My Truck is Stuck! by Kevin Lewis

This book has been recited and reenacted frequently in our house. It is a simple story of a truck that gets stuck in a hole created by some sneaky gophers (who are out to steal the cargo). New vehicles come along to try and help which adds a counting/math element to the book. The dialogue is repetitive, which young ones love (and you will hear as they play with their own trucks - "My truck is stuck!"). 
​​​Get your hands on this book here:
Preschool STEM investigation - Age 2+
Is there a good age to introduce forces to kids? They are already exploring how gravity works when they throw things off the table repeatedly, so we say as young as possible! This book lends itself so well to any kind of game where things are 'stuck'. If you have a dump truck (you can easily substitute a normal bucket), try filling it up (we used balls) with different amounts. Place only a few objects and have your little one rescue the truck by pulling it along. We had ours in a sandpit and pulled it out. After the first load, refill the truck with as many objects as you can, making it heavier. You don't need to explain any weight equations or details of friction to your toddler, but asking questions like "Which one was harder to pull?" or "Why was that so hard to pull?" gets them thinking. Without any prompting, our little investigator said, "So many balls!".  Early science at its best!
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Read about when we originally shared it on Instagram -  HERE
Kindergarten subtraction - Age 4+
The cheeky gophers in this story keep removing bones from the truck, which begs for a little talk about taking away or subtraction. If you have a toy truck, try filling it with anything and start acting like gophers. You can use Lego to make little bone shapes or just draw some bones, if you really want to link it to the story. You can practise counting the total and then remove bones and count what is left. There is so much math vocabulary you can review as you do this!

Depending on the age and interest of your kids, it is easy to adapt to different levels (use higher or lower numbers; write number sentences; work together or challenge them to work independently). For little ones just learning numbers, you can even work on number recognition (we used magnetic numbers but any numbers will do), by counting 'bones' to match each digit and placing them in the truck.

​Read about when we originally shared it on Instagram - HERE 
Click below for other books and activities about trucks: