It's time to visit the construction site (or at least to pretend)! I am surprised by how many awesome books and resources there are for this theme. Here you will find a collection of four recommended books, three songs, a gross motor skills activity, and some craft suggestions.
Books That Get the Job Done
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Little Excavator (Anna Dewdney)
By the same author who brought us the Llama Llama books we love, this is the story of the Little E, an excavator who just wants to help out. There are many things he can't do, due to his small size, but in the end he finds that being small has some advantages.
Tip Tip Dig Dig (Emma Garcia)
This simple story introduces us to a number of construction vehicles and their functions. They each contribute to cleaning up the mess and turning it into a playground! I love their cute wonky eyes and kids can perform the actions as you read along.
Pete the Cat: Construction Destruction (James Dean)
Our favorite blue cat has plans for a groovy new playground, but he will need his friends to help out. Things don't go as planned at first, but they rebuild the playground to be better than imagined. This one has a lot of good interjections and onomatopoeia.
Push! Dig! Scoop! (Rhonda Gowler Greene)
This construction counting rhyme features a number of different construction vehicles working on a site. They work together until the job is done, then they have a little fun! This one has a good rhythm that can easily be sung.
Songs to Sing While You Work
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The Construction Worker Song
We did this one for our community helpers storytime and it was a big hit! It gets the kids moving and they are so excited to build a pretend house. I did the verses in this order while explaining how a house comes together:
1. Saw the Wood (To make a frame for the house.)
2. Pound the Nail (Put the wood together to make the frame.)
3. Stack the Bricks (Put up the walls.)
4. Mix the Paint (Because sometimes paint is runny.)
5. Paint the Wall (To make the inside of our house pretty!)
Five Big Dump Trucks
This is a simple countdown song that you can do motions with. For each number of dump trucks, hold up that number of fingers. For "rolling down the road" roll your arms around each other. Then tip your arm like a dump truck when they unload.
Johnny's Hammers
I'm not sure where this one originated, but I found it on everythingpreschool.com. The motions for this one is sure to get the kids laughing! It's sung to the tune of the classic kid's song "There's a Hole in My Bucket." Verse One: (Make hamering motion with one fists) Johnny had one hammer, one hammer, one hammer Johnny had one hammer then he had Two
Verse Two: (Make hamering motion with both fists) Johnny had two hammers, two hammers, two hammers, Johnny had two hammers then he had Three.
Verse Three: (Make motion with both fists and one leg.) Johnny had three hammers, three hammers, three hammers, Johnny had three hammers then he had Four
Verse Four: (Make motion with both fists and both legs) Johnny had four hammers, four hammers, four hammers, Johnny had four hammers then he had Five
Verse Five: (Make motion with both fists and both legs and head.) Johnny had five hammers, five hammers, five hammers Johnny had five hammers, then he went to sleep (lay hands like sleeping)
Gross Motor Skills Construction Cards _________________________________________________________________________
Have kids imitate different construction tools and vehicles with these free printable construction movement action cards here! They will push like a bulldozer, spin like a cement mixer, stretch like a crane, and so on!
No craft today, but...
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There are lots of awesome construction craft ideas on Pinterest here! Below, I've included a collage of some of my favorite craft ideas to accompany this theme.