Transportation Preschool Lesson Plan

Cars, trains, boats and planes can all be included into a theme about transportation. Consequently, there are many ideas that can be contributed into a transportation preschool lesson plan. In addition, a theme about transportation can be incorporated into other topics such as vacation, safety, workers and our community.

Begin a Transportation Theme at Circle Time

Introduce a theme about transportation at group circle by asking the children what they think the word transportation means? Just saying the word itself with four syllables is a big word for some preschool ages. Then ask the children if they can give examples of different forms of transportation and record their answers. This process allows children to take ownership of the topic and feel honoured for their ideas. Before long, the group will determine that transportation means how we move from one place to another.

Sorting/Categorizing

Give each child a picture showing a form of transportation. On an easel board or large piece of paper make categories, such as sky, land and water, and allow each child to choose where the picture should be. Alternative sorting can be with an engine and without an engine or with wheels and not with wheels.

                                                        

Transportation Song

To the tune of "The Wheels on the Bus":

The cars on the road go beep beep beep...all around the town

The planes in the sky go zoom zoom zoom...all around the town

The trains on the track go chug, chug, chug...all around the town

The boats on the water go swish, swish, swish....all around the town.

Transportation Open Ended Art Ideas

1) Provide children a variety of shapes of paper: rectangle, circle, square, triangle, along with some glue and felts. See what forms of transportation they will create on their own.

2) Provide children a variety of collage material and instruct the preschool children to make some form of transportation and see what happens. Some material suggestions would be egg cartons, small boxes, toilet paper tubes, pipe cleaners, straws, paper shapes, scissors, tape and glue. Lots of glue.

3) Painting with cars

Transportation Activities for the Classroom

•One ongoing project can be a classroom mural where pictures of transportation are placed. These pictures may be found in magazines available at the open-ended art station, or can be brought in from home environments.

•Activity sheets can easily be made or found online to continue the learning process about transportation. Children will circle or color the things on the sheet that are forms of transportation. Click here to be redirected to a great site for printable coloring/activity sheets.

•Transportation pictures can be glued onto one side of cleaned juice lids along with other pictures, then placed downward onto a table. With a magnet wand, children may pick up the lid and place them into appropriate categories.

•Take the children on a transportation walk around the community to see how many different forms of transportation might be found.

Drama Play for a Transportation Theme

                                                                                        

Regardless of the age, a box can turn into many forms of transportation for lots of fun dramatic play!

The drama area should be turned into different forms of transportation throughout this particular theme. One simple way is to place chairs one behind the other and explain to the children that a bus or train has been created. This visual activity can occur outside as well as inside. To extend on that idea, fill the drama station up with bags and suitcases along with clothes and other items for packing. A ticket station can be created with pads of paper to help create the scene.

For further reading:

Transportation Songs

Car Preschool Lesson Plan

Train Preschool Lesson Plan

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Preschool Construction Theme: Diggers and Dumptrucks

Start a Construction Theme at Circle Time

Begin the theme at group circle by asking the preschoolers what they know about heavy equipment, like diggers, and then about construction. Soon, the true "digger" lovers will be found. Ask question like:

•"What is another name for a digger?"

•"Where would you see a digger or dump truck?"

•" What other big trucks do you know?"

•" Why do we need these vehicles?"

•" How is a house made?"

 

Record some of the children's answers, and display them in a large dump truck, or coming out of an excavator's shovel, for the parents to view.

Heavy Machinery Companies and Construction Sites

For brochures and to learn about the vehicles, visit the nearest Caterpillar, Komatsu or Hitachi dealerships, to name a few, before program planning for the preschool theme. The companies may offer some of their brochures to place into the classroom or for the use in craft projects. Perhaps the preschool children may have a field trip to view the lots full of heavy machinery, or even better, the employees might allow the preschoolers to crawl into some of the big equipment. Plan a walk to a local construction site where the children can view the excavators and other machinery being operated.

Preschool Books for a Construction Theme

There are many kinds of heavy equipment and learning the names is a chore. Choose several construction vehicles to teach to the children, such as excavator, backhoe, bulldozer and cement truck. There are many books that will also introduce the topic to the preschool children. In addition, some great DVDs are available for preschool children to observe about diggers and trucks, for a special activity. Following is a suggested list of both preschool books and DVDS for this construction theme:

•Dazzling Diggers by Tony Mitton and Ant Parker (Kingfisher, 200

•C is for Construction: Big Trucks and Diggers from A to Z (Chronicle Book, 2003)

•B is for Bulldozer: A Construction ABC by June Sobel (Harcourt, 2006)

•Cody's Crew – The Big Building: DVD directed by Malcolm Marcus

•Diggers and Dozers Starring Mighty Machines (DVD-2007)

Felt Board Activity: Ten Dumptrucks All in a Row

At circle time, have the children participate in this felt activity with dump trucks by thinking of their own ideas for what to fill a dumptruck up with. Suggest to the preschoolers to imagine whatever they wish, and then give some suggestions, like dolls or chocolate. Make ten dump trucks out of felt with the following poem:

Ten dump trucks all in a row. All filled with something and a place to go.

(Child's name) truck is filled with______, that's fine, and now there's only nine

Nine dump trucks all in a row. All filled with something and a place to go.

(Another child's) truck is filled with____, that's great, and now there's only eight.

Eight dump trucks...oh heaven and now there’s only seven

Seven dump trucks...what a mix and now there’s only six

Six dump trucks...are they alive? And now there’s only five

Five dump trucks ...ready to pour and now there’s only four

Four dump trucks...could it be? And now there’s only three

Three dump trucks ...what to do and now there’s only two

Two dump trucks ...weighing a ton and now there’s only one

One dump truck ...oh what fun and now there is none.

Preschool Song about Construction Workers and Safety

A great lesson to bring into this theme is to talk to the children about safety on the construction site. Here is a song that will help teach the message:

 

(To the tune of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star)

Safety, safety when we work

All day long we watch and look

Hats and gloves, and goggles too

Steel toe boots for the crew.

Safety safety when we work

All day long, we watch and look

 

Preschool Craft Suggestions for a Construction Theme

1. Painting with dumptrucks through paint

2. Pasting pictures of construction vehicles onto a large paper or construction site scene

3. Have a picture of a dumptruck and collage items for them to fill up the truck with or use bingo markers!

Construction Theme in Other Preschool Areas

The construction theme can be included into many other areas or sections of a preschool curriculum and environment. The following list provides some suggestions:

•Drama: Construction Site lunchroom or office set up

•Sensory: sand and lots of mini vehicles

•Puzzles, Magnet activities with diggers, dump trucks, bulldozers and so on

•Wood blocks for constructing buildings 

Further Resource: Pinterest Board on Construction

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Train Preschool Theme

Trains have been a steadfast theme in preschool settings for years. Even though, many young children today will not even set foot onto a real train, there is something that remains magical and endearing for them about them. So many theme and amusement parks have the miniature train rides, and young children can be found sitting there excitedly anticipating the train engine to start up. In addition, Thomas the Tank Engine has cemented the love for trains with many toddlers and preschool children. The following article provides various ideas to include into a train theme within a preschool or daycare curriculum.

Train Crafts for Preschoolers

The shape of a train transfers well to open ended craft projects,  as the engine and cars require simple shapes to make them: rectangles, circles, squares and triangles. The train can be formed with paper shapes and glue, but another suggestion is to use stamps or sponges:

1) Sponge/Stamp Painting: A demonstration would work best with this painting project to illustrate to the preschool children how the shapes will create a train. The spools make wonderful wheels for a train car.

Suggested