Building Bridges

Age

⚙ 3 years and up

Time and Place

⚙ Any time of day

⚙ Any time of year

⚙ Indoors or outdoors

Materials

⚙ Board or other elongated objects for the bridge deck

⚙ Objects for piers to support the bridge deck (e.g., wooden blocks, tires, boxes)

⚙ Toys or other objects to place on the bridge

Safety

⚙Supervise children at all times

⚙Be aware that bridges might collapse

⚙Be aware of choking hazards (i.e., small LEGO pieces)

Instructions

When children are playing with cars or with building blocks, they are likely to create something that acts as a bridge. Encourage that interest by asking children to design and build bridges using different materials. Children can predict how many [cars, toys, objects] their bridge can hold.

Optional: visit a nearby bridge, taking appropriate precautions.

Questions You May Ask

⚙ What can you use to build a bridge?

⚙ How many [cars, toys, objects] can your bridge hold before it collapses?

⚙ How many [cars, toys, objects] can fit on your bridge deck?

⚙ What are bridges used for?

⚙ Where have you seen a bridge before?

⚙ How can you place the deck on the piers to make a stable bridge?

⚙ Where does your bridge go?

Related Children's Books

⚙ A Book about Bridges: Here to There and Me to You by Cheryl Keely

⚙ Building Strong Bridges by Marne Ventura

Play-based Context

A group of preschoolers was playing with tires and balancing boards and they created a bridge by placing a balancing board on top of the tires. The children walked back and forth on their bridge.