My preschoolers love all things to do with cars! So when Mother Goose Time supplied us with an invitation to create and a small group literacy activity focused on building and naming roads I knew it to be a must!

Building Roads with Mother Goose Time

1. Build a Road – An Invitation to Create

This process based art activity allows the kids to explore a variety of textures and patterns. No specific outcome is expected, although inspiration is provided in the form of a photograph. The focus is more on the experience than any product the kids might produce.

Supplies

inspiration photo*
green paper*
black paper*
tube*
sand*
paint
markers
scissors
glue

*These materials are included with the themed curriculum from Mother Goose Time.

Set Up

Set out the inspiration photo and additional supplies.

Prompts

How do you think roads are made?
What do you see happening in the photo?
Will you cut or tear strips of paper for roads?
How can you use the tube to roll paint, sand or gravel onto your picture?

Observe

What did the child do or say to represent his understanding of how roads are made?
What part of the process most engaged the child?

Our Experience with Build a Road

My youngster is pretending to roll out the pavement on the road.

Sometimes Mother Goose Time suggests an activity that I just know is going to be messy. When it’s one I know the kids are going to get a kick out of, sometimes I do it anyway. Other times I reel in the mess by substituting washable markers instead of paint or eliminating any sand or glitter elements. The thing is the kids love using the sand and in this particular invitation to create activity, the sand really added to our conversation about textures and how roads are made and paved. So, I ponied up and supplied them with the sand. They did a great job of containing the mess for the most part. They also had a fabulous time.

I love that my child added the dividing line on the road with yellow paint.

The inspiration photo worked well to inspire the kids to add details they may not have chosen on their own. I was impressed to see them not only acting out the steps of creating a road (pouring asphalt and rolling/pressing it down), but also adding details necessary for traffic control such as dividing lines. This was a great chance to talk about roads, how they are made, and how they are navigated.

Road Names with Mother Goose Time

2. Road Names – A small Group Literacy Activity

If you’re looking for a simple to execute literacy activity for car crazy youngsters, this is it! Nametags are used as street signs. Masking tape or blocks are used for roads. Giving and receiving directions provides practice with name recognition.