Construction Unit Study (+ Printables) for Preschool
Updated: Oct 25, 2021
My son cannot get enough of anything trucks... I mean, if it has wheels it's pretty much a win, no matter what. And the construction vehicles are no exception. I mean, who DOESN'T find an excavator and dump truck a little bit fascinating? And for a preschooler - at least my preschooler - the thought of wheels bigger than a car zipping over the dirt, moving boulders, digging trenches, and lifting beams is about as exciting as it gets.
This is the type of excitement that makes learning easy. And as a homeschooling preschool mom, easy learning is what I THRIVE on! I created this unit study for my son and it was a big hit, so I thought I'd relay the information and resources to you to give you a head start in preparing your own preschool or early elementary school construction unit.
Reading:
The BEST part about homeschool preschool is the ability to read... a lot! It's so easy to fit a book into daily life here and there. Any time the kids need a break or a chance to transition from one activity to another, grab a book! They have a crazy way of calming the body, aligning the emotions, and connecting to family together. My favorite time to squeeze an book into our routine is when I am nursing my baby... no-effort one-on-one time with my preschooler while keeping him close and the stress level down!
We take a weekly trip to the library and make it a hunt to find books on the week's theme. While it isn't always easy to find books or keep the kids focused, the construction theme is one of those easy themes to find all sorts of fun books about! I'll list a few of my favorites here:
Construction Week Books for Preschool:
Good Night Good Night Construction Site.
Where do Diggers Sleep at Night
Dump Trucks
Three Cheers for Kid McGear!
Everything Else:
I'm a big combination activity type of mom. If an activity can count for sensory, fine motor, AND pre-writing skills, I am all about it! So here I go with a few of my favorite combo-activities!
Sensory Bins! - These are so easy to tailor to your child's developmental stage! Throw the items into a shallow container and let them play, or give them directions or a challenge to encourage growth in a particular area. We put construction vehicles into dirt outside for a no-effort playtime and then sprinkled sand in baking trays and making letter-shaped tire tracks for early writing skills. The list is literally endless for the sensory bin... all you need are a few small vehicle toys and you'll be set!
Coloring Sheets - now... even if your kid (like mine) doesn't prefer to color, making the activity more of a one-on-one learning experience about the PARTS of the construction vehicle gives the activity an educational and interesting spin. In the construction unit study bundle, I've included 5 different vehicle posters with their parts labeled and coloring sheets that match! My son and I sat down with his favorite and we colored each part together as we talked about it. This was awesome for vocabulary building, language skills, creative thought, and attention-span building.
Games! - This is a great one for making learning fun and family-filled for your little preschooler! The "Go Digging" game featured in the construction bundle is a spin off of "Go Fish," an easy turn-based game for your child to learn matching, build conversational skills, and problem solving. Memory games, puzzles, and gross motor "challenges" are also very fun for this age. We also learned about the safety of a construction worker using this file-folder game, which my son absolutely loved.
Art. - As you know, I am all about the creative side of learning, especially at the preschool level. There's something about letting the kids go a little crazy with the art supplies just to experience them and what they do. It also encourages out-of-the-box thinking and opens their mind to new possibilities ("I can drive my cars through paint?!" "Oooh - glue! What does that do?"). The main goal of art is not to have an end goal in mind. The pretty little crafts are a no-go when it comes to real art; although I tend to try to give my kids a general direction, or one rule to follow as they explore the activity (i.e. - "glue only on the brown paper" or "try to trace the letter with your truck!"). The ideas are endless here, by the main one we had fun with was driving our trucks through paint to make tracks.
All in all, a construction week is a must for preschoolers - especially your boys who love trucks! We had a blast! If you want even more ideas, check out the Construction Unit Study Bundle available in the shop. It has all the resources mentioned here, plus a TON more!
CONSTRUCTION UNIT STUDY BUNDLE
