TRC 2012 Home

Build With Me!

Books to Share

Big Rig Bugs by Kurt Cyrus
I’m a Truck Driver by Jonathan London
Tap Tap Bang Bang by Emma Garcia
Trucks Roll! by George Ella Lyon

Books to Show or Booktalk

Big Rigs by Robert Gould
Big Wheels by Anne Rockwell
Chuck’s Truck by Peggy Perry Anderson
Toolbox Twins by Lola M. Schaefer

Bulletin Board

Down on the Farm!

Place a large red barn in the center of the bulletin board. Populate the pasture around the barn with various farm animals and copies of book jackets from picture books featuring farmers and farm animals.

Nametag

Tool Box

Hammer Time

Write each child’s name on a hammer cutout.

Graphic of a pattern of a hammer outline to cut out and use as a nametag.

Songs

Roll, Roll, Roll Along

(by Patricia Peters. Sing to the tune of “Row, Row, Row Your Boat”.)

Roll, roll, roll along! (As an optional movement, roll hands as you sing)
Trucks are on their way
To cities and towns across the land.
Trucks are on their way.

Dance and Movement Songs

I Am Building

(By Patricia Peters. Sing to the tune of “Frere Jacques. ”)

I am building, (Pretend to saw by moving arm back and forth)
I am building,
Sawing wood.
Sawing wood.
Back and forth we go.
Back and forth we go.
Saw, saw, saw!
Saw, saw, saw!

I am building, (Pretend to hammer by pounding fists one atop the other)
I am building,
Pounding nails,
Pounding nails,
Hitting with a hammer.
Hitting with a hammer.
Tap, tap, tap!
Tap, tap, tap!

I am building, (Pretend to paint by moving hand up and down as if holding a brush)
I am building,
Painting with a brush
Painting with a brush
Red and blue and yellow.
Red and blue and yellow.
Slap, slap, slap!
Slap, slap, slap!

Now I’m finished! (Wave arm to neighbor to invite them in)
Now I’m finished!
Want to play
Want to play
In our bright new playhouse?
In our bright new playhouse?
Oh, what fun!
Oh, what fun!

Puppet Plays

Won’t You Build with Me?

(by Patricia Peters. This is a cross between “The Little Red Hen” and “I Am Building,” the song just above in this chapter. If you choose to use commercial puppets, you may use people or animals, as long as the four are clearly different and “Stevie” has arms to hold props.)

Puppets

Stevie, a boy
Keshonda, a girl
Ahmed, a boy
Lily, a girl

Props

Saw made from wood or cardboard
Hammer—may be plastic toy or made of cardboard
Nail in a piece of wood—use a large (16-penny?) nail in a small (2”x4”x4”) block of wood
Paintbrush—may be plastic or cardboard
Playhouse backdrop—design on felt if that works for your puppet stage; use red, blue and yellow

Graphic of a hammer and saw to cut out.

A graphic of the pattern of a nametag hammer to be cut out.

A graphic of a pattern of a puppet the toddlers will add facial features on.

A graphic of a pattern of a house to be cut out adn used for the puppet play

(All four characters appear, with Stevie on one side, everyone else on the other. If you have only one puppeteer, the other three characters can be held up by rulers or paint stirrers for this scene.)

Stevie: Hey, let’s build a new playhouse.

Keshonda: That’s a great idea.

Ahmed & Lily: Yeh!

Stevie: So, who will help me saw the wood?

Keshonda: Not I. I might get a splinter. (She disappears)

Ahmed: Not I. (He disappears)

Lily: Not I. (She disappears)

Stevie: Oh, well, I guess I’ll saw the wood by myself. (Saw and wood appear. Stevie holds the saw and saws back and forth as he sings to the tune of “Frere Jacques.”)

I am building
I am building,
Sawing wood.
Sawing wood.
Back and forth we go.
Back and forth we go.
Saw, saw, saw!
Saw, saw, saw! (Stops sawing and props disappear)

Whew! I’m finished. Now for the hammering. (Calling out) Who will help me hammer the nails?

Keshonda: (Popping up to be seen) Not I. I might hit my thumb. (She quickly disappears)

Ahmed: (Popping up to be seen) Not I. (He quickly disappears)

Lily: (Popping up to be seen) Not I. (She quickly disappears)

Stevie: Oh, well, I guess I’ll hammer the nails by myself. (Nail in the block of wood appears. Stevie holds hammer and hammers on the nail as he sings to the tune of “Frere Jacques.”)

I am building.
I am building,
Pounding nails,
Pounding nails,
Hitting with a hammer.
Hitting with a hammer.
Tap, tap, tap!
Tap, tap, tap! (Stops hammering; props disappear)

Whew! All done. Now for the painting. (Calling out) Who will help me paint the playhouse?

Keshonda: (Popping up to be seen) Not I. I might get dirty. (She quickly disappears)

Ahmed: (Popping up to be seen) Not I. (He quickly disappears)

Lily: (Popping up to be seen) Not I. (She quickly disappears)

Stevie: Oh, well, I guess I’ll paint by myself. (Stevie picks up the paintbrush and brushes up and down as he sings to the tune of “Frere Jacques.”)

I am building,
I am building,
Painting with a brush
Painting with a brush
Red and blue and yellow.
Red and blue and yellow.
Slap, slap, slap!
Slap, slap, slap! (Stops painting; paintbrush disappears; playhouse backdrop appears)

Wow! I can’t believe I’m finished. What a great playhouse! You know, none of my friends helped me build it, so I’m just going to play by myself. (Stevie bounces in front of the playhouse and hums, looking around.) Hmm, there’s not much to do without friends. Maybe I will invite them. (Stevie waves his arm in invitation as he sings to the tune of “Frere Jacques.”)

Now I’m finished!
Now I’m finished!
Want to play
Want to play
In our bright new playhouse?
In our bright new playhouse?
Oh, what fun!
Oh, what fun!

(Everyone joins Stevie in front of the playhouse.)

Keshonda: What a great playhouse!

Ahmed: Thanks for inviting us.

Lily: Sorry we didn’t help.

Stevie: That’s okay. You can build with me next time.

Everyone: (singing) Oh, what fun! Oh, what fun!

The End

Crafts

I Built It Myself!

Materials

Multi-colored construction paper or cardstock
Glue sticks
Markers (for writing names)

A photo of the finished product of construction paper made truck, sun and houses.

Directions

Before storytime, cut four 2” circles, one 6” x 2” rectangle, three 3” squares, and two 3” triangles for each child from a variety of colors of construction paper. Place the shapes for each child into a zipper bag. Give each child a sheet of 9” x 12” construction paper and a bag of pre-cut shapes. Assist the children in gluing a truck (using three circles for wheels, the rectangle for the trailer, and one square for the cab), two factories or stores (using one triangle placed atop one square for each), and the sun (the remaining circle) onto their paper. Be sure to write each child’s name on his or her paper.

Games and Activities

Building Corner

Set up a DUPLO or building blocks corner for independent play.

Puzzle Center

Develop a puzzle center with building or truck themed puzzles. One example is Melissa and Doug’s “Chunky Tools” wooden puzzle at www.melissaanddoug.com.

Professional Resources

Melissa and Doug Educational Toys for Children - Melissa and Doug design and manufacture educational toys, games, and puzzles for children.