Arts And Crafts
Use sawdust to make a picture. Let the children make designs on
colored construction paper with glue and a paintbrush, shake sawdust on
glue and shake off excess.
Give each child a large piece of white paper.
Provide sponges in the shapes of hammers, wrenches, etc. Give children 3
plates with different colored paints on them. Have children dip their sponges
inside and decorate their plates.
Give children a blue square, yellow circle and a long piece of yellow ribbon or streamer. Have children glue the circle on the
middle of the square. Then have them glue the ribbon at the bottom corner of
the square. To finish have them paste a small piece of foil to the end of the
streamer. Instant tape measure!
Give each child a piece of colored paper. Give child 5
popsicle sticks. One for the rake handle and 4 for the tires of the rake.
Have them glue it on their paper. To decorate provide leaves and grass to
glue on the bottom of the rakes tires.
Give each child a piece of plain paper. Provide safety scissors
for each child. Have them cut foil, paper, paper towels, etc. Then let them
use the pieces they cut to create a picture on their paper.
small spaghetti box, two small gelatin boxes, round salt box, cardboard, plastic cap, construction paper
For the cab, tape two small gelatin boxes together. For the body of the bulldozer, use part of a small spaghetti box. Cover the boxes with glue and construction paper. Cut four wheels from cardboard and cover them with paper. Make windows from white paper. Add details with a marker. For the smokestack, glue a plastic cap to the body of the bulldozer. Cut a section from a round cardboard salt box. Paint it and let it dry. Then glue it to the front of the bulldozer.
Discuss the properties of buildings: sides, roofs, doors, windows, etc. Show them pictures of different kinds of buildings asking about the different types of roofs, etc. Have the children glue popsicle sticks onto paper to make building shapes. To make smaller sizes let them break them in half. Have paint and small brushes to let them paint their constructed "buildings."
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Recipes And Cooking
A fun snack to make "Hammers". Use cheese cubes and stick pretzels.
Let the cheese come to room temperature to soften a little, then children add
the stick pretzels for the hammer handles. (If the cheese isn't a little soft, the pretzels will break.)
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Songs And Rhymes
"Turn the Screw" Song
1. Turn the screw with the screwdriver, with the screwdriver, with the
screwdriver, Turn the screw with the screwdriver, We work with our tools.
2. Hammer the nail with the hammer, with the hammer, with the hammer,
Hammer the nail with the hammer,
We work with our tools.
3. Saw the wood with the saw....
4. Tighten the bolt with the pliers......
5. Paint the wall with the paintbrush......
Tool Song
Susie Jones had some tools. This I know.
And in ther toolbox she had a hammer. This I know.
And in her toolbox she had some pliers. This I know.
Substitute the children's names in song and look in children's
"toolboxes" as the song is sung.
Tool Box Song
First you take your hammer out of the toolbox.
Sing song as children remove and put back their "tools" in their
toolboxes. Stop singing after each tool is mentioned to give the
children time to follow the activity.
"Hammer A Nail" Song
Hammer, hammer, hammer, hammer,
"Hammer the Nail" Song
Hammer the nail into the wood,
"I am Cutting with My Saw" Song
Saw, saw, saw, saw,
Pull out the nail with your pliers, with your pliers.
This is a cute song for tools and easy to remember.
This is the way we saw our wood,
"The Machine Song"
The wheels on the truck go round and round,
The big bulldozer scrapes and scrapes,
The front-end-loader scoops up stuff,
The big dumptruck, it brings and takes,
The soft concrete is mixed in a truck,
(tune: "So Early in the Morning") This is the way we hammer the nails,
Use hand motions like you are hammering a nail. Try others like: saw the wood; turn the screw; stir the paint; paint the walls; stack the bricks; and drive the truck, bulldozer, crane... Ask the children for more ideas of what else is done on construction sites.
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Games And Activities
Trace tools shapes onto construction paper and cut them out and covering with clear contact paper and use for decorations on the wall such as a border around a window.
Another idea is to use the shapes as a matching game the shape to the outline. Just trace the shape to the construction paper and cut out and then just trace a shape to another piece of construction paper and let them match them. Copy a bunch of small tools from a clipart or coloring book and cut them out and let them glue them onto a paper for a tool collage. Or use the shapes for a mobile.
Tool Matching Picture Give child a picture of people in their kitchen, garden, work room. Have them match the tools with the appropriate person.
Make tool dominoes. Each domino should picture two tools. Each child draws a card and matches it to another card, (hammer to hammer, pliers to pliers, saw to saw, etc). Continue as in dominoes.
Toolbox Game Put one tool in a toolbox and sit in front of children. Hold toolbox up to one child, quickly open box, let child see tool, and close box. Have child tell which tool he saw. Put two tools in toolbox. Let child see the tools and close box. Open and remove one tool. let child look in the box and tell which tool is missing.
