Construction!

The Plan

Books

Construction Countdown by K.C. Olson
The Construction Crew by Lynn Meltzer
Road Work Ahead by Anastasia Suen
Tip Tip Dig Dig by Emma Garcia

Extension Activities

Action Rhyme: “Cranes”
Cranes reach up,
Cranes reach down,
Cranes reach out,
And all around.
Credit: Pre-K Fun

Fingerplay: “Five Little Nails”
Five little nails, standing straight and steady
Here I come with my hammer ready!
Bam, bam, bam! That nail goes down.
Now there’s just four nails to pound.
(count down)
Credit: Mel’s Desk

Song: “Construction Worker Song”
This is the way we pound our nails, pound our nails, pound our nails
This is the way we pound our nails, so early in the morning
(saw the wood, turn the screwdriver, drill a hole, stack the bricks, stir the paint, paint the walls)
Credit: Pre-K Fun

Song: “Dump Truck” (Tune: Ten Little Indians)
Bumpity-bumpity comes the dump truck,
Bumpity-bumpity comes the dump truck,
Bumpity-bumpity comes the dump truck,
Duuuuuuuuuuuuuuump out the load.
Credit: Pre-K Fun

Craft

This craft was found on Pinterest, but originally was developed by the Texas State Library for their summer reading program, Dig Up a Good Book!

How It Went

This was a requested outreach storytime that I did at a local daycare. Their learning theme for the month was construction, so I was asked to tie into that. I had visited them last year around this time and done a Very Hungry Caterpillar re-telling on the feltboard at a parent’s night, so I was familiar with their site, but not with the classrooms. I did two separate storytimes — one in their Pre-K classroom and one in their two-year-old room. So, I want to spend a little bit of time talking about how I tweaked the same plan to fit two age groups.

Pre-K

I did all the activities in this room, except for the “Dump Truck” song. The reason why is that the whole class set very attentive throughout storytime and we didn’t need to bounce out any sillies. Since this was the first time I had worked with this group, I had actually planned a lighter storytime — I could have brought a fifth book! (And a flannelboard would have worked with this group as well.) This group has breakfast scheduled immediately after storytime, so I did not see them do their craft, though I left enough behind.

Two-Year-Old Room

In the two-year-old room, I only read 3 out of the 4 books I had with me. We skipped “Construction Countdown.” I chose “Tip Tip Dig Dig” because of the sounds, which the kids repeated after me. I really liked “Road Work Ahead” for the storyline — I kept their interest by continually asking “Do you think we can make it Grandma’s house?” and waiting for their responses. And “The Construction Crew” was a natural progression after we sang “This Is the Way.” In this room, I did not do the “Five Little Nails” rhyme and instead brought out the “Dump Truck” song. And I was able to hang out while the kids did their crafts before their scheduled outdoor time.

All in all, both groups were successful outings and I’ve already secured an invitation to return for next month’s theme — Gardening!