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March 27, 2009 | 21 Comments

Garbage Day !

Shape Garbage Truck

These simple shape activities have been a favorite of my son for a while now, so it was only fitting to match it up with his other favorite thing- a garbage truck. I don’t know about your child but my son is nuts about these wonders of public sanitation. Luckily if we sleep in on garbage day there are hundreds of garbage truck videos on youtube. Did you know that garbage trucks in Japan play music, I know because I have seen them on youtube, many many times!

  1. Gather your materials. You will need some plain construction paper or cardboard ( such as a cereal box) , some green markers or paint, some black and brown construction paper, scissors and glue.
  2. Draw one large square, one small square and an obtuse triangle on your cardboard.
  3. Have your child color or paint the shapes green, point out the shapes and label them for your child. We used markers because we were taking a break from paint eating .. *Side note – all parents get frustrated with their kids at times, if you know your patience isn’t at your all time best, or even good take steps to make the craft or lesson less stressful for everyone involved. My son really wanted to make this before his dad got home so instead of getting frustrated at the paint eating, I offered him markers. It worked well for everyone and we had a peaceful time making the garbage truck.
  4. While they are coloring the shapes, cut out 3 large circles from the black paper.
  5. Cut out the truck shapes
  6. Grab the brown piece of construction paper and the glue!
  7. Add the large square, small one and triangle, so the triangle is only touching at the top.
  8. The glue for the wheels- you can add the glue as a guide for your child.
  9. Pop the wheels on and let dry.


Books!

Trashy Town by Andrea Zimmerman and David Clemesha is my favorite garbage truck book , and yes I have read a lot. Mr. Gilly is a hard working garbage man with one task, to clean up Trashy town. The text is so melodic I find myself singing while reading ” Dump it in, Smash it down, drive around the trashy town” . It’s not all trashy time for Mr. Gilly though, after a hard days work cleaning up Trashy town he gets into his bubble bath ! My son loves that this big garbage collector has a bath just like him. Super sweet and colorful book that explains garbage collection is a nice way.

” I Stink” by Kate and Jim McMullen was the bain of my existence in my Pre-K class, the kids loved this book and I really liked most of it, but there are some gross things in it like puppy poo, dirty diapers and kitty litter but we put all those things in the garbage so they are totally appropriate. Just know that they will also get a group of 4 and 5 year olds giggling and repeating the words for days on end. Overall though the book is effective and I own a well read copy. The garbage truck is sarcastic and rough, and the alphabet of garbage is creative.


“I Am A Garbage Truck” by Ace Landers is my son’s favorite toy right now, he kisses it good night and it’s the first thing he asks for when he gets up in the morning. The book itself is okay, the story is a little disjointed, when my husband read it to him for the first time he looked over at me in my son’s bed and said ” Am I reading this the right way? It seems like I should have started from the last page?” my son didn’t care, he loves the illustrations and the way the book is in the shape of a garbage truck. I like that it covers both garbage and recycling!

Filed Under: Community Activities, Garbage Truck, Preschool Crafts, Shape Activities, Transportation | 21 Comments

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21 Comments

  1. Batavier says

    March 27, 2009 at 1:55 am

    Ha, great stuff! My son (2+ now) has been nuts about garbage trucks as well. And yes, youtube is great for watching trucks, tractors, cars, fire engines, police cars, etc. etc.

    I cannot even grab my laptop for some serious work, without him asking to watch youtube… 🙂

    to Batavier" aria-label='reply to this comment to Batavier'>reply to this comment
  2. Where's The Aspirin? says

    March 27, 2009 at 3:24 am

    Love it! The kids are always looking for the garbage truck.

    to Where's The Aspirin?" aria-label='reply to this comment to Where's The Aspirin?'>reply to this comment
  3. farleece says

    March 27, 2009 at 4:56 am

    Thank goodness for Youtube on a rainy day. We’ve watched the The “kitty sitting on Roomba” and any of the laughing baby videos a few dozen times!

    Meredith

    to farleece" aria-label='reply to this comment to farleece'>reply to this comment
  4. Tonya says

    March 27, 2009 at 5:30 am

    I must live under a rock! I never thought to look up garbage trucks, etc on YouTube!
    Hope you have a great weekend!

    to Tonya" aria-label='reply to this comment to Tonya'>reply to this comment
  5. Trisha says

    March 27, 2009 at 6:44 am

    I think we’ll do that this weekend. We have both “I Stink” and “I’m Dirty” out from the library now. Thank you for all of the great ideas!

    to Trisha" aria-label='reply to this comment to Trisha'>reply to this comment
  6. thesixkents says

    March 27, 2009 at 8:43 am

    Ohmyword!
    Your site is too fun!
    Esp for a homeschoolin’ mom to 2 boys. I’m on it – will go check the rest out and pick out an activity for today!

    to thesixkents" aria-label='reply to this comment to thesixkents'>reply to this comment
  7. Susan says

    March 27, 2009 at 9:51 am

    I love your book recommendations, keep them coming!

    to Susan" aria-label='reply to this comment to Susan'>reply to this comment
  8. BranFlakes says

    March 27, 2009 at 9:53 am

    My son loves garbage trucks too! What is it about boys?! Actually, lately he has become obsessed with recycling and there’s a different truck for that.

    to BranFlakes" aria-label='reply to this comment to BranFlakes'>reply to this comment
  9. Darius and Kelly Miknaitis says

    March 27, 2009 at 10:02 am

    My son (19 months) is obsessed with the Garbage Truck too! I look forward to garbage pick up on Mondays because he gets so excited about it. I’m definitely going to have to do this activity with him!

    to Darius and Kelly Miknaitis" aria-label='reply to this comment to Darius and Kelly Miknaitis'>reply to this comment
  10. Amy says

    March 27, 2009 at 11:39 am

    Oh my. We’ll have to make this. The arrival of the garbage truck often seems to be the highlight of my boys’ week! (I’m not going to tell them about the youtube videos… even though the Japanese musical garbage truck sounds awfully cool.)

    to Amy" aria-label='reply to this comment to Amy'>reply to this comment
  11. jas says

    March 27, 2009 at 11:40 am

    omg you are so creative I have bookmarked your site so that i can get the ideas from you and use them for my son every now and then he loves what he gets to do and its so much fun thanks a ton

    to jas" aria-label='reply to this comment to jas'>reply to this comment
  12. Andrea says

    March 27, 2009 at 11:01 pm

    We’re glad you like Trashy Town!
    Has your son seen the video? (It’s packaged together with Chicka Chicka Boom Boom on dvd–look for it at your library system.)
    Happy Reading,
    Andrea Zimmerman and David Clemesha

    to Andrea" aria-label='reply to this comment to Andrea'>reply to this comment
  13. Allie says

    March 28, 2009 at 8:00 am

    Andrea ,

    Yes, we got it for Christmas and my son ONLY wanted to watch Trashy Town, so I have seen it many many times.

    I have suggested the video to a few parents of reluctant readers as a way to “prime the pump” and it’s worked.

    Thank you so much for a great book!

    to Allie" aria-label='reply to this comment to Allie'>reply to this comment
  14. Preschool Playbook says

    March 29, 2009 at 7:01 pm

    My class loves the book “I Stink.” They think it is so funny. I love the garbage truck,this would be a great transportation day!

    to Preschool Playbook" aria-label='reply to this comment to Preschool Playbook'>reply to this comment
  15. Amber says

    March 29, 2009 at 10:29 pm

    Trashy Town is one of our favorites! I like using the shapes to make a garbage truck. That may be tomorrow’s activity…

    to Amber" aria-label='reply to this comment to Amber'>reply to this comment
  16. Anna says

    March 23, 2013 at 5:43 am

    My boys (2 & 4) LOVED this!! I posted about it here:

    http://www.themeasuredmom.com/preschool-crafts-for-letter-t/

    to Anna" aria-label='reply to this comment to Anna'>reply to this comment
    • Allison McDonald says

      March 23, 2013 at 7:04 am

      I am so happy to hear that!

      to Allison McDonald" aria-label='reply to this comment to Allison McDonald'>reply to this comment
  17. stephanie taylor says

    November 18, 2013 at 5:51 am

    I am using this as part of my community helpers lesson today! Super fun & easy even for a non-crafty person like me. Thanks for these ideas.

    to stephanie taylor" aria-label='reply to this comment to stephanie taylor'>reply to this comment

Trackbacks

  1. Story Time Starter — Trucks & Tractors | M/RCPL Family Zone says:
    February 22, 2013 at 6:37 am

    […] Shape Garbage Truck from No Time for Flash Cards […]

    to Story Time Starter — Trucks & Tractors | M/RCPL Family Zone" aria-label='reply to this comment to Story Time Starter — Trucks & Tractors | M/RCPL Family Zone'>reply to this comment
  2. Preschool Crafts for Letter T - The Measured Mom says:
    March 23, 2013 at 3:05 am

    […] another idea from No Time for Flashcards (if you’re on the lookout for original, fun and easy crafts, follow that blog!).  The shapes […]

    to Preschool Crafts for Letter T - The Measured Mom" aria-label='reply to this comment to Preschool Crafts for Letter T - The Measured Mom'>reply to this comment
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