Tools and Construction Vehicles Part 2

This month, we expanded from tools to construction machines. He was so fascinated with all these big trucks. Whenever we are on the roads, we will be looking out for these construction vehicles for Xue. Sometimes, he is quicker than us to spot them and will be squeaking with excitement as he points them out to us.

Here is a round up of the rest of our tools and construction theme activities:
1) Totbooks
The idea and most of the resources came from the amazing 1+1+1=1. A totbook is basically a small self made book for a toddler that is filled with early learning printables to expose early learning skills. I made the construction theme totbook first (you can download it here) and added three more activities to the original construction theme totbook package:
i) match the machines line drawing page
ii) big or small machines
iii) spot the machines

Seeing how Xue had fun and learnt so much from his first lapbook, I quickly followed up with a second Handy Manny tools totbook (you can download the resources here) and added the following pages:
i) match the tools line drawing page
ii) spot the tools with a photograph of the real tools

 

2) Cut and paste number charts
Another cutting and pasting activity where Xue cut up different numbers of tools and made a number chart. I divided this activity into 3 sessions, so he did numbers 1 to 5 first, then 6 to 8 and finally 9 to 10. For numbers 8, 9 and 10, he probably got tired with the cutting and decided he wanted to stick the strips of papers on the chart immediately.

3) Construction sensory bin

I couldn't believe it when I saw that these 5 mini construction vehicles were going for only $6 on Amazon. They are just what I needed for my sensory bin! I used green beans here as the fillers which were good to demonstrate the different functions of the machines and clean enough for us to do this activity indoors. I also planted some pink pebbles which added a dimension of treasure hunt to his tub. Xue had a lot of fun digging and scooping up the beans. Of course lots of beans ended up on my carpet but they were easy to clean up with my vacuum cleaner.

 

And here is a photo of Xue waiting so eagerly by the side as I take some photographs before he can get to play with it.

4) Construction theme party
Xue turned two last month and we held a construction theme party for him! The highlight must be the cake with the safety cones and dump truck on it. He was beaming with joy when presented with his cake and that made the effort all worthwhile.

5) Books, books and more books

Fortunately for us, the town library is just 5 minutes drive away and visiting the library is a weekly affair for both of us. The library placed the toddler books according to themes and this made my search for tools and construction vehicles books a breeze. We got some great books at home too like The Usborne Big Book of Big Machine. Xue still loves listening to us naming and explaining the functions of the different machines in the book. Goodnight Goodnight Construction Site is another of our favorite. The rhymes and illustrations in the book are too cute!

We have moved on to another theme now, I'm just really slow with my updates. I must say these construction and tools theme months have been a lot of fun for us!