Teaching Your Child About Construction Tools

My two-year-old boy is always interested in watching his dad use tools such as a hammer or drill. He gets so excited that he wants to be right there involved with dad. My son's desire to use construction tools got me thinking that I need to educate him about tools. I came up with a fun idea to teach him the names of the tools, how they are used and how to take care of them after usage.

A great way to introduce construction tools is through books. This will give you the opportunity to talk about the pictures and the purposes of the tools. Some good books I would recommend are, The Tool Box by Anne and Harlow Rockwell, Fix It by David McPhail and Tool Book by Gail Gibbons.

Provide your child with tool puzzles. There are some great tool puzzles that you can find at teacher educational stores or stores such as Target. As your child is putting the puzzle together you can talk about the names of the different tools and the function of the tools.

Play tool games. For example, have a picture on a poster board with different types of tools. Then have your child pick out a picture of a tool from a shoebox and match it to the correct tool on the poster board. This is another great way to familiarize your child with different tools.

Educate your child about construction tools through art. For example, purchase sponges that come in the shape of different tools. Then have your child dip the sponge in a flat pan full of paint. Then they could use the sponge to leave a tool print on paper.

Provide your child with different children's tools that they can use during their playtime. At a toy store you can buy a kids tool kit. In the tool kit they can have a toy hammer, saw, drill and wrench. This is a wonderful way for your child to practice using the tools that they have learned about.

Take a field trip to a safe place that tools are often used. For example, a shoe repair store is a great place your child can observe how the worker repairs shoes using some of the tools your child may have learned about.