Bygg och konstruktion i förskolan : Hur barn går till väga i en bygg- och konstruktionsaktivitet med inspiration från en saga

Sammanfattning

The aim of this study is to contribute knowledge about how children express and explore technology during a planned building and construction activity based on a fairy tale. The study builds on the fact that stories are commonly used as pedagogical tools in preschool. Data were generated during a construction activity inspired by The Three Little Pigs (Harris, 2009) in a preschool in a small municipality in central Sweden. Four children aged 4–6 participated. The activity was documented through participant observation with audio recordings and field notes, and the material was analysed thematically with variation theory as an analytical framework. The results show that the fairy tale created a meaningful context that guided the children’s technical reasoning and problem solving. Three patterns were particularly evident: (1) the children explored and compared material properties (e.g., weight, hardness and stability) and gradually reinterpreted straw, wood and clay as building materials rather than everyday objects; (2) the children planned and tested different construction strategies, such as combining materials to increase stability and discussing ways to join parts (e.g., the need for glue or nails); and (3) through testing the houses with “the wolf” (a hair dryer), the children identified critical aspects of durability and function, concluding that heavier and more stable materials provided better protection against wind force. Overall, the findings indicate that story-based construction activities can make technological concepts visible and support children’s ability to talk about materials, stability and functional solutions in preschool.