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Add Pictures of what children made in block center

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Add Pictures of what children made in block center

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Construction vehicles and yellow kinetic sand

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Construction vehicles and yellow kinetic sand

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materials to add to centers for buildings

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Question of the day with building and pictures

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Question of the day with building and pictures

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Architect coming to share what a blue print is of a house

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Architect coming to share what a blue print is of a house

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had an architec come out to explain blue prints of a house

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Show measurement of "What material whats the tallest building" and "what material makes the smallest material".

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Show measurement of "What material whats the tallest building" and "what material makes the smallest material".

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higher questions to ask during play with building

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Building study K-W-L chart for Pre-K. | Creative curriculum preschool, Creative curriculum, Emergent curriculum

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Feb 5, 2014 - This Pin was discovered by Jmery. Discover (and save!) your own Pins on Pinterest

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Name tower Name recognition Fine motor Building Study (Creative Curriculum) | Creative curriculum preschool, Preschool names, Creative curriculum

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Name tower Name recognition Fine motor Building Study (Creative Curriculum)

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The Pre-K Room at Sunshine House 42 in Summerville, SC showcases everything they are learning in their Buildings … | Creative curriculum preschool, Creative curriculum, Teaching special education

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The Pre-K Room at Sunshine House 42 in Summerville, SC showcases everything they are learning in their Buildings study.

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Pin on Creative curriculum: Building Study

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Use a ball on a string to knock down block towers

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Pin by Lisa Ricks on Creative curriculum: Building Study | Little pigs, Three little pigs, Nursery activities

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This Pin was discovered by Lisa Ricks. Discover (and save!) your own Pins on Pinterest.

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Great tool for different construction ideas

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Great tool for different construction ideas

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Construction themed activities and centers inspiration is HERE! Get out your planner and let's plan a ton of fun and engaging construction themed activities your little learners (Preschool, Pre-k, and kindergarten) will LOVE and learn a ton from! If you would like all the construction printables you can find them HERE.

This post contains affiliate links.

Literacy Activities

Hammering golf tees into cardboard is fabulous for developing fine motor and hand-eye coordination, and when you write letters on the cardboard you add a literacy component as well! I always try to add letters to any activity we do together. Your little builders will LOVE hammering letters.

Build letters with ROCKS! I mean two things most kiddos love are rocks and diggers so why not use them for a literacy activity?! I found these small pebbles at the Dollar Tree in the floral section. When students are picking up the small rocks they are exercising fine motor muscles too!

Building names & sight words! Make word work and learning names FUN again by building the word with letter rocks. It is easy to make word work fun and interactive using a construction theme!

Add construction themed writing cards (uppercase for the 3 year olds and lowercase for the Pre-k kiddos), construction writing paper, and STAMPS! Writing is always more fun with stamps ( lowercase stamps or uppercase stamps)!

Tap the number of syllables with a HAMMER then build it with cubes! Using a hammer allows students to move, and students can visually compare how big each word is when they build it with cubes, as well, as work on their counting skills.

Fill your bookshelves with construction books (fiction and non-fiction)! Two of my favorites are Old McDonald had a Woodshop and One Big Building. Check out a detailed construction book list HERE.

Sensory Activities

Fill the sensory table with small rocks then put letter rocks in along with small construction vehicles. You can grab a bag of landscape rocks from a Loews or buy bags of small pebbles from the Dollar Tree to fill the table. Students move, dump, and push the letter rocks around while talking about letters and sounds as they play.

Write letters (or numbers) on smooth rocks (again I found them at the Dollar Tree) with paint markers then brush with Mod Podge.

Use the diggers in the art center and students can make digger track paintings! Mix up some puffy paint using brown liquid watercolor, shaving cream, and glue for the "dirt". Students can drive the diggers around on the paper for a fun sensory experience and science experience by comparing the tracks.
You can find the orange tray HERE and the yellow tray HERE.

You may need to grab another set of diggers so you can make a construction playdoh tray! Buy or make brown playdoh, grab a handful of small pebbles, diggers, and some short popsicle sticks to create a FUN and engaging playdoh tray.

Your kiddos will be using their imagination, problem solve, strengthen their fine motor muscles and use STEM skills as they play!

Math Activities

FREEBIE alert! Construction workers are always measuring so why not have kiddos measure with TAPE?! I put the short piece of tape at the top then students cut pieces of tape and sort them by length.

If you want to make the activity harder, have students measure each piece of tape with counting cubes and then write down the length.

Make 10 with nuts and bolts! Making 10 helps kiddos develop informal addition and subtraction skills. Students count out the nuts and bolts to make ten, and then discuss all the different ways to make ten. Younger students can use this activity as a counting game to develop one to one correspondence.

Grab those craft sticks and build shapes! Identify the shapes and talk about the characteristics of each shape, such as, how many sides and corners/vertices does it have?

STEM & Blocks Center

FREEBIE ALERT! Print THESE construction job photographs and have students pretend to be various construction workers at the dollhouse. Students can install plumbing, electric, bricks, and shingles on the roof. Put out plastic string for wire, straws for plumbing pipes, tape for bricks, and cut up brown cardstock for roof shingles.
Plus it is AMAZING fine motor work too!

Inspire your little Engineers with Construction STEM I Can Build cards (included in the STEM Transportation pack), diggers, measuring tape, rocks, and construction books. Get your kiddos planning, designing, constructing, and building various structures in no time!

blueprint paper for students to draw their structures just like real architects! Add construction hats, construction vests, pretend tools, and empty paint cans (from Loews) so students can dress up like real Engineers and use their imagination as they build!

Art & Fine Motor Activities

Creating a paint sample collage is the perfect way to practice cutting and exploring colors! If your paint samples are 3 inches wide, just cut the strips vertically to an appropriate width for your students.

Make houses and other structures with popsicle sticks and toothpicks. Cut up brown tissue paper for students to use for dirt at the construction site.

Nuts, bolts, & washers! Go to the hardware store and buy some real washers, bolts, and nuts. Place inside buckets for endless hours of fine motor fun. Trust me your kiddos will LOVE manipulating these real tools. This is a great nap time activity too!

Construction and Building Science

Building and constructions is PACKED with tons of science, STEM, and math experiences. Explore various building supplies and materials and building techniques. Notice the parts of a building and how you can create various types of structures. Little learners will LOVE my All About Building science unit which you can grab HERE from my TPT store.

Dramatic Play

Take the construction theme to the dramatic play center by changing it into a Construction Site! Grab my Construction Site Dramatic Play pack for tons of printables to make you site AMAZING or check it out on my website HERE.

Now I'm sure your mind is going crazy with ideas and all these ideas so I'm here to help with all the Construction Math and Literacy Center printables already ready for you. Just print, prep, and play!

LOVE these construction activities? Pin this image!

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Construction Themed Centers & Activities for Little Learners - Pocket of Preschool

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Construction themed activities and centers inspiration is HERE! Get out your planner and let's plan a ton of fun and engaging construction themed activities your little learners (Preschool, Pre-k, and kindergarten) will LOVE and learn a ton from! If you would like all the construction printables you can find them HERE.

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Different ways to build with different materials

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Different ways to build with different materials

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If you haven't pulled out the toothpicks and marshmallows with your kids, now's the time! These awesome building activities do not need fancy equipment or expensive supplies. You CAN easily do these activities at home or school, and they are fun and challenging, which makes building structures an awesome STEM activity for kids of all ages. Plus, these ideas are great for team-building activities too!

AWESOME BUILDING ACTIVITIES FOR STEM!

SIMPLE ENGINEERING FOR KIDS

My son loves when I get out the toothpicks and some squishy candy or cut-up fruit. He knows it is building time! Here's our list of best building activities for kids for preschool through to middle school! Whether you have younger kids or older kids, many of these projects work for everyone!

Why are building projects amazing STEM play? You need a good design, the right amount of pieces, a solid base, basic math skills as well as basic engineering skills to build a solid structure. All important aspects of STEM! Learn more about engineering for kids!
ALSO CHECK OUT: Engineering Design Process
We like to set up fun building challenges using easy and inexpensive supplies. STEM is all about the world around us, so let's encourage kids to use what they have and get creative with their engineering skills!

ALSO CHECK OUT: Engineering Books for Kids (get the creative juices flowing)

STEM PROJECTS FOR TEAMWORK

There are so many great ideas below that make awesome team-building ideas for classrooms and groups too! Get kids into small groups, hand out the supplies you are using, set the challenge, and make a time limit (optional!). Collaboration is a huge part of the engineering world!

Kids will learn how to work as part of a team, how to problem-solve with their peers, how to use cooperation to complete a common goal, and bond over a shared experience!

Looking for more easy team building activities for kids? These easy STEM challenges with paper are great to do with groups!

STEM SUPPLIES FOR BUILDING STRUCTURES

We've put together a fantastic resource covering all the MUST HAVE STEM supplies you need to get started and how to source them for cheap! Plus, you'll find a free printable STEM pack with a Build a Tower Challenge!

WHAT IS A STRUCTURE?

A structure is defined as something something constructed or arranged in a definite pattern of organization. The act of building is called construction.

For STEM projects, we often refer to structure building activities that use a soft material such as a marshmallow to connect a stabilizing material such as a toothpick.

Other structures can include tower challenges, building landmarks, architecture ideas, marble runs, and what ever else you can think of...

CLASSROOM BUILDING ACTIVITIES

Below you will find a list of materials and links to specific building instructions. Click on the links to learn more about these different building activities.

These projects can be used in a classroom or at home. You can put together boxes or kits with the specific materials that be stored easily as well.

Grab this FREE 2D and 3D Shape Cards Printable to pair with marshmallows and toothpicks!

1. Toothpicks and Food

Common snack foods such as apples, cheese, and marshmallows (for fun) are good for building with. We added some crackers to use as bases or platforms. Although this is what we used, the possibilities are endless!

2. Toothpicks and Candy

You can use any gummy sort of candy, such as gum drops, for building elaborate structures, including bridges. Tasty too!

3. Toothpicks and Pool Noodles

If you want to use toothpicks and something other than candy or food items, try pool noodles or other styrofoam that is chunky. We sliced up a pool noodle to make our pool noodle structures.

4. Shaving Cream and Pool Noodles

Yes, we did try this! We took our pool noodle chunks from above and added a different kind of building challenge, shaving cream! Pretty fun and pretty messy, but it cleans up quickly too! Our structures were a little different, but we still tested out quite a few skills.

Building with shaving cream and pool noodles

5. Pool Noodle Marble Run

Can you make a marble run from pool noodles and tape? Try out this fun building challenge on a blank wall.

6. Playdough and Skewers

You can put and skewers together for a fun building activity. Skewers are like really long toothpicks and are a challenge all in themselves! You probably already have the two things you need to get started.

Playdough with Skewers

7. Playdough and Straws

Straws and play dough go together like marshmallows and toothpicks! You need a slightly different building technique since you have to mold the play dough, but the building challenge is similar.

8. Popsicle Sticks

Who knew STEM building activities could be so much fun? We did! Want to learn how to make a catapult with Popsicle sticks? Take the challenge! Break out the craft sticks and rubber bands.

UPPER ELEMENTARY/MIDDLE SCHOOL: Older kids can take this catapult challenge further and set up an obstacle such as a wall of a specific height that the object must clear. Additioanlly you can add in a distance element and place the wall so many inches or feet away from the catapult.

Popsicle Stick Catapult

9. PVC Pipe

PVC pipes are awesome for STEM projects! Plus, our new PVC Pipe Kit is an easy, frugal alternative to the pricey toy alternatives. My son loves using "real" household items for play rather than toys.

10. Plastic Cups

Plastic cups are a valuable and cheap resource to have on hand! Have you ever built a 100-cup tower? It makes for a great afternoon preschool-building project.

100 Cup Tower Challenge
Christmas Tree Cup Tower
11. Recycled Cardboard

Grab a bunch of cardboard and cut out some simple shapes as we have for our cardboard building activities. We always keep a bunch of recyclable materials on hand for structure building activities!

12. Newspaper Structures

Build the Eiffel Tower out of newspaper or whichever landmark or structure that interests you!

Each of the pigs built a different structure to escape the wolf? This classic fairytale is a fun lesson in STEM and building structures. Challenge your kiddos to build their own structures to escape the wolf and turn on a box fan to test their strength!

14. LEGO

Can you build a LEGO tower as tall as you are? We are trying to do this over the weekend. We have tons of LEGO, so we can pull it off. Can your kiddos build a tower as tall as themselves? That is a fantastic challenge to try right away.

Some of our favorite LEGO building ideas...

Click on the image below or the link for more awesome STEM activities for kids.

Printable STEM Pack for Kids

80+ Doable Engineering Projects in one convenient pack!

Full instructions with sample images

Activity-specific instruction sheets

Data Collection Sheets

Questions for Reflection

Architecture Building Cards: Try the tallest tower challenge

Bridge Building Cards: Explore different types of bridges to build your own.

Paper Chain STEM Challenge: Who can make the longest chain? Great icebreaker or quick challenge!

3 Little Pigs Architectural Pack: Design a house that won't blow away!

Great marshmallow challenge: A classic challenge kids love!

Real-world STEM challenge lesson but don't know where to start? Our easy-to-follow template shows the steps!

What's the difference between a scientist and an engineer?

Crossword and word search with engineering vocabulary.

Engineering vocabulary cards

Design a one-of-a-kind invention and write about it with this 5-page activity!

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Best Building Activities for Kids - Little Bins for Little Hands

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The best building activities and construction activities for kids! Everyday materials are amazing building materials for STEM play.

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Additives to see what they can blow down for Three Little Pigs

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Additives to see what they can blow down for Three Little Pigs

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Finding out how many gems it takes before the bridge they make falls down.

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Finding out how many gems it takes before the bridge they make falls down.

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Blow dryer for 3 little pigs to test and see which one will fall down

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Blow dryer for 3 little pigs to test and see which one will fall down

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Add books to the center that you have created based on what the children have made- or individual books for each child of their own creations throughout the study

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Add books to the center that you have created based on what the children have made- or individual books for each child of their own creations throughout the study

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Adding an interactive board in the book area- that could go along with the Three Little Pigs

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Adding an interactive board in the book area- that could go along with the Three Little Pigs

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library idea and you could incorporate the 3 little pig board

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Adding cups to stack in the Block center

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Adding cups to stack in the Block center

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Use this for learning names and fine motor sheets

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Use this for learning names and fine motor sheets

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fine motor with blocks and learning to keep them up

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Fine Motor using shape cards and building houses or shapes

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Fine Motor using shape cards and building houses or shapes

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A construction site is a great place. It's full of noisy trucks and lots of activity. Many preschoolers enjoy seeing what goes on there.

A construction theme helps preschoolers explore their community or the people who live and work in a community.

Check out these construction activities for preschool for your community helper theme, a construction/building theme, or as part of engineering and STEM.

Construction Theme Activities for Preschool

Construction Trucks Sensory Bin (Pre-K Pages) - I'm really excited to share with you this Construction Sensory Bin that my daycare kids created and the creative process behind their creation.

Construction Site Alphabet Dig (Pre-K Pages) - Easily put together, this construction site alphabet dig supports open-ended play and learning. If you are preparing for a community helpers theme, a construction site is always a huge hit with kids.

Alphabet Under Construction: Fine Motor Activity (Pre-K Pages) - After reading the book Alphabet Under Construction by Denise Fleming, your children are going to be more than ready to construct, craft, and carve letters of the alphabet.

Workshop Dramatic Play (Pre-K Pages) - Do you have a dramatic play center in your classroom? Are you looking for other ideas for the center? A workshop dramatic play center could be a fun place for boys and girls to explore and play.

Building Bridges Engineering Activity (Pre-K Pages) - This bridge building activity is a great engineering project for kids. It starts with the planning and designing process and ends with the building process.

Let's Build! (Not Just Cute) - Lots of ideas in this post! From process art to sensory bins you will definitely the perfect activity to go along with your construction theme.

Magnetic Construction Site (Educators' Spin On It) - Discover through a fun magnetic construction themed activity about magnets! Create a magnetic construction site!

Sand Play Dough (Frogs, Snails, and Puppy Dog Tails) - Bring the construction theme to life with this simple sand play dough recipe! Your kids will have a blast playing with it.

Sorting Construction Vehicles (JDaniel4's Mom) - This fun activity is filled with kids challenges. It features a construction site themed sensory bin. Your children will use the toys in the bin to dig up pictures that they will later sort. These kids challenges activities were created to go along with the book Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site .

Build with Pipes (Brick by Brick) - Students will enjoy building, connecting, and just figuring out how to put these PVC pipes and connectors together.

Preschool Activities for a Construction Theme

Design and Build a Truck (Mama Smiles) - Can you design and build a truck? This construction themed STEM challenge for kids gets them thinking like real engineers.

Construction Site Counting Game (To Be a Kid Again) - This activity focuses on counting and learning numbers with a construction site counting game for preschoolers.

Fill a Truck Fun (Craftulate) - Using magazines you can create a dumptruck and the "loads" that your preschooler will have fun filling up again and again!

Calming Construction Site Sensory Play (B-Inspired Mama) - This sensory play activity uses Lavender oil for a calming construction site activity.

DIY Bulldozer Blade (LalyMom) - Laura is sharing one of her cardboard crafts- it's a super easy cardboard box bulldozer blade! Your toddler will have fun pushing this bulldozer blade around.

Painting with Toy Trucks (No Time for Flash Cards) - Have fun creating process art by using toy trucks and paint. Your students can explore color while they roll the construction trucks around in the paint.

Hammer Painting (Brick by Brick) - With some paint, a hammer, and some paper, your preschoolers can create their own hammer process art activity!

Be an Architect! (No Time for Flash Cards) - Your preschoolers will love being an architect with this homemade bluprint paper.

Play Dough Construction Site (Hands On As We Grow) - This is an easy engaging task for preschoolers. All you need is some play dough and toy construction vehicles.

DIY Impact Hammer [Jackhammer] (LalyMom) - All you need is some cardboard to make this impact hammer. Your preschooler will love being able to become a construction worker with this craft.

Neighborhood Under Construction (Teach Preschool) - Build your own community in this activity. You can also incorporate math in this construction theme activity as your preschoolers explore the bluprints and build.

Construction Tools and Play Dough (Teach Preschool) - Have your preschoolers use toy construction tools and have fun building, cutting, and hammering playdough.

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Construction Activities For Preschool - Pre-K Pages

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A construction site is a great place. It's full of noisy trucks and lots of activity. Many preschoolers enjoy seeing what goes on there. A construction theme helps preschoolers explore their community or the people who live and work in a community.

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Buildings Study Worksheets & Teaching Resources | TpT

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Browse buildings study resources on Teachers Pay Teachers, a marketplace trusted by millions of teachers for original educational resources.

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Interactive music and movement elements in this module include directed and imaginative movement songs and activities in which the children will build, jump, lean, march, freeze and

c lick here to view the module

These songs address topics such as...

What kinds of buildings do we see on our way to school every day?

What do people do inside of buildings?

Who builds buildings?

What is special and different about our school building?

What materials are buildings made of?

Spacial patterns

Shapes

Rhythms games

How can we make a building?

... and more.

Many Projects to Explore

Display photographs of different types of buildings and ask the children to describe what is the same and what is different about teach one.

Pass out foam bricks and have the children hammer in golf tees.

Have a block building session.

Use construction toys on the sand box.

Build structures out of small foam cubes and tooth picks.

... and many more.

Aspects of development addressed in this module:

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Creative Curriculum Buildings Study Songs

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In this module we explore different types of buildings, who builds buildings and what buildings are made of. Creative curriculum buildings study songs include directed and imaginative movement songs and activities in which the children will build, jump, lean, march, freeze and go on an adventure.

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(Make hamering motion with one fists)
Johnny had one hammer, one hammer, one hammer
Johnny had one hammer then he had Two

(Make hamering motion with both fists)
Johnny had two hammers, two hammers, two hammers,
Johnny had two hammers then he had Three.

(Makre motion with both fists and one leg.)
Johnny had three hammers, three hammers, three hammers,
Johnny had three hammers then he had Four

(Makre motion with both fists and both legs)
Johnny had four hammers, four hammers, four hammers,
Johnny had four hammers then he had Five

(Makre motion with both fists and both legs and head.)
Johnny had five hammers, five hammers, five hammers
Johnny had five hammers, then he went to sleep (lay hands like sleeping)

I use my hammer and five nails (Hold up Five fingers.)
That's too noisy, my neighbor yells (Yell)
I'll hammer them now before it's night! 1,2,3,4,5 (Pretend to hammer.)
And to my neighbor I'll be polite! (Bow)

This is the way we pound our nails,
pound our nails, pound our nails,
This is the way we pound our nails, so early in the morning.
This is the way we saw our wood,
Saw our wood, saw our wood.
This is the way we saw our wood, so early in the morning.
This is the way we use a screwdriver,
use a screwdriver, use a screwdriver,
This is the way we use a screwdriver, so early in the morning.
This is the way we drill a hole,
drill a hole, drill a hole,
This is the way we drill a hole, so early in the morning.

Saw The Wood
Turn the Screw
Stack the Bricks
Paint the walls
Stir the paint

These Preschool Ideas Found At:

Everything Preschool >> Themes >> Construction >> Songs

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(Make hamering motion with one fists) Johnny had one hammer, one hammer, one hammer Johnny had one hammer then he had Two (Make hamering motion with both fists) Johnny had two hammers, two hammers, two hammers, Johnny had two hammers then he had Three. (Makre motion with both fists and one leg.)