Tips for Using Tip Tip Dig Dig with children:
In either an indoor sand play table or an outdoor sandbox—or just an area that has some soft dirt that’s safe for children to play in with their hands, have children imitate the actions of some of the heavy construction vehicles in this book. Ask them if they remember the words (verbs) that were used to describe those actions—“dig,” “push,” “lift,” and so on. (If they don’t, do the action yourself, then say the word that describes it—“dig,” “roll,” etc.)
If you have some toy versions of some of these vehicles, great---but you can improvise, too (by using some spoons or small plastic buckets to dig, thick pieces of cardboard (or even just hands) to push the sand or dirt, a rolling pin or a plastic bottle filled with water and sealed to “roll” and flatten the dirt, etc., etc.
Tips for Using Tip Tip Dig Dig with families:
If there’s a construction site near you, take the children to a safe location near it, and see if they are able to point out any of the heavy construction vehicles in this book. If they find some, ask them if they remember the action words that were used in the book to describe the work that these vehicles do—for example, the dump truck “tips,” the crane “lifts,” etc. If there isn’t a construction site close to you, consider borrowing from your local library a VHS tape or DVD made for children that shows construction work being done. These are usually quite easy to find. There have been some made about building bridges, making tunnels, building roads, etc.