Veronika’s favorite cartoon right now features a tractor that gets muddy and dirty. With just a few craft supplies, we could replicate the idea right in the kitchen!

I drew car shapes on craft foam (using a very simple profile of a car since that was easier than a tractor), and cut them out.

I then gave Veronika the “cars” along with a few sponges, and a shallow basin filled with warm soapy water. Note: I used baby shampoo, to avoid tears if she rubbed at her eyes, but dish soap would work, too.

Place everything on a towel to nix the possibility of slippery spills and to make clean-up a cinch. Then I showed Veronika how to scribble over the cars with marker. “Oh no!” I said in pretend dismay. “The cars are getting muddy! They’re covered in dirt.”

She parroted right along, catching on to the game and coloring “dirt” over the cars.

Now it was time for a car wash! Show your toddler how to dip a sponge in the soapy water and then scrub on the craft foam. The washable markers come right off, even without much scrubbing, so Veronika was soon rewarded with squeaky clean cars.

And then of course she wanted a repeat!

You can also anticipate lots of fun simply squeezing water out of the sponges, splashing cars through the soapy water, and playing with the car shapes after you’ve toweled them dry.