town
2 mins read

Play & Learn: Tape Town

Tape Town is an opportunity to talk about our normal daily routines, the world around us, and our favorite places to go. Use tape, paper, carboard, and toys to build a replica of your neighborhood or make up your own new town! There are plenty of opportunities for discussion while doing this activity. Ask open-ended questions about the Tape Town and the people in it. Why is that building there? Where does that road go? Who are the people in your town? There are no wrong answers.

Tape Town involves three important early literacy practices: Playing, Talking, and Writing. Open-ended play is a great way for kids to be creative, work together collaboratively, and make connections to the world around them. Talking about the world around them helps kids to connect words with real objects and concepts. Finally, coloring and drawing use the same muscles as writing, so decorating your Tape Town will help strengthen the fine motor skills needed for handwriting later on.

Supplies
  • Masking or painters tape (If you don’t have these, that’s fine! You can use strips of paper on the floor instead)
  • Cardboard from food packaging or boxes
  • Construction or printer paper
  • Crayons, markers, and pencils
  • Blocks, LEGO, Magna-Tiles, or any building toys you have
  • Toy cars or trucks, or any toys to “walk” around your neighborhood
Instructions
  1. Find a surface for your tape town and work together to plan out where your roads will go.
  2. Once you’ve placed your roads, discuss what buildings to make and where to put them. Decorate them however you’d like
  3. Now it’s time to play! Drive your cars through the neighborhood and have your figurines and animals amble the roads.
Books to explore

Go, Dog, Go! by P. D. Eastman

Please Take Me for a Walk by Susan Gal

Maybe Something Beautiful by Isabel F. Campoy

My Papi Has a Motorcycle by Isabel Quintero

Trashy Town by Andrea Zimmerman

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *