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What standard(s) am I teaching?

II. APPROACHES TO LEARNING DOMAIN
A. EAGERNESS AND CURIOSITY
1. Shows increased curiosity and is eager to learn new things and have new experiences
B. PERSISTENCE
D. PLANNING AND REFLECTION

1. Demonstrates some planning and learning from experiences
IV. LANGUAGE AND LITERACY DOMAIN
A. LISTENING AND UNDERSTANDING
1. Demonstrates understanding when listening
Benchmark a: Engages in multiple back-and-forth communicative interactions with adults (e.g., teacher-shared information, read-aloud books) and peers

to set goals, follow rules, solve problems and share what is learned with others)
3. Follows Directions
Benchmark a: Achieves mastery of two-step directions and usually follows three-step directions
G. EMERGENT WRITING

1. Begins to show motivation to engage in written expression and appropriate knowledge of forms and functions of written composition Benchmark a: Intentionally uses scribbles/writing to convey meaning (e.g., signing artwork, captioning, labeling, creating lists, making notes)

V. MATHEMATICAL THINKING DOMAIN
D. GEOMETRY
4. Constructs with three-dimensional shapes in the environment through play (e.g., building castles in the construction area)
E. SPATIAL RELATIONS

1. Describes relationships between objects and locations with words and gestures by constructing models to demonstrate an understanding of proximity (beside, next to, between, below, over and under)
VI. SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY DOMAIN
A. SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY THROUGH EXPLORATION AND DISCOVERY
3. Uses understanding of causal relationships to act on social and physical environments
Benchmark a: Makes predictions and tests their predictions through experimentation and investigation

Benchmark b: Collects and records data through drawing, writing, dictation and taking photographs (e.g., using tables, charts, drawings, tallies and graphs) Benchmark c: Begins to form conclusions and construct explanations (e.g., What do the results mean?)

Benchmark d: Shares findings and outcomes of experiments
F. ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY
1. Shows interest and understanding of how simple tools and machines assist with solving problems or creating objects and structures
Benchmark a: Identifies problems and tries to solve them by designing or using tools (e.g., makes a simple tent with a chair and cloth for protection from

the sun)
Benchmark d: Invents and constructs simple objects or more complex structures and investigates concepts of motion and stability of structures (e.g., ramps, pathways, structure, Legos, block building and play)

What do I want students to know and understand?

I want my students to work together to build a structure (an apartment).  Many of my students live in apartments and I want them to be able to use the materials to build the tallest apartment they can without falling over. What I want them to understand is that when the structure falls over that they have to start the design process over again and see where they need to fix the problem from before.

What are my lesson objective(s)?

The students in groups of no more then 3 will be able to build the tallest apartment structure with the materials provided that does not fall over.

What do my students need before coming into this lesson?

To be able to work together in a group.
To be able to share ideas.
To understand what constitutes a structure.

How will I focus on rigor and relevance in this lesson?

I will ask questions about how they can make it higher without falling over.
I will have the students make a blue print before and see how they had to change their blue print as they moved through the project.

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What am I going to use/not use?

The 2 books and video of the book
blocks, cups and tongue depressors
paper, pencil and clipboards

What do I need to adjust?

As I was putting this together I was thinking we need to measure the height of the structures to see which is the tallest so maybe use sentence strips to measure the height.

What is my plan for implementation with the materials?

To make a bucket of 30 blocks, 10 cups and 30 tongue depressors and see how that works and alter the amount of items from there.

Are these materials and my instructional design meeting all students' needs?

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What instructional delivery method will I use?

I will be reading several books about houses and building house and then explain that this week in the block area that they have to plan then build the tallest apartment they can with the supplies in the bucket.

How will I create opportunities for strategic productive struggle?

Allow student to think through why the structure fell.
Encourage student to try changing their blue print and figure out another way to build the structure.

What teacher moves will I use (e.g., explicit teacher talk, modeling, providing support based on specific student struggles)?

Question to ask:
Why do you think it fell?
What could you use for support next time?
Do you think you could make it taller? Do you think it was too tall?

How will I provide opportunities for cooperative learning in my lesson?

Students will be working together to make the blue print and build the structure.

Where will students be leading the work?

In the block area and small group

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What resources am I using to teach the standard(s) and move students toward mastery of my lesson objective(s)?

I am using books and exploratory materials to allow student to understand the engineering process and to learn to work together.

What resources in my curriculum are useful here?

The book: Homes for Everyone
The vocabulary list

What is missing from my curriculum resources?

More support materials such as books.

Where can I find resources to support the curriculum I already have?

Library or internet

Where can I make connections to other subject areas and find the resources to do so?

Library or internet

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What do I have?

The curriculum book Homes for Everyone
square blocks
Video- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1VK5lobJyg
pencils, paper, clipboards

What is missing?

I need to collect the books I will read- If I Built a House by Chris Van Dusen
plastic cups, tongue depressors

How am I supporting diverse student needs?

I will support diverse students by reading books and showing videos of books about building houses.
I will also support diverse learners by grouping students in sets of 3 to work on the this project.
I will support learners by having students draw, build and talk about the project.

How will I provide multiple access points for equitable student engagement?

Students will be working together to make a blue print, build the structure and then talk about what worked and did not work allowing students to work with in their strength.

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Read Aloud: How a House is Built by Gail Gibbons

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Students will be listening to a book called Homes for Everyone from the Head Start Frog Street curriculum. The book is nonfiction and shows various types of homes from single family homes, apartments, to tree houses. In this STEM lesson, students will build an apartment using the engineering design process. Embedded in this lesson are the standards from Florida Early Learning and Developmental Standards for 4 years old to Kindergarten and they include:  approaches to learning, language and literacy, mathematical thinking, scientific inquiry, and engineering and technology content.

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Welty_Integrated STEM Lesson Template

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Powerpoint for theme 2 week 2 residences

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Powerpoint for theme 2 week 2 residences

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This has my idea in it for the challenge #2.

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This has my idea in it for the challenge #2.

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Here's a simple open-ended building activity for kids of all ages - Colored craft sticks, wooden cubes, and small plastic cups! Simple materials, and yet we have been having a blast building all kinds of amazing structures with them.

This project is the second project in our Summer STEAM Camp series! This week, we are exploring with the sense of touch.

Here are the materials we used for this project: (Amazon affiliate links)

Who knew that craft sticks, cubes, and cups could be so interesting? Extend the play and learning with these fun engineering challenges.
Challenge #1: Build a structure with one cube as the base. Yes, just one cube!
When I announced this one, the boys told me it would be impossible. So I showed them this construction which I had already built:

So then Owen came up with this:

And Gresham built this:

As long as you add pieces on both sides of your structure simultaneously, you can build some amazing designs!
Challenge #2: Using any size base, build the tallest possible structure.
Stacking craft sticks on top of plastic cups allows you to build a much more vertical structure than what you can make with cups alone.
Challenge #3: Feats of Balance. Make something stick out in an impressive way!
This structure that Aidan built seemed to defy gravity! Those cubes are really lightweight, and it was hard to believe that they could counterbalance the craft sticks and cups sticking out like that. But add enough of them...

How many cups can it hold?

One more...

And one more...

OOPS!

Dad made this one:
Challenge #4: What can you build with just one cup as the base?
More than you might think!
Bonus Challenge: Build a chain reaction!
Remove the first cup, and the sticks fall down in a chain! See how to make it here: Simple Popsicle Stick Chain Reactions
Like these engineering challenges? Here are more with simple materials: 5 Engineering Challenges with Clothespins, Binder Clips, and Craft Sticks Be sure to stop by the rest of the posts in the Summer STEAM Camp series!
Easy and Colorful Magnetic Sculpture - Pink Stripey Socks

Creative Pool Noodle STEAM Fun - One Time Through

String and Bead Puzzle - What Do We Do All Day?

Learning About Slugs - Why Do Slugs Have Slime? - Lemon Lime Adventures

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4 Engineering Challenges for Kids (Cups, Craft Sticks, and Cubes!) - Frugal Fun For Boys and Girls

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Here's a simple open-ended building activity for kids of all ages - Colored craft sticks, wooden cubes, and small plastic cups! Simple materials, and yet we have been having a blast building all kinds of amazing structures with them. This project is the second project in our Summer STEAM Camp series!

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With this week's review of BionicBlox, our new favorite engineering toy, I thought it only appropriate that I share some of my favorite books about building with blocks, engineering, and architecture. Here is a list of 14 picture books about building with blocks, engineering, and architecture.

by Pat Hutchins is a wordless book about a wooden couple that changes their building block house into other objects when the house catches on fire. It's a clever little book that encourages children to tell the story in their own words.

by Robert Louis Stevenson is a book we were introduced to last year at our children's museum when they had a building exhibit. The illustrations are beautiful!

When I Build With Blocks

by Niki Alling is a cute little book that appeals to little ones. The illustrations give little builders ideas for building--everything from outer space to oceans.

by Chris Van Dusen is a cute little book about the amazing things Jack would put in his dream house. I love the illustrations and there are plenty of blueprints and blocks throughout.

by Andrea Beaty is a funny little story of a budding architect. This one will make you and your kids giggle.

by Andrea Beaty is about a little girl that secretly creates at night. Super cute! Perfect for girls!

by Michael J. Crosbie is a counting book (1-10) that introduces preschoolers to shapes found in architecture.

Roberto, The Insect Architect

by Nina Laden is about a termite that wants to build with wood instead of eat it. Super cute with lots of puns for adults to enjoy while reading to kids.

Arches to Zigzags: An Architecture ABC

by Michael J. Crosbie is a great way to introduce architecture vocabulary in an ABC book format. Another thing that I like about this book is that it is real-life pictures.

Look at That Building: A First Book of Structures

by Scot Ritchie explores how a building is constructed, from foundations to roofing -- then has a practice building for kids to create themselves.

See Inside Famous Buildings (Usborne Flap Book)

by Rob Lloyd Jones lets you discover and explore some of the world's most famous buildings in a lift-the-flap book style. Super fun!

Engineering the ABC's: How Engineers Shape Our World

by Patty O'Brien Novak answers questions about how everyday things work and how engineering relates to so many parts of a child's daily life.

Sky Boys: How They Built the Empire State Building

by Deborah Hopkinson is a beautifully illustrated book about the men that built the Empire State Building in the Depression Era. I really, really like this one!

by Eve Buntin is along the same lines as Sky Boys, but is about the building of the Golden Gate Bridge.

I hope this gives you some ideas for your little builder!

See our other book lists for kids
Rainforest Books for Kids
Canada Books for Kids
Mexico Books for Kids
Geography Books for Kids

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14 Picture Books about Building with Blocks, Engineering, and Architecture

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With this week's review of BionicBlox, our new favorite engineering toy, I thought it only appropriate that I share some of my favorite books about building with blocks, engineering, and architecture. Here is a list of 14 picture books about building with blocks, engineering, and architecture.

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Lost in the race to raise the greatest STEM geniuses on earth is the fact that that acronym isn't just a stand-in for "coding." Shockingly, science, technology, engineering, and math (and, increasingly, art) have a wide variety of non-digital applications. Like, say, building the houses and offices that all those developers and app designers will one day live and work in. There are also a wide variety of non-digital ways to teach kids about those skills. Like, say, these 9 books about builders, otherwise known as architects.

Iggy's parents have encouraged their architecture prodigy since his first Leaning Tower of dirty diapers, but his second grade teacher bans the subject. When the class gets stranded on an island during a field trip, only Iggy can build a bridge to save them, proving you should never give up on your dream of pretending to be an architect, no matter who tries to crush it.Iggy Peck Architect by Andrea Beaty ($11)Ages: 4-8

After realizing his part-boat, part-submarine, part-rocket from the E.B. White Award-winning If I Built A Car needed somewhere to park, young Jack imagined up the world's wackiest playhouse since Pee-wee. It's got a huge slide, flying room, and of course a racetrack, and will inspire your kid to dream up their own outlandish ways to piss off the zoning department.If I Built A House by Chris Van Dusen ($13)Ages: 3-5

Young Frank teaches Old Frank that architects are creative artists, not just building makers, in this touching tale/shameless plug for the MoMA. Young Frank builds towers from any materials he can find, so don't be surprised if your child is inspired to test the structural integrity of their next short stack of pancakes.Young Frank, Architect by Frank Viva ($13)Ages: 3-8

Carson Ellis' picture book debut explores the places people call home, including a certain shoe that houses so many children it's a wonder TLC hasn't sent a camera crew there. If Ellis' style looks familiar, you're either an indie rock fan or a fantasy-loving tween; she's the artist for the Decemberists and created the Wildwood Chronicles with her husband and the band's frontman, Colin Meloy.Home by Carson Ellis ($12)Ages: 4-8

You should buy this book and read it to your kid if for no other reason than, "Daddy hires a bunch of guys who know what they're doing" is not a reasonable answer to the question. Also because it describes the roles of surveyors, heavy machinery operators, carpenters, and plumbers, all of which are sweet union gigs.How A House Is Built by Gail Gibbons ($8)Ages: 5+
Roberto The Insect Architect
A small town termite who wants to build with wood, not eat it, goes on a "bright lights, Bug City" journey of self discovery and awesome insect puns to achieve his dream. Kids will come back to find what they previously missed in the mixed-media collages of mashed-up skylines and iconic buildings. Also, for gems like the architect "Hank Floyd Mite." Shoot puns, not guns, kids.Roberto The Insect Architect by Nina Laden ($14)Ages: 7-9
Building on Nature: The Life of Antoni Gaudi
This biography details how an early love for nature shaped the life and work of the architect whose signature building has been under construction since 1883. Your kid will either get the wrong idea about procrastination, demand to be put on the first plane to Spain, or revolutionize architecture by seamlessly weaving nature into art. One out of 3 shot.Building on Nature: The Life of Antoni Gaudi by Rachel Victoria Rodriguez and Julie Paschkis ($13)Ages: 5-9
The Three Little Pigs: An Architectural Tale
If your child would seriously question the architectural trustworthiness of a pig with a house made of straw ... actually that has nothing to do with this list but have them send in an application because they sound hilarious. The pigs and their homes in this version allude to Frank Gehry, Phillip Johnson, and Frank Lloyd Wright. Does falling water deter wolves as well as bricks?The Three Little Pigs: An Architectural Tale by Steven Guarnaccia ($15)Ages: 3-5

A gorgeous timeline of the most revolutionary, iconic, or otherwise postcard-worthy buildings since the New Stone Age. If your kids still don't think architecture is the mother of all arts, as Frank Lloyd Wright famously said, well, at least they might be inspired to be an illustrator.Sunrise to High-Rise by Lucy Dalzell ($16)Ages: 7+

This article was originally published on

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9 Books That Will Inspire Your Kid To Dream, Design, And Build Like An Architect

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Lost in the race to raise the greatest STEM geniuses on earth is the fact that that acronym isn't just a stand-in for "coding." Shockingly, science, technology, engineering, and math (and, increasingly, art) have a wide variety of non-digital applications.

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I like this idea to hold on to to use in class.

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I like this idea to hold on to to use in class.

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Get to you know your students with an "all about me" preschool engineering activity.

Open play with blocks encourages problem solving, creativity and collaboration. Make your block center interactive with photos of your own students!

The full lesson is included in our All About Me Experience Bundle.

You may also like our #StorytimeSTEAM activity based on the book, "I Like Myself" by Karen Beaumont.

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All About Me Engineering for Preschoolers

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Get to you know your students with an "all about me" preschool engineering activity. Use recycled toilet paper rolls for this self-reflection activity.

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Kids love to build and create. A bunch of blocks can quickly become a work of art. My children have shown an interest in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Technology) activities and hands-on building and constructing.

They love building with their wooden building blocks, and this activity kept them creating and thinking all afternoon.

All you need is a handful of blocks for this STEM building blocks challenge and you are ready to begin!

I have created a set of over 50 STEM building challenges to compliment this activity and keep kids busy, while learning and problem solving, as they build and create at home or school.

These printable cards are available through My Shop. (Link at bottom).

When I am coming up with activities to do in the classroom I love when I find something that does not require a lot of prep. It is also a bonus if the activity requires materials that I already have available to me.

This STEM activity does both!

When in school, I teach over 100 kids aged 3-6 every day. Everyone enjoyed this STEM building challenge and it is easy prepare. I have also used the activity with older children, and at home.

One of the great things about STEM challenges is that they are a great way to encourage children to problem solve in a hands-on way.

The other thing that I love about STEM activities is that the same activity and challenge can be used with young children or older.

Younger children who are being introduced to STEM challenges are typically excited to build and learn from the trial and error.

Older children will begin to consider the design and engineering in their creations and make them much more complex.

The Challenge

All you really need for this activity are a collection of wooden blocks. It doesn’t matter if they are colourful or just plain wood.

The blocks that I used were all the same rectangular shape. However, you can certainly use wooden blocks that are different shapes.

For all STEM challenges, simply use what you have.

The mini building blocks that I used I found at a local dollar store. I purchased them years ago for my classroom and they have been well used over the years.

To start, I gave each student one set of the blocks (36 blocks). I gave everyone 5 minutes to build and explore with their blocks. They had no restrictions or specific tasks that they had to do with the blocks.

I try to do this free exploration any time I introduce new materials because once children have had a chance to play freely with the materials, they are then more ready to learn and follow directions.

STEM Building Blocks Challenge #1

After the 5 minutes, our challenge began! I started simple and challenged children to build a house using their blocks.

A simple ideas like this is important to start. It makes all children feel that they can be successful with the materials.

Any house works. Some children will build something with 5 blocks and call it a house. Other children will go further and have a three story house with a backyard and garage! Either creation is okay to start.

I gave students roughly 5 minutes for each STEM building challenge. If you have more time, or are doing the challenges at home, you can allow children to build at their own pace.

STEM Building Blocks Challenge #2

The next challenge was my favourite. I asked everyone to create a staircase. At first, some children were a bit discouraged. They could picture a staircase in their mind, but not build one.

However, once they started putting blocks together and trying different things out, they came up with a variety of staircases.

This is what I love about STEM activities! After doing STEM challenges children learn that their first attempt is not always going to work. They have to try and try again. As long as they don’t give up then they are successful.

STEM challenges are not about getting it perfect. They are about trying and learning from each try.

For the staircase, some were almost flat to the table (shown above) but it still resembled a staircase. I was amazed how I ended up with over 20 different staircase designs – yet with each one you could tell it was a staircase!

STEM Building Blocks Challenge #3

The next challenge we did, was to build a boat. It is interesting to see how different each child’s creations are. They each have their own vision of what a boat looks like and they use that image to create with 3d shapes.

I continued to give different challenges, including building a tower with exactly 16 blocks and even to build something with their eyes closed for 2 minutes.

This activity easily filled an hour, but children were ready to do many more STEM building challenges.

We continued on with lots of different challenges. Some were harder then others. We moved through the challenges fairly quickly so that everyone kept creating.

After doing several challenges, children were keen to keep creating. I made up a bunch of activity cards (link below) that I placed with the blocks at a building centre in our classroom and given to my own kids at home.

Since this activity was such a success, I have repeated it several times. On days that you have some extra time for a STEM challenge, giving children a longer period to build each structure is also beneficial. You will be amazed with what they can come up with.

Extension Activity

Since students were so eager to build and create with the blocks, the next day I incorporated the blocks into our activity again. I began by reading the popular book “The Three Billy Goats Gruff”.

After I finished, I challenged students to build a bridge for the goat. I handed out a bag of blocks to everyone and also gave them a small wooden figure.

This was the represent the troll. The only rule was that the troll had to be able to fit under the bridge.

Their creations were very impressive! All of the bridges looked different, but they all worked as a bridge for their troll.

It was a great learning activity and children really enjoyed building and working to create something.

Free Printable Building Block Challenge Card

To get you started with some creative building activities, you can print a FREE activity card with 4 building block challenges on it. This printable is available to subscribers.

Click the image below and subscribe to Hands-On Teaching Ideas. By subscribing, you have access to the escape room printables as well as access to my Free Resource Library, filled with free printable activities and educational products.

You will also receive emails with my latest blog posts, freebies and sales.

These challenges are an example of the activities in the full collection of 52 activity cards.

For the full collection of over 50 STEM building block challenges click the link below for printable cards to compliment this activity at home or school.

For your convenience, this post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases and I may earn a small commission at no cost to you.

Looking for more STEM Challenges?

Looking for more STEM Building Challenge ideas? I’ve created a collection of over 45 STEM challenge ideas that you can do at home with simple materials!

Try out some other STEM building challenges:

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STEM Building Blocks Challenge for Kids - Science + STEM

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If you have blocks in your house, you need to try out these STEM building challenges with kids! Printable challenge cards available.

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Q&A: What the Research Tells us About Block Play and STEM Learning

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Read our interview with Patricia on the importance of block play and how families can support young children's STEM learning at home

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An updated version of this post can be found at https://inventorsoftomorrow.com/2016/10/17/if-i-built-a-house-2/

We continued our Engineering theme with a class about building houses.

Question of the Day: What are the steps in building a house?
Challenges: Design a house like you would like to live in. Build a house with friends.

Incorporating Books into the Lesson: We had three different books that are about the process of building a house. Building a House by Barton is a nice book for ages 3 to 5 about each of the steps in building a house. Building Our House by Bean is great for ages 4 to 6. It tells the story of a family building their own house. Told from the perspective of a young child. How a House Is Built by Gibbons. I find some of the details in this book are more than a child would care about, but the illustrations are good.

We photocopied and printed copies of many of the pages, and posted those pictures near the activity related to that step in the book. Here is a pdf of the pages from Barton. (Note: I have an alternative lesson plan for building a house that is all tightly focused around the Barton book, with activities to match virtually every page. Check it out .) We later used these books in circle time, where they wove together the story of the separate activities into a whole process.

Build a House! This is one of my all-time favorite collaborative activities for kids age 3 - 7. I first saw it at a construction themed birthday party. (Read more here: https://gooddayswithkids.com/2014/12/18/kids-construction/.) You use foam insulation panels (we use the 1 inch by 2 foot by 4 foot panels from Home Depot - for this class, I had nine full panels, plus a few cut into halves and thirds. Most were re-used from the last time we did this project) plus golf tees and toy hammers to assemble a building. You can use the panels horizontally like they did at the party - the advantage to that is kids can work more independently or you can use them vertically to make a 4 foot tall building - the advantage is kids can stand up inside it, but they'll need adults to help them put together the first few tall walls, and they'll likely want to climb on chairs to do some of the work. Kids LOVE to hammer and feel like they're building "something real." It can keep them entertained for hours.

We also gave them small pieces of Styrofoam to nail on as windows and other accessories. You could give them a Sharpie to draw on the panels, but I want to be able to re-use them, so I don't. This is a great activity for any preschool class or for a birthday party, and it's pretty cheap - about $30 in Styrofoam, $4 in golf tees, and you can ask all the guests to bring their own toy hammer or mallet (just have a few extras just in case.) And when you're done, you have insulation panels for a crawlspace or attic - with just a few holes in them :-).

Art Project - Paint A House, Add Windows and Doors. We took cereal boxes and Eggo boxes and turned them inside out so they were plain cardboard. Kids used foam rollers and tempera paint to paint them (the rollers put on a pretty thin coat, so it dries quickly, plus it's a fun new motor skill for man kids). Then they added paper roofs if they wanted, and glued on windows and doors. (We had found photos of windows and doors online, put them into a document and printed it out. We pre-cut some for the younger kids, but older kids practiced their scissor skills cutting these out.) [We got the idea for this from .]

Art Project - Paper Bag Houses. We got the idea from Kids Activities Blog, but we used white bags and markers and dot paints (bingo markers) instead of paint, so we didn't have to wait for them to dry.

Build a Neighborhood. If we had more time, we would have set up a neighborhood - taped out roads on the carpet, and let kids line their paper bag houses and cardboard houses along the street, add cars and dolls and so on. Since our time is limited, and the painted houses wouldn't be dry in time to play with them, we just set up a little table top play with a couple of paper bag houses.

Art project - Blueprints (Crayon Resist Art). We set out white crayons so they could draw floor plans or house designs or whatever they wanted, and then paint over them with thinned blue tempera paint and a roller brush. (Idea from No Time for Flashcards.)

Imaginative Play: Construction worker Dress Up. We had construction helmets, safety vests, goggles, and a Home Depot tool apron, plus construction cones to set up around our "work site."

Building Toy: We put out Lincoln Logs with a drawing of a log cabin.

Brick-Laying: We had Duplos and Mega Blocks and a drawing of a fireplace and chimney from the Barton book. Kids could build whatever they wanted - a few tried the fireplace.

Sorting Activity - Arranging the Furniture. We had a collection of old doll house furniture (mine from childhood, that my parents just rummaged out of their basement!). We labelled 5 pieces of paper to represent the rooms of the house (would be better to have a blueprint of a floor plan) and kids sorted the furniture into the appropriate room.

Sensory Table - the big dig: We had sand, buckets and shovels. You could also put out soil or brown cloud dough (flour, cocoa powder, vegetable oil) and bulldozers and dump trucks. We posted illustrations of bulldozers excavating house sites.

Water Table - pipes: We posted pictures from our books of plumbers putting in pipes above the water table. We used elements from our DIY water wall and Waterway Pipes.

Wiring - although we didn't do this activity, you could also do something tied to the book pages about electricians wiring the house, such as Little Bits, Snap Circuits, or just a battery and an LED light on wires. See our Electricity lesson plan for ideas.

Creation Station: We have an area in the corner with miscellaneous supplies for spontaneous creations. Some of our students decided to build rooms with tables and chairs.

Snack: A great option would be simplified gingerbread houses: graham crackers, frosting "cement" and either candies or dried fruits for decorations.

Gathering song - we start with a really easy song to get their attention focused. We used Rhythm Sticks and mimed each verse. We chose these verses because they taught the actions we would do in our other song.

This is the way we saw the wood, saw the wood, saw the wood,
This is the way we saw the wood, so early in the morning.
This is the way we hammer the nails... Lay the bricks... Paint the walls....

But, you could also do these verses to match the actions in the Barton book, in order. This would be great if your circle time is in the same room as activities, and on each verse, you can point around the room to the related activity.

This is the way we dig a hole... hammer and saw... pour cement... lay the bricks... make a floor... put up walls, build a roof... build a fireplace... put in pipes... wire for lights... put in doors... paint the walls... build a house. [on final verse, instead of ending with "so early in the morning" end with "the family moves inside."]

Observations: Ask: What have you done so far? What do all those activities have in common? [answer: They are all steps we take while building a house.]

Overview of the Day's Activities: Read the Barton book, pausing on each page to point to / talk about the related activity, and/or comment on the children's activities so far: "I saw X working on the pipes" or "Y, you had a lot of fun arranging the furniture, didn't you?"

Book: If I Built a House , by Von Dusen. This is a FABULOUS book. It is a boy telling the story of the house he has designed. It's got a great rhyming, rhythmic flow to it, fun retro illustrations, and wildly engaging concepts about the kinds of rooms the boy would build if he could. I especially like pages at the beginning and end where we see that he's drawn a house plan and built models from Legos, tinker toys, paper towel rolls and cardboard.

Imagination Activity: Give them paper to draw on. Encourage them to write or draw ideas for a house they would build. If they don't want to write / draw, they can ask an adult to help. While they draw, put on music, do own sketches on board. After 5 minutes or so, ask some to share.
Closing Circle
Song - Hand out rhythm sticks, and reprise the song from opening circle.

Song: When I build My House by Parachute Express. www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBfJbbHJej0 (starred lines are done as call and response - you sing, they echo.) Mime the steps with rhythm sticks. I made posters of the lyrics that I printed on 11×17 paper.

When I build my house*, I'll need some wood*.
And I'll saw the wood*, when I build my house*.
And we'll saw the wood, saw the wood, saw the wood when I build my house.
When I build my house, there's so much to do...
It's nice when you come along and help me too.

