Anything involving big vehicles seems to be a hit for toddlers and preschoolers. Today we focused on the construction site, building and digging and rolling and dumping. We touched a bit on small scale building, too, with a rhyme about building blocks, as well as a DIY project with Five Little Nails. For a take entirely focused on building with blocks, see my post on Building Fun.
Early Literacy Tip: Building with blocks or Legos develops a child’s early math, science, and spatial reasoning skills. Through play, your child is discovering shapes, balance and gravity, what fits together, and learning experimentation by rebuilding after a fall.
Welcome Song: Hello, Friends* (TT) (TB) (FT)**
Warm Up Song: Wake Up, Feet* (TT) (TB) (FT)
This is a repeated song that everyone seems to enjoy. I always begin and end with feet and tummies, but find two other body parts to wiggle in the middle. I rotate between elbows, cheeks, hips, noses, arms, chins, thighs, heads, shoulders, ears, knees, and fingers.
Lifting Rhyme: Toast in the Toaster* (TT) (FT)
Intro: Today we are talking about construction – building things. Big things like buildings and skyscrapers, and even small things like block towers. Speaking of, let’s start out by building a tower with some blocks. And block towers sometimes (almost always!) fall down!
Action Rhyme: Tower
We’re making a tower (fists stack atop each other)
In our building-block town
Along comes the baby… (fingers wiggle)
…And it all falls down! (hands fall outward)
Source: original
Transition: If You’re Ready for a Story* (TT) (TB) (FT)
Read: Snakes on the Job by Kathryn Dennis (TT)
I always like the idea of these Snakes books by Dennis more than the actual books. The rhyme schemes are a little wonky and the interactive element (the hissing) doesn’t always make a lot of sense. It’s cute for sure, but awkward to read aloud.
Read: Tip, Tip, Dig, Dig by Emma Garcia (TB) (FT)
I’m a big fan of ALL Garcia’s books. They are so simple but they work incredibly well, and the artwork is bright and silly and appealing. I wish they were all available in a larger picture book format now instead of just board books.
Can we stretch up really high like a crane?
Stretch: Cranes Reach Up (TT) (TB) (FT)
Cranes reach up, Cranes reach down
Cranes reach out (reach straight out)
And all around (turn around)
Source: Jbrary
With our tall crane, we can build a skyscraper.
Rhyme: Skyscraper (TT) (TB) (FT)
Brick by brick by brick by brick (fists stack atop each other)
My building’s so high it’s scraping the sky
Brick by brick by brick by brick
My building will sway when the wind blows this way (sway)
Brick by brick by brick by brick
Now I’m ready to stop and a flag goes on top (wave hand)
Source: Jen in the Library
Storytime Katie made some amazing flannels for this, but I didn’t have much time so just cut out printouts of the art from Tip, Tip, Dig, Dig. I had a lot of really interested kiddos right up at the flannelboard, trying to get as close as they could!
Can we name the machines we might see at the construction site?
Flannel: Red Crane (TT) (TB) (FT)
Red crane, red crane, what do you see?
I see a yellow digger looking at me!
…purple mixer
…orange roller
…blue dumper
…green ‘dozer
Source: Storytime Katie
What if we wanted to build something at home? Maybe all we need is a hammer and five nails.
I found it easiest to go from pinky to thumb on this one.
Fingerplay: Five Little Nails (TT) (TB) (FT)
(start with five fingers up)
Five little nails, standing straight and steady
Here I come, with my hammer ready…
Bam, bam, bam that nail goes down (bend finger down)
Now there are just four nails to pound (count down)
Source: Mel’s Desk
We didn’t do all of the verses on this one, just measure, saw, stir, and paint.
If we were building a house what tools might we use?
Action Song: The Construction Worker Song (TT) (TB) (FT)
(tune of Here We Go ‘Round the Mulberry Bush)
This is the way we measure the wood
Measure the wood, measure the wood
This is the way we measure the wood
When we construct a building
Additional verses:
Saw the wood / Pound the nails / Drill a hole / Use a screwdriver / Stir the paint / Paint the walls / Stack the bricks
(What other verses can you think of?)
