I Built a Construction Storytime!

I discovered during this storytime that tools, machines, and construction are pretty much always a good idea for boys and girls alike.  The kids were very receptive to this theme, and the parents seemed to enjoy it too.  In fact, one mom even expressed her enjoyment for this topic at the end of our storytime, commenting on how appropriate it was for young kids.  So get out your very best tools and let's build an awesome storytime together!

Books

Tip Tip Dig Dig by Emma Garcia

Road Work Ahead by Anastasia Suen

The Construction Crew by Lynn Meltzer

Diggers Go by Steve Light

Lead-In

I began this storytime by telling the kids that we were going to build a pretend house. In order to do so, we would need to learn a thing or two about construction so our house would be good and sturdy! So we ventured into a storytime full of tools and machines to help us build a strong, imaginary house.

Songs & Rhymes

★ Five Little Nails (source)- Hold up fingers and pretend they are nails, using a hammering motion with the other hand as you count through the rhyme.

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.

Four little nails…

Three little nails…

Two little nails…

One little nail, standing straight and steady.

Here I come with my hammer ready!

Bam, bam, bam! That nail goes down.

Now there are no more nails to pound.

★ Bumpity Goes the Dump Truck (source)- To the tune of "one little, two little, three little..." Bouncing motion accompanies song until the last line, at which point children lean to one side.

Bumpity-bumpity goes the dump truck, 

Bumpity-bumpity goes the dump truck,

Bumpity-bumpity goes the dump truck,

Duuuuuuuuuuump out the load.

Felt Board Activity

Transitioning into my felt board story, I told the kids that it was time to begin building our house. I had four wooden pieces with felt accents in the shape of a paintbrush, screwdriver, hammer, and saw. So we went through the different tools and sang a verse of the following song for each item.

★ This is How We Work

This is the way we build a house (hands over head in the shape of a roof), 

build a house, build a house. 

This is the way we build a house. 

So early in the morning. 

This is the way we hammer nails... (hammering motion)

This is the way we turn the screws… (wrist turning motion)

This is the way we saw the wood… (sawing motion)

This is the way we paint the house… (pretending to paint with paintbrush)

Closure 

We finished up this storytime by singing our goodbye song and heading to the children's area of the library for Stay & Play, where we utilized our new construction knowledge to work with building blocks! 

Additional Resources 

I Love Trucks! By Philemon Sturges 

My First Trucks and Diggers by Marie Greenwood 

Little Dump Truck by Margery Cuyler 

Dig It, Dump It, Push It by Holly Karapetkova 

Construction coloring pages can be found here.
Music- We listened to It's a Beautiful Day by Dino O'dell as families entered the room.