Inspired by this month's theme -- Construction -- over at Totally Tots, the kids and I have been talking a lot about construction and building things. Kids are naturally interested in bulldozers and backhoes, but having me point things out and talk about them has drawn all three of my little ones' attention. We checked out a few books about construction sites, our favorite being Machines at Work by Byron Barton. Amy has the book memorized and knows the name and function of all the machines! We've played the construction counting game from Totally Tots and they have several other construction themed activities that we'll have to try out. I also picked up a few cheapo construction trucks at the dollar store to put in the kids' (tiny) sandbox. In addition, with the nice weather we've had this week I've worked on a few projects in the yard, which means the kids have been watching me "do construction" and use my tools.
But best of all, this afternoon I took the kids on a "field trip" to watch a construction site in action. On BYU campus they are tearing down all of the old DT dorms and Heritage Halls apartments and building new on-campus apartments. It's a huge construction site that goes all the way from the BYU conference center to the Creamery on Ninth (about 5 or 6 blocks). We parked at the top, walked down to the creamery and got some ice cream, and then walked back. We stopped at least once every block to watch and talk about what was going on. We saw a few different backhoes in action, and they were right by the fence so it was fun to be so close. We saw a loader moving piles of dirt and loading gravel into dump trucks. We saw a crane at work. We saw a crew paving a new parking lot, spreading tar and then using the roller to flatten it. We saw a cement mixer and talked about why it was turning. We watched a crew prepare the framework for the concrete foundation for one of the buildings. We saw forklifts moving lumber. We were lucky to see so much action! It was a beautiful day, the sun was out, the kids were loving it and learning and talking about so many things. I didn't think to bring a camera, but I don't want to forget this! These are the mommy moments that I love! (The construction site will still be there for another year or more, so we'll probably do this again and see the progress on the buildings. I'll bring a camera next time.)
When we got home all three of them were excited to play with the trucks in the sandbox. Now they are all nestled in bed for their naps with traces of ice cream on their faces, sand under their nails, and a construction storybook by their side. Now Amy can't wait for us to begin construction on their new, bigger sandbox. :) This is the kind of childhood/education I hope to provide for the kids through homeschooling. Passionate and active!
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