Source: Stratford (CT) Library
I didn’t end up using this one for time reasons, but always better to have too much than too little!
Action Rhyme: Here is a Steam Shovel
Here is a steam shovel (Forearm erect, hand drooping)
And here is the ground (two arms enclose area)
See the great boom (forearm moving side to side)
Swing round and round
It dips, it bites, (forearms dips, thumb and fingers grasping)
It lifts, it throws (forearm lifts, thumb and fingers spin)
My, how the hole in the ground grows! (hands make circle)
Digging, scooping, (mime)
Lifting, throwing,
See how the hill (peak hands)
Beside it is growing
Source: Jen in the Library
For the falling down verse, we “fell” by leaning to one side or another. Then we built the bridge back up with sticks and stones, it fell again, and then we tried iron and steel.
Here’s a traditional song. What might we build it up with?
Song: London Bridge (TT) (TB)
London bridge is falling down, falling down, falling down
London bridge is falling down, my fair lady
Additional verses:
Build it up with sticks and stones / …wood and clay / …iron and steel / …silver and gold
Source: traditional
There’s a dump truck song that uses the pervasive and racist “Five Little” tune that I’ve used in the past but no longer. It’s a bounce with a tip at the end. To replace it, I found this rhyme, and I’m glad it has the same fun bounce and tip without the problematic tune.
Dump trucks are used to haul heavy loads of materials. Let’s bounce along like a dump truck.
Bounce: Dump Truck (TT) (TB) (FT)
Dump truck, dump truck (bounce or pat knees and clap hands)
Bumping down the road
Spilling gravel as we travel with our heavy load (sway side to side)
Dump truck, dump truck bumping down the road
Dump truck, dump truck, time to UNLOAD! (lean back or to the side)
Source: adapted from ImagineIf Libraries (MT)
Action Song: Zoom, Zoom, Zoom!* (TT) (TB) (FT)
Craft: Dump Truck (TB) (FT)
I love a craft that seems impressive but was easy for me to assemble! Our library has the dump truck Ellison die, so it was quick work to cut some out of yellow construction paper. They glued the truck cab and trailer to a background sheet, then used a brad to attach the box bed so it could pivot upward to dump. There were tissue squares that could be glued to the bed for the load, and crayons for any other decorating or details.
Play Time
The toddlers have two laundry baskets of baby toys – rattles and cars, sorters and stackers, toy phones and spinners. For the older kids, I have foam blocks, soft food toys, puzzles, and a few other items that are a little more sophisticated than the baby toys. For Family Time, I gauge the overall age of the group and put out what seems right for them. We play for 5-10 minutes at the most, then I ring the bell and ask the kids to help me clean up. I think the clean up bit is good practice for them!
Goodbye Song: See You Later Alligator* (TT) (TB) (FT)
Goodbye Rhyme: Tickle the Stars* (TT) (TB) (FT)
Other books I had available for families to browse (and may work for you on this theme)
Skyscraper – Jorey Hurley
Go! Go! Go! Stop! – Charise Mericle Harper
Hooray for Trucks! – Susan Hughes & Suharu Ogawa
Dreaming Up: A Celebration of Building – Christy Hale
Little Excavator – Anna Dewdney
Someone Builds the Dream – Lisa Wheeler & Loren Long
The Digger and the Duckling – Joseph Kuefler
Crane Jane! – Andrea Zimmerman & Dan Yaccarino
I’m Dirty! – Kate & Jim McMullan
Bulldozer’s Big Day – Candace Fleming & Eric Rohmann
Who Made this Cake? – Chihiro Nakagawa & Junji Koyose
This storytime was presented in-person on 4/22, 4/23, & 4/24/24.
Storytime Handout:
*Lyrics to these songs can be found on the Repeated Songs & Rhymes page.
**These symbols indicate the program sessions I used the activities for:
(TT) Toddler Time, ages 1-2
(TB) Teddy Bears, ages 2-3.5
(FT) Family Time, ages 0-3.5
Storytime with Ms. Emily Library 