Sing again, but swap in... I'll need some nails... hammer the nails. After singing third line with nails, repeat the third line with sawing the wood. Continue with Bricks, lay the bricks. Paint, paint the walls.

The song finishes with:
And when I'm through, I'll go inside. And I'll look with pride at the work I've done.
[Wow, look at what I did...]
I painted the walls, painted the walls, painted the walls when I built my house.
Laid the bricks... Hammered the nails... Sawed the wood...
When I built my house, there was so much to do...
[Thanks. You're welcome.]
It's nice when you come along and help me too.

Note: you could also do this song in opening circle, leaving off that last verse about "when I'm through", and then do the song again in closing circle with all the verses.

Discussion: What was their favorite part of building a house - what activity was most interesting?

Book: Building Our House by Bean. This tells the story of a family building themselves a house. As you read through it, point out the signs of the seasons. They begin gathering supplies in one autumn, then stake out the location of the house in winter, begin to dig in spring, raise the walls in summer, roof in fall, finish the indoors in the winter and move into the house in the spring. The cat has kittens and the mom has a baby along the way!

Other Books for the Bookshelf

Let's Build by Fliess and Sakamoto. Story of a boy and his dad building a fort together. They grab a pencil, draw the plans, head for the hardware store, come home and get to work. It's a sweet story with nice illustrations and rhyming text, and shows dad and child building together, with the child using a real hammer, helping hold the hammer, etc. Kids will like this book. Amazon reviews indicate adults can be troubled if they think about it too hard... the fact that Dad knocks out perfect architectural drawings, Dad and kid build a big playhouse with no additional help, and the fact that the entire project appears to go from idea to completion in one day seem dubious to adults.

Andrew Henry's Meadow by Burns. Too long for circle - could be read-aloud at home to a 4 or 5 year old, or read by an older child. Andrew likes to invent things... but his family doesn't appreciate his creations, so he runs away and builds his own house in the meadow, and then all the other quirky kids come to join him and he builds the perfect house for each. A treehouse for the birdwatcher, a house over the creek for the boy who loves to fish, a dugout for the lover of pet rodents, and so on.

Construction by Sutton and Lovelock. This is about building a library, not a house, but is again a great review of the process (excavation, foundation, framing, finishing) with an irresistible rollicking rhythm - great for age 3 - 4. "Rise the roof. Raise the roof. Drive the screws in now. Power tools will do the job. Ring! Zing! Pow!"

A House Is a House for Me is a nice rhyming read with good illustrations: "A hill is a house for an ant, an ant. A hive is a house for a bee. A hole is a house for a mole or a mouse. And a house is a house for me." It goes on, eventually saying "And once you get started in thinking this way, It seems that whatever you see is either a house or it lives in a house." Nice read-aloud from 1978.

The Little House - winner of the 1942 Caldecott medal, it tells the story of a little house outside of town that is eventually surrounded by the skyscrapers of the growing city.

Tap Tap Bang Bang . Nice for 3 - 4 year olds, telling of tools and the sounds they make

Houses and Homes - a simple non-fiction book about houses around the world.

The ABC Book of American Homes . Shows a wide variety of houses, from apartments to beach houses, from log cabins to Kilbourne houses from Sear and Roebuck, Quonset hut to RV. Nice illustrations and fun to flip through, but I don't think the text would engage the average child.

From Mud Huts to Skyscrapers - a history of architecture, with lovely illustrations of most of the most famous buildings in the world. Aimed at 10 - 12 year olds, and more a reference book than a read-straight-through, but interesting for little ones to flip through to see how varied buildings can be.

This post contains Amazon affiliate links, which will take you to detailed descriptions and reviews of books and products. Many of the books may be available from your local library.

Supplementary Activities

Time Lapse Videos. Go to YouTube. Search for "build a house time lapse" videos and you'll find plenty! You'll have to explain to your child how a time lapse video is made, but after that, they can be fascinating to watch.

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An updated version of this post can be found at https://inventorsoftomorrow.com/2016/10/17/if-i-built-a-house-2/ We continued our Engineering theme with a class about building houses. Question of the Day: What are the steps in building a house? Challenges: Design a house like you would like to live in. Build a house with friends.