There cannot be many adults who have not been intrigued by young children's fascination for trucks and diggers. What is it about these machines that captivates young children, many of whom become walking encyclopaedias on the subject?
Perhaps it is their sheer size, or the unusual ways in which they move, or even their capacity to perform a multitude of complex tasks with apparent ease. Maybe it is their monster-like appearance that fills children with curiosity about what they do and how they work.
Wherever the fascination begins, there can be no doubt that parents and carers will actively support their children in such an interest. Toys and books will be bought and borrowed and relevant television programmes and DVDs will be watched, shared and discussed. For such reasons alone, these mesmerising machines deserve a place in the world of the early years setting.
Exploration of such a theme may begin when children bring one or two favourite vehicles into the setting from home. If practitioners respond positively to such items, more children may show an interest and bring in other bits and pieces. This might include comics, magazines and possibly media items - a Bob the Builder DVD, for example.
Such resources can be the beginning of some valuable learning opportunities, crossing all areas of the Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum while building on children's current knowledge and expertise. Motivation to engage in a variety of learning opportunities will be high as children approach such opportunities with knowledge, skills and confidence.
ROLE-PLAY AREA
Create a large-scale building site in your outdoor area, using:
- building blocks suitable for outdoor use
- a range of bought and found construction items, including cardboard boxes, milk and bread crates, rope and tyres
Learning opportunities
1. Co-operation and collaboration
2. Talk for a variety of purposes
6. Recreating roles and experiences, imaginative play
3. Exploring shape in three dimensions
3. Measuring
3. Estimating
3. Using the language of position
Adult role
- Act in role as a potential customer, placing orders, making complaints
about noise, offering problems to be solved and so on
- Provide writing materials for the children to take orders and make
building plans and warning posters
SMALL-WORLD AREA
Create a building site in a builder's tray or similar container using:
- a selection of trucks and diggers
- some play people - a mixture of construction figures, adults and children
- natural materials, such as small logs, pebbles, gravel and shingle
Learning opportunities
2. Story making
3. Problem solving
3. Sorting and classifying
3. Sequencing and ordering
3. Counting
4. Exploring the properties of materials
Adult role
The adult could add:
clipboards, paper and pens for:
1. making plans and diagrams
2. non-narrative writing (lists, instructions and so on)
camera and video camera for:
capturing images from the small world to use for bookmaking
3. filming children's own narratives, to share with others
musical Instruments for:
1. creating sound effects for the small world
2. accompanying newly composed songs based on the small-world play
3. creating musical patterns inspired by the vehicles
laminated cards with related rhymes and songs for:
1. sharing together
2. reading
3. singing
Suggestions for composing songs
- To the tune of 'Here we go round the Mulberry Bush':
This is the way we dig the earth, dig the earth ...
This is the way we scoop the stones, scoop the stones ...
- To the tune of 'Peter strikes with one hammer':
Bob digs with one digger, one digger one digger ...
Jane drills with one drill, one drill, one drill ...
- To the tune of 'Old Macdonald had a farm':
Bob the builder had a yard, ee i ee i o ...
SAND AREA
Provide:
- a range of trucks and diggers, and other construction vehicles
- large shallow sand tray to encourage collaborative play
- varied selection of dried pasta shapes for transporting and sorting
Learning opportunities
3. Problem solving
3. Counting
3. Sorting and classifying
Adult role
The adult could add:
small, lidded boxes or other small containers for:
3. sorting and labelling
3. counting and estimating
clipboard and pens for:
2. mark-making
2. recording
MALLEABLE MATERIALS
Provide:
- playdough in a variety of colours and textures
- rolling pins
- a variety of trucks, some with tyres, some with caterpillar tracks
Learning opportunities
3. Making patterns
6. Exploring texture
5. Developing motor skills
Adult role
The adult could engage with the children to talk about:
3. Patterns
1. Shape
6. Texture in three dimensions
by asking questions such as:
- I wonder why these machines have tyres like this?
- Why do some have tyres and others have a caterpillar track?
- Shall we see if we can make some patterns outside too? How could we do
it?
CONSTRUCTION PLAY
Provide:
- a range of construction equipment
- vehicles
- small-world figures
- cardboard boxes
- junk modelling materials
- masking tape
Learning opportunities:
1. Developing motor skills
2. Making stories
2. Recreating roles and experiences
2. Extending vocabulary
3. Solving problems, measuring, estimating
Adult role
The adult could add:
tape measures and spirit levels for:
3. measuring
3. number recognition
2. talking in role
1. turn-taking and collaborating
clipboards and drawing board for:
2. mark making and recording
6. drawing, designing, planning
large sheets of paper, felt pens, photo holders (the type with
crocodile-clips) for:
4. creating maps
6. inventing imaginary worlds
2. making signs and labels
- Provide a range of book making materials so that children can make their own 'Truck and Digger Book', fiction or non-fiction.
- If possible, keep a copy of C is for Construction: Big trucks and diggers from A-Z (Chronicle Books) in the area, as a reference for children.
- Ensure that plenty of clipboards are available so that children can write in any area of the setting.
- Novelty truck pencils may inspire young writers. These are available from www.stobartshop.co.uk
Learning opportunities
1. Co-operation and collaboration
2. Talk for a variety of purposes
2. Writing for a range of purposes
Adult role
- Respond positively and value children's independent attempts at
writing.
- Plan shared writing sessions based on children's ideas to demonstrate
writing strategies and to develop an understanding of the relationship
between spoken and written language.
- Provide a place for children to display their writing, such as a
noticeboard.
OUTDOOR AREA
Create a large-scale building site in your outdoor area, using:
- building blocks suitable for outdoor use
- a range of bought and found construction items, including cardboard boxes, milk and bread crates, rope and tyres
Learning opportunities
1. Co-operation and collaboration
2. Talk for a variety of purposes
6. Recreating roles and experiences, imaginative play
3. Exploring shape in three dimensions
3. Measuring and estimating
3. Using the language of position
Adult role
Act in the role of a potential customer, taking orders, making
complaints and so on
BOOK AREA
- Obtain a selection of the books recommended in the 'Book Box' (see right).
- Display them as a collection that children can readily access for themselves.
- Where possible, ensure that there are multiple copies of some of the books that prove the most popular. This will encourage children to share books together.
- Make sure that you plan to use the collection in read-aloud sessions, reading non-fiction books as well as fiction. Discuss the pictures, pick out some fascinating facts about the vehicles and encourage the children to be the experts - let them talk to you about what they already know.
- Add relevant and appropriate comics and magazines to the book corner. Children may bring in some of these of their own accord. Make sure that you include such items as 'Bob the Builder' comics and periodicals such as Truck Trader and Classic Plant and Machinery.
Adult role
- Make time to observe the children who use the book corner, and their reading preferences.
- Encourage the children to use the books in other areas of provision, including outdoors.
RESOURCE BOX
Collecting resource boxes around predictable early childhood interests ensures that practitioners are well-equipped to respond when children show a fascination for a particular topic. To support children's interest in trucks and diggers, provide:
- a collection of toy trucks and diggers, made of a variety of materials that can be used in sand and water and in the outdoor area. A range of construction vehicles is available from Bruder Toys (www.brudertoys.co.uk), JCB (www.jcbshop.com) and John Crane (www.woodentoys-uk.co.uk)
- images of trucks and diggers from sources including magazines and the internet. JCB has a DVD about producing trucks at its factory, priced £14.99 (www.jcbshop.com).
- small-world construction figures
- retractable rulers, spirit levels and tools
- books, rhymes and songs (see page 22)
- coloured sand, pebbles and stones
Exploring children's interests
Tuning in
Making time to talk to parents and carers is an important way of finding out about children's current interests and about what matters to them. Such information helps practitioners provide a curriculum that is relevant and meaningful.
Having an existing interest in a particular theme means that children approach it with enthusiasm and expertise, giving them confidence and increased motivation to engage in the activities provided. Children can use this expertise best in carefully planned, open-ended learning opportunities without prescribed uniform outcomes.
Enhancing provision
Any significant interest that a child or children may have should be explored by enhancing a setting's continuous provision - that is, by adding theme-based resources to the areas of provision that is available daily to children and should comprise:
- role play, small-world play, construction play, sand and water malleable materials, creative workshop area, graphics area, book area.
By taking this approach, children can choose to engage with the theme or pursue their own interests and learning independently. Adults need to recognise that children require a suitable length of time to explore any interests in depth and to develop their own ideas.
Adult role
If children's interests are to be used to create the best possible learning opportunities, the adult role is crucial.
Adults need to be able to:
- enhance continuous provision to reflect children's interests
- use enhancements to plan meaningful learning opportunities across all areas of the EYFS
- know when to intervene in children's play and when to stand back
- recognise that children will need a suitable length of time to explore any area of provision to develop their own ideas
- model skills, language and behaviours
- recognise how observation, assessment and reflection on children's play can enhance their understanding of what young children know and recognise how these should inform their future planning.
Areas of learning
1. Personal, social and emotional development
2. Communication, language and literacy
3. Problem solving, reasoning and numeracy
4. Knowledge and understanding of the world
5. Physical development
6.Creative development
BOOK BOX
There is a wide selection of fiction and non-fiction books available about trucks and diggers.
Two of my personal favourites are Katy and the Big Snow and Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel by Virginia Lee Burton (Frances Lincoln Children's Books), classic American tales that have been captivating children for 60 years.
- Katy and the Big Snow is the tale of a red crawler tractor that builds and repairs road in summer and is the town's snow plough in winter. Most winters are mild but one year a blizzard hits, bringing the town to a standstill. The doctor can't get his patient to hospital; the fire department can't reach a burning house. Everyone turns to Katy for help.
- Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel shows Mike Mulligan and steam shovel Mary Anne making a great team, digging canals for boats, tunnels for trains and the foundations of great skyscrapers. Then Mary Anne is made obsolete by the introduction of gasoline, electric and diesel shovels. Forced out of the city in search of work, the duo find themselves in a little town, where they bid to dig the cellar for the new town hall in a day.
Other titles include:
- Dazzling Diggers (Amazing Machines) written by Tony Mitton and illustrated by Ant Parker (Kingfisher Books) - a wacky animal crew take charge on a building site.
- Tough Trucks (Amazing Machines) written by Tony Mitton and illustrted by Ant Parker (Kingfisher Books) - animal characters take to the road and discover lots of different trucks, including a noisy dustcart, a big cement mixer and a tanker. Full of rhyming fun.
- Duck in a Truck by Jez Alborough (Picture Lions) - a rollicking tale in which Sheep, Frog and Goat help free Duck from the mud, only to get stuck themselves. Includes drawings and rhyming text that will delight young children.
- Dig, Dig, Digging written by Margaret Ayo and illustrated by Alex Ayliffe (Orchard Books) - introduces 11 working vehicles through simple rhymes, vibrant collages and expressive language depicting the sound, actions and size of the machines.
You'll find great photographs of big machinery in books such as:
- C is for Construction: Big Trucks and Diggers from A-Z (Chronicle Books)
- Big Trucks and Diggers in 3D - Caterpillar (Chronicle Books)
- Diggers (Big Machines) (Smart Apple Media)
- I Love Trucks by Roger Priddy (Priddy Books).
