Tools! Tools! Tools! I got this wonderful theme idea here, and it seemed fun for both boys and girls.
Books:
Other Great Books about Tools:
Toolbox Twins by Lola M. Schaefer
The Toolbox by Anne & Harlow Rockwell
I Love Tools! by Philemon Sturges
Click Here to Order these Books on the Heights Library Catalog
Activity: I brought in a real toolbox full of toy tools to show the kids. I pulled out each one and had the children identify them (this is great to do after reading Tap Tap Bang Bang). After reading Whose Tools Are These a great idea is to put an assortment of tools that different occupations would use (I had put these in my “magic toolbox”). You can show the children kitchen tools, a hairdresser’s tools, an artist’s tools, a teacher’s tools or even a librarian’s tools.
Art Project: We made our own “Magic Toolbox” (based on the book with the same name) with paper, glue, scissors and crayons. Each child received a print-out of some tools (I just got them online here after searching for coloring pages on tools). They colored the tools and cut them out. Then they took a piece of red cardstock and made three horizontal folds, with one tab shorter than the other. This made the illusion of a tool box. We cut out handles out of black construction paper and glued this on the top of the folded shorter tab. I also prepared small rectangles in which I had spray painted silver. The tops of these were glued over the folded flap to represent metal clamps. Inside the children pasted their little tools. So cute!