# 17 · Toy parking

**Ten minutes · counting / pretend play.** **You need:** Three to six large
toy vehicles or other favourite objects, plus a sheet of paper with several
large parking spaces drawn on it. A box lid works as a parking area too.

**Play:** Let the child park objects in any spaces. Ask whether a new arrival
has a space, whether one space can stay empty, or whether the whole plan
should change. Count if useful, pointing once to each object.

**Adult says:** “Who is parking here?” “Is there room for one more?” “How
could we find out?” Let the child move things to answer.

**Child chooses:** Which objects count as vehicles, layout, story and whether
to use number words, gestures or objects.

**Notice:** Did they match one object to one space or notice an empty space?
What happened when another object arrived?

**Access and safety:** Use large tactile spaces or shallow boxes for low
vision. An adult can drive the toy at the child's direction. Avoid small
wheels that detach. No screen is needed.

**Reuse:** © NeuroForgeIO Pty Ltd 2026 · [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) · Original; note changes if adapted.