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Dramatic Play
Have two children hold both hands facing each other and be a "saw" going back and forth.
Let children pull golf tees (nails) out of styrofoam with child-sized pliers.
Paint a fence or building with water and paintbrushes.
Wear painters' caps (free from paint stores).
Discuss how tools make jobs easier. Children use their bodies to imitate movements of different tools. Slowly turn around like screwdrivers, bend up and down and bob like a hammer etc.
Use sand in the sensory table and dig for items using forks and spoons.
Set up the block corner as a Construction site. Put in plactic tools, Hard hats, Toolbelts, etc
Hang yellow and black construction tape around your block area. Take construction paper and make a diamond "construction zone" sign. Put typical signs up that you would see on a construction sight, i.e. hard hat area etc. Provide the children with large and small blocks, play tools, tool belts and hard hats.
Materials the children could build constructions out of include:
Soft woods, Bottle tops, Corks, Cardboard Canvas, Cotton reels, Carpet Dowling, Felt, Hessian Lids, Rubber bands, String, Rope, Vinyl Wallpape, Wire, Paint, Felt tip pens
Shovel Fun Provide a sand table center. Either using sand, rice or foam
pieces, provide child with all different types of shovels. Let them have fun
digging in the sand table.
Bury small treasures in sand or dirt in the sensory table or outdoors. Give each child a small dump truck or excavator toy to dig with and have them uncover the goodies.
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Misc.
Present children with a tray full of assorted tools: garden, household,woodworking etc. Ask what they are used for? What their names are? Pick up each item and have them state the purpose for each.
Allow the children to learn the correct way of storing construction materials and tools by Providing tool box for the tools Tins for storing the nails (with a sample nail stuck on the outside so the children know which size nail is stored here) Woodbox, Bin, or area where the wood (or materials) are stored.
Tools that the children could have to use if they are making a wooden construction include: Easily adjustable clamps Files Claw hammers Hacksaw Hand drill Pincers Pliers Pencils Ruler Screw drivers a Tenon Saw Vice
Have books that show a building in construction
Have posters/photos of a building in construction
Use sand in the sensory table and dig for items using forks and spoons.
Play hot patato using tools as music plays pass it along. When the music stops name it and the function.
Give children all sorts of tools to sort by use, size,color,function to name a few.
Put tools into a bag(NO SHARP ONES) let each child take a turn reaching into bag to guess what it maybe and of course it's function.
Give children objects to sort into pairs:
Hammer-Nails Screwdriver-Screws
Discuss safety rules that should be followed when using tools such as hammers, saws, and rakes. Why are these danerous? Why do you suppose construction men wear hardhats?
Provide wood scraps, nails and rubber bands. The children hammer the nails into the wood anyway they like, using only one side. Then they use the rubber bands to make shapes by stretching them between the nails. This is similar to a geoboard. The children love having their own and we used the term "geoboard". Sometimes they need a little bit of help with the hammering, but it's fun.
Have a TOOL DAY, where each of the children is asked to bring a tool to school and explain what it was for. Print the responses and send them home to parents. It's very interesting to see the variety of tools that come, especially when children are allowed to choose their own. It's also fun to hear what the children think the tools are used for!
Have a variety of materials that the children can build with. These materials include: Unit blocks, Play cubes, Plastic crates, Block sets, Lego...
Have a construction site sign that can be used when ever the children are making a construction
Have toy dump trucks, Cement mixers and other veichles seen at a construction site to encourage the children to play with the veichles as though they are at a construction site.
Materials the children could build constructions out of include:
Soft woods, Bottle tops, Corks, Cardboard Canvas, Cotton reels, Carpet Dowling, Felt, Hessian Lids, Rubber bands, String, Rope, Vinyl Wallpape, Wire, Paint, Felt tip pens
Shovel Fun: Provide a sand table center. Either using sand, rice or foam pieces, provide child with all different types of shovels. Let them have fun digging in the sand table.
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Click on the "Back" Button to go back to
Sawdust Designs: Let children make designs on colored paper in the shape of a
saw, using glue. Have children shake sawdust all over the glue and shake off
the excess.
Let children paint with different sized paintbrushes.
Children use various class room tools to make a collage with paper punch, scissors, ruler, stapler etc.
Use a set of minature tools to make tool prints with paint.
Make a shadow tool match bulletin board.
Print With Tool Sponges
Create a Tape Measure
Create a Rake
Scissor Fun
Trace tools shapes onto construction paper and cut them out and covering with clear contact paper and use for decorations on the wall such as a border around a window.
Use department store and hardware store tool catalogs--make a tool
collage.
Let each child make a toolbox out of a shoe box. Let children pain or
color toolbox and tear or cut out pictures of different tools and put in
box. Write "________'s Tool Box" on the side. Provide magazine cutouts of different types of work tools and let children put the tools inside their box.
Bulldozer
Large cardboard boxes (e.g. washing machine, refrigerator from local appliance stores) are great for the children to work with. Saws can be used for cutting doors, windows, in what will become a house. Cardboard also easy to hand drill. Also provide PVA glue and wallpaper to decorate. Lots of adult supervision will be needed.
Have the children pretend to be bulldozers while they paint. Supply each child with a piece of finger-paint paper, finger paint, and a wide craft stick. Have each child choose several colors of finger paint to put on the paper. Show the children how to place the craft stick horizontally on the paper and push the paint--like a bulldozer! While the children work, encourage them to talk with you about their creations. Help them recognize that they are pushing the paint with the craft stick much like a bulldozer pushes dirt with its blade.
Popsicle Stick Buildings
Get actual blueprints and point out to the children the lines on them that indicate walls, windows, doors, etc. Point out that this is what architects (new word) use when they are planning buildings before they are built. Then at the art table have large pieces of blue paper with white crayons or white colored pencils and rulers. Let them go to town making their own blueprints.
Supply many different types of trucks, cars, diggers, etc. Have the children print all the different wheels with paint on the large size construction paper.
Tape crayons to the back of some of your cars from the construction area and let the children "draw" with them. Tape as many different crayon combinations on the cars as you can. Do this on a huge piece of paper that many children can work on because it gives them more room to drive the cars around &/or do this on smaller paper so the children can take one home.
Have the kids build buildings from graham crackers using frosting to glue their walls and roofs on. Then, like a gingerbread house, they can embellish them with any small candies, cookies or small crackers.
Have the children be "architects" (talk about what this word means first) and have them design their own building, skyscraper, house, etc... out of marshmallows and toothpicks. The creations can get to be very imaginative. It's great to see what they come up with!
Make a small house out of cardboard & have the children cover it with graham crackers using icing as a fixative. Use candy and cookies, etc. to make windows and doors. (Allow snacking as the house is going up, but with all of the sticky fingers at work, don't advise allow them to eat the final project.)
(tune "London Bridge)
(tune: "Old MacDonald")
With a turn, turn here,
And a turn, turn there
Here a turn, there a turn,
Everywhere a turn, turn,
Susie Jones had some tools, This I know.
With a hammer, hammer, here, and a hammer, hammer, there .....
And in her toolbox she had a saw. This I know.
With a saw, saw, here, and a saw, saw, there.....
With a pull, pull, here, and a tighten, tighten, there.....
And in her toolbox she had a brush. This I know.
With a brush, brush, here, and a brush, brush, there.....
(tune "Hokey Pokey")
Then you take the pliers and screwdriver out.
Don't forget the saw and the paintbrush, too!
Then you hammer, pull, saw, paint and screw.
Then you put your hammer back in the box.
Remember the plier and screwdriver.
Don't forget the saw and paintbrush too!
And now you know what, you're all through.
(tune: "Twinkle, Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star)
Hammer a nail into the wood.
Hammer, hammer, hammer, hammer,
Be careful no to hit your finger!
Hammer, hammer, hammer, hammer,
Hammer a nail into the wood.
(tune "Row, Row, Row Your Boat)
Hammer, hammer, hammer.
Hammer the nail into the wood,
Hammer, hammer, hammer.
(tune "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star")
I am cutting with my saw.
See the sawdust on the ground,
Hear the saw make a cutting sound.
Saw, saw, saw, saw,
I am cutting with my saw.
"With Your Pliers" Song
(tune: "There's A tavern in the Town"
Tighten the bolt with your pliers, with your pliers.
Show me what you can do.
Can do with your pliers, with your pliers.
(tune: "Mulberry bush")
saw our wood, saw our wood.
This is the way we saw our wood,
so early in the morning.
other verses pound our nails,
drill a hole use a screwdriver, etc.
(Sing to the tune of "The Wheels on the Bus")
round and round, round and round.
The wheels on the truck go round and round bringing a load.
scrapes and scrapes, scrapes and scrapes.
The big bulldozer scrapes and scrapes to even out the ground.
scoops up stuff, scoops up stuff.
The front-end-loader scoops up stuff and dumps it somewhere else.
brings and takes, brings and takes.
The big dumptruck, it brings and takes to help build a house.
mixed in a truck, mixed in a truck.
The soft concrete is mixed in a truck, and then poured on the ground.
hammer the nails, hammer the nails,
this is the way we hammer the nails, so early in the morning.
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