[This series features “toddler date” ideas for something fun, simple, and cheap to do with your toddler.]

Construction Sites and other Big Equipment: Kids LOVE watching construction vehicles at work. They also like watching trash pickups, cars being loaded onto tow trucks, cranes at the port lifting and placing containers on ships, street sweepers, and more. (The luckiest days for a toddler parent is when you find a cozy warm coffee shop to hang out in that’s next door to a construction site. You relax while they’re entertained!) Last week, my son was captivated by a landscape worker and his leaf blower outside the library. Take advantage of those moments when you run across people at work, and stop and watch. Talk about the different types of equipment, the colors, the shapes – what the workers are doing.

Here are some fun building themed activities your child might enjoy and some great ideas for a construction themed birthday party.