The Mom I Want to Be

Old MacDonald Had a Woodshop, by Lisa Shulman. Old MacDonald is building a surprise for the young animals on the farm. With a zztt zztt here, and a tap tap there, the other animals join Old MacDonald in using the many tools in her woodshop. At the end, they surprise the little ones with a miniature toy farm—just like the one where they live!

 

 

Classifying Tools

 

Have children identify the woodworking tools in the book. Ask them to find tools that are used for other activities (the paintbrush, the mouse’s broom, and Old MacDonald’s artist tools). Provide children with old magazines and scissors. Have them find and cut out pictures of different tools. Help them group the tools according to the type of activity for which they’re used, for example, cleaning tools, gardening tools, cooking tools, etc. Paste the pictures on a large piece of paper, and label each group.

 

 

Choral Singing

 

 Invite children to sing the story with you. Have them add the following hand motions to accompany the sounds the tools make.

 

…in her shop she had a saw…with a zztt zztt here…

(Bend arm at elbow and make sawing motions.)

…in her shop she had a drill…with a rurr rurr here…

(Make a fist with one hand as if holding a hand drill, and pantomime turning the drill handle with the other hand.)

…in her shop she had a hammer…with a tap tap here…

(Pretend to hold a hammer and tap it gently in the air.)

…in her shop she had a chisel…with a chip chip here…

(Hold index and middle finger of one hand together, and tap that hand with the opposite fist.)

…in her shop she had a file…with a scritch scratch here…

(Rub hands together.)

…in her shop she had a screwdriver…with a squeak squeak here…

(Point index finger straight ahead and turn it from side to side.)

…in her shop she had a paintbrush…with a swish swash here…

(Make painting motion with one hand, back and forth along the opposite arm.)

 

 

Make Up a Song

 

Create your own Old MacDonald song by changing the setting, for example: Old MacDonald had a School (or a restaurant, or a zoo, etc.). Ask children to think of animals, people, or things that would belong in that setting, and the sounds they would make. Write the group song on chart paper, and sing it together.

 

 

Fun with Onomatopoeia

 

Onomatopoeic words sound like the things they describe. Ask children to identify these words in the book. Then have them listen as you make different sounds, for example, by dropping a book, tearing a piece of paper, pouring water, etc. Invite children to create their own onomatopoeic words to describe the sounds they hear.

 

Additional Theme Related Literature:

 

A Day With a Carpenter, Joanne Williams

Harvey the Carpenter, Lars Klinting

How a House is Built, Gail Gibbons

My Little Red Toolbox, Stephen T. Johnson

Tool Book, Gail Gibbons

Toolbox, Anne Rockwell

Tools, Gallimard Jeuness & Claude Delafosse

Tools, Anne Morris

Workshop, Andrew Clements

 

Additional Theme Related Activies

 

Math Center—Give the students a page with 5-10 objects around the room to measure with a tape measure. They can record their answers on the sheet.

 

Literacy Center—Collect styrofoam blocks from families. Children can use golf tees to pound in letter shapes.

 

Social Studies – Have a carpenter or home builder visit your classroom to talk about tools they use, safety, etc.

 

Take a field trip to a local hardware, home improvement store, or your local high school shop room.

 

Fine Motor—Have students use pliers to pick up small objects—nuts, washers, screws. Children can sort these into separate containers or jars to reinforce sorting.

 

Art—Use an old shoebox or Kleenex box to create a toolbox. Add a handle on the top with a pipe cleaner and use brads to make a hook that closes with a pipe cleaner. An adult will have to tape the back of a shoebox or cut a slit on three sides of the Kleenex box. The kids can paint the boxes red.

 

Memory Game—Use the Tool cards to make a tool memory game.

 

Woody Wood Dough—Use the recipe to make a new type of dough.

Get some scrap lumber to practice sanding and staining (used diluted brown paint and paper towels).

 

Woody Wood Dough

 

1 cup clean, well-sifted sawdust

1/2 cup flour

1 Tbs. liquid starch

1 cup water

 

Mix ingredients together in bowl until stiff dough is formed. Add extra water if dough is too dry. Allow Woody Wood Dough to dry 2 to 3 days. Sandpaper can be used to smooth Woody Wood Dough after it’s completely dry. Tips: Press Woody Wood Dough into cookie cutters and candy molds to create paperweights, beads and ornaments.