Turn Your Classroom Into A Construction Zone!

Construction vehicles, tools, and sites are fascinating and can be used to create a wonderful themed learning experience for your preschoolers! Here are some brilliant ideas from Ms. Jessi, preschool teacher and learning center director, that your students are sure to respond to as well as some additions!

Fine Tuning Fine Motor Skills

• Hammer Practice. Provide students with blocks of Styrofoam, wooden golf tees, and a hammer inviting them to practice hammering the tees into the block.
• Nuts and Bolts. Give students a large bin of nuts and bolts in various sizes. Invite them to match correct sizes and practice screwing the pieces together and taking them apart again.
• Sanding Practice. Set out small pieces of wood and sanding blocks, inviting students to 'smooth' the wood scraps.

Construction Zone Music

• Wrench Xylophone. Collect wrenches in various sizes, line them up from smallest to largest, and invite students to use a screwdriver 'mallet' to play the wrenches like a xylophone.
• Construction Songs. Teach your students new songs (sung to old tunes!). Try the Construction Song and the Construction Worker Song (click on the song titles for the words and tune provided by the Charles County Public Library) to teach children about different construction vehicles and the roles of construction workers.

Problem Solving & Matching Skills

• ...With Paint Swatches. Get out your all your old paint chips and create a matching game (like the one found here) to help your preschoolers review their colors.
• ...With Construction Vehicles. Before class, collect four or five different construction vehicle toys. These should be obviously different and be different sizes. With craft paint in assorted colors, make a "track" collage and set aside to dry. Present students with the painting and the vehicles during class. Invite them to match the construction vehicles to their tracks.

Construction Zone Sensory Tub

Add sand, pebbles, wooden blocks, and construction vehicles to your sensory tub. Provide students with old blueprints and invite them to pretend that they're the foreman at the construction site. Instead of actual blueprints, you might consider making your own 'drawings' and see if your students can follow the directions to create the structures.

These are just a few of the activities you could use during your construction unit, but hopefully they'll help to get you started!