How to Make Your Own Play Car for a Kid

You can make your own toy car.

Making a toy car can be a fun and inexpensive way of keeping your children entertained. You can build a toy car using unwanted items in the home. When using sharp items, ensure that there is a responsible adult present to prevent injury during the car making process.

Things You'll Need

• One large plastic bottle
• Four pencils
• Duct tape
• One large nail
• Eight bottle caps
• Scissors
• Plastic bags
• Stones

Instructions

1. Find a large water bottle with the cap still on it. A square bottle is easier to work with, but not essential.

2. Place the bottle on one side and attach a pencil using duct tape to the side of the bottle near to the cap. Attach another pencil to the same side of the bottle but nearer to the bottom away from the cap. Ensure that the two pencils cross over the bottle and are parallel to one another. Tape the pencils down securely, as they will be used as your wheel axes.

3. Pierce a hole in the middle of eight bottle caps using a large nail. Take two bottle caps and use duct tape to hold them together with their insides facing each other. Do this four times, as you will use these as your wheels. Place the wheels onto the ends of the pencils, leaving a quarter inch of the tips showing.

4. Stand the bottle car on its wheels and attach a pencil to the top and bottom of the bottle using duct tape. The pencils should be parallel to one another and placed in the middle of the bottle. Ensure that more than half of the pencil is sticking out from the bottle.

5. Take a plastic shopping bag and cut a rectangular shape out of it. The size of the rectangle should be slightly longer than the space between the two pencils. This is going to be the used as the sail that will aid in the movement of the car.

6. Place some small stones inside the car to weigh it down so it will not flip over when there is a strong gust of wind.

7. Decorate the car in the style that you desire. You can use marker pens to create doors, windows and handles. You can also customize the car by writing your name on it.

References

• "Crafts For Kids"; Gill Dickinson; 2006