Fine Motor Truck !

Drinking Straw Truck

This was a collaborative effort, my son was watching a show about the Three Little Pigs and the one pig with a straw house sparked his interest in making something with drinking straws. So his first request was a train, but we didn’t have enough straws so we settled on a pick up truck. This does require some prep but I love how it turned out. The placing of the straws is tricky but it’s a great lesson in fine motor and patience!

1. Gather your materials. You will need drinking straws, 2 pieces of construction paper, a marker, crayons, scissors, glue and 2 milk caps.
2. Start by drawing a truck on a piece of paper, if your child is able to have them do this.  Don’t worry if it’s not perfect, mine certainly isn’t, as long as your child knows it’s a truck you are set.
3. Give your child the 2nd piece of paper and explain the truck needs a road. We used black paper and white and yellow crayons.
4. While they are doing this ( or before you even invite them to the table) cut the straws to fit over the truck, I did the cutting them made three piles, the hood, the cab and the bed.
5. Add glue, a lot of glue.
6. Spread said glue around.
7. Add the straws.  We did them by group, and I showed him how to do it for the first , then he did the rest. This is tricky so I find if I prepare him for it to be delicate, and tricky he doesn’t get frustrated when it’s hard. I tell him over and over how tricky it is, but that I know he can do it, and it’s okay to ask for help, even mommy thinks it’s hard.  It works for us ( most days).
8. Keep adding them until the picture is covered.
9. Add the milk lids for wheels and let dry. It takes ages to dry.
10. Cut out and glue onto the road way they made.

Books

“The Three Little Rigs” by David Gordon is a fresh twist on the classic Three Little Pigs with trucks instead of pigs. My son ate this book up, he loved it. The “wolf” in the story is a wrecking ball that smashes and crashes the Little Rigs garages , I thought he was a little scary but after reading the book I asked my son his favorite part and sure enough he said the wrecking ball. I loved the illustrations and was not surprised one bit to read that the author/illustrator has done work for Pixar.

“Trucks Whizz! Zoom! Rumble!” by Patricia Hubbell was another hit with my son. The book is about all the trucks that one can find on the road, from armoured trucks to diggers and of course garbage trucks! My son is a huge garbage truck fan and was elated when there wasn’t just one but two in this book!  The text rhymes and chugs along well with the whimsical collaged illustrations by Megan Halsey.  Many of the drivers in the book are animals and when I asked my osn if elephants really drive trucks he looked at me seriously and said ” Sometimes they do! ” , regardless of my son’s take on reality he really enjoyed this book and if your child is as into trucks as he is they will too.

“When Daddy’s Truck Picks Me Up” by Jana Novotany Hunter is not so much a book about trucks as it is about trust in your parents.  A little boy is excited to see his dad who is a truck driver and away from home often, today is the day he comes to preschool to pick him up, or maybe not. What I like about this book is that your child gets to see that the dad is eager to get to the school to see his little guy as much as the littl eboy is eager to see his dad. Sadly sometimes even when arents try to get there on time they just aren’t, but that doesn’t mean they won’t get there as soon as they can and still love you .  I can say that in all my years of teaching classes a late parent was almot a daily event, and while it was nothing to us teachers a young child is thrown for a loop! I think this book is a wonderful resource for parents to talk about the possibility of this happening.