Prechool activities for a transportation theme?

Question

I'm trying to find as many as possible between today and tomorrow, any suggestions? I'll be checking every now and then so just let 'em fly! Anything at all would help!

Answer 1

Read Donald Crew's Trucks and then let the children work in teams to make a truck out of a large cardboard box. They could paint the box, or color with markers, and glue on headlights, signs, etc.
Or save small milk cartons and give the children assorted collage-type supplies (yarn, paper, stickers, etc.) and let them make a car or truck out of the empty milk cartons.
Or have the children line up behind you and take a pretend train ride around the classroom or center.
Or make construction paper train cars and let the children cut out animal pictures out of magazines and glue them on the their train car, then count the animals in their car and write the number on the car.
Or have the children cut out magazine pictures that show transportation and glue them on a large piece of paper to make a transportation collage as a group project.

Answer 2

We do hot air balloons in our preschool every October. This year with the pre-k we did paper mache over balloons. Tear newspaper into strips and dip it into a tub of liquid starch. Cover the balloon with this mixture. Let dry then paint with many bright colors and let dry again. Then break the balloon, thread three strings of yarn through the top of the paper balloon. Tie the strings in a knot and secure it so it doesn't slip out of the balloon. Punch three holes into the top of a paper cup and tie to the three strings coming down from the top part of the balloon. Some of the children made their own paper people to put into the cup. As an add on you could have the child tell you an adventure about where he will fly in his balloon.

This was a trial and error project so I am not sure how clear my directions are on making this, however there might be a better explanation or an easier way to do this. Our children enjoyed this experience very much.

Answer 3

Here are some suggestions:

Chart how they get to school
Make a car out of a cardboard box
Make driver licenses
Turn you dramatic play area into the department of transportation
Play Red light, Green light, Yellow light
Make a drivers test track outdoors using tricycles
Talk about difference types of transportation
Take a bus or train ride (public transportation)

Answer 4

Have them all be the different types of transportation - it depends on if you have the room somewhere or not. First introduce them to the types of transportation and then say, now, first we're going to be cars. (Hand them all paper plates to use as steering wheels.) What kind of sounds do CARS make? Have them demonstrate. Then say, okay, you are all cars, I want you to drive around for a minute and make your car sounds.

Take away their steering wheels, and talk about airplanes. Ask them about the sound again. Then show them their wings (put their arms out, obviously). Say, "Now my little airplanes, fly around the room." When it's time to stop: "I need my planes to land now."

Then do the train (this one will probably be the loudest as kids just LOVE yelling CHOO CHOO!) Ask them about the sound and show them how to pull on the train whistle. Send them on a railroad trip around the room.

Maybe you can ask them which one was their favorite to be and why.

Find some coloring sheets so they can color their favorite one.

Answer 5

Drive cars and trucks through shaving cream
Make a shape train
Graph and chart how they get to school
Take a field trip to listen to the noises different things make
Use empty water bottles to make airplanes
Play sink or float with items that they are familiar with - have them make predictions first and then check them
Use a glyph with how many cars they have, favorite way to get around, most used way, etc


check out this site for things to print out and use:
http://www.first-school.ws/theme/transportation.htm

Answer 6

You have lots of good suggestions. I just wanted to add you can take a "trip" through your community. Have the kids sit in their chairs (you can set them up like they are in a car or a bus) and close their eyes. Narrate their trip through town,talking about what kinds of things you see- they are riding in a car and see buses, trains, etc. They can change from a car to a bus to a subway, to a train, whatever else you want to teach them about. They can pretend to put their money in the bus or subway terminal, give their ticket to the train conductor, put on their life jacket on a boat, buckle their seat belts. Ask them lots of questions and encourage them to use their imaginations. After, you can have them draw or paint a picture of what they saw on their trip, or if they are older, they can write a descriptions or sentences about their trip and illustrate it. This could be a good introduction for a unit.

Answer 7

vehicles - drive cars through paint - cars cruising through color.
drive plows and dump trucks through shaving cream.
Cut out pictures of planes, boats, cars - have them sort which goes on land, water and air.
Graph how each child gets to school.
Chugga Chugga Choo Choo - great song
Pretend to be different vehicles - boxes would be great but if you don't have any, just let them take turns naming vehicles and acting them out as a class - even horses and bicycles -anything that transports you from here to there. Good luck and have fun!

Answer 8

Have pictures of several forms of transportation, and have the kids tell you, as you show the picture, what it is and where it goes (water, land, sky, space). You could create a bulletin board as you're doing the activity.

Answer 9

http://www.kinderplans.com/content.cfm?pageid=142

http://www.lessonplanspage.com/SSOMusicLAMDDramaticPlayTransportationP.htm

Copy and past the next line into yahoo or google search and you'll find tons of ideas.

"lesson plan" + "preschool" + "transportation"