Road-Building Challenge 2
Bear and Lion need a road back to the zoo. Add one obstacle after another so your child can plan, build, revise, and keep the journey moving.
- 3 years
- Quick prep
- At home
- About 30 minutes
Developmental benefits
- Cognitive：Meeting a sequence of new obstacles and changing the magnetic-tile road gives your child repeated practice persisting and adjusting a solution.
- Language：Asking what an obstacle means and discussing possible routes gives your child a reason to seek the information needed for the task.
Preparation
What You’ll Need
- 1
Magnetic tiles, animal figures, paper, markers, and colored pencils
- 2
prepare obstacle cards with a word and picture for each rule
Step 1
Bear Sets Out to Find Lion
Set out Bear and Lion and use magnetic tiles to mark the zoo as the destination. Invite your child to build a road that first reaches Lion. Add one simple obstacle card, such as a rule that one section may use only teal tiles.
What to notice
- Finds teal magnetic tiles for the color-limited road section
Emergent Mathematical Thinking - Aligns and connects the magnetic tiles
Fine Motor
Tips
- Begin with one easy constraint, such as a color rule. Add harder rules only after your child understands the format.
- Read and explain the words on an obstacle card before inviting your child to plan the route.
Step 2
Plan Around an Obstacle
Continue toward the zoo and make the next obstacle more physical, such as a magnetic-tile rock blocking the direct path. Ask your child to propose a plan—build around it or create a bridge—then put the idea into the road.
What to notice
- Asks what a new obstacle means
Communicating and Speaking - Builds a route around the magnetic-tile rock
Reasoning and Problem-Solving
Tips
- Planning before building helps turn a general idea into a concrete action for getting past the obstacle.
- One obstacle may have several solutions. Listen to your child’s plan and share another idea without treating only one as correct.
- If the first build fails, look at where it stopped and try another route, direction, or arrangement.
Step 3
Keep Solving the Road
Add new obstacles as the road approaches the zoo. When your child asks for help, analyze the problem together instead of choosing the material or building the route for them.
What to notice
- Keeps proposing or trying solutions as new obstacles appear
Cognitive Self-Regulation (Executive Functioning) - Switches from square to triangular tiles to connect the road to the zoo Cognitive Self-Regulation (Executive Functioning)
Tips
- Add a shape rule, such as “No squares,” so your child must connect the road with another tile shape.
- When Bear and Lion reach the zoo, thank your child for the many attempts and celebrate completing the route.
Better Parenting Content Team · Updated September 11, 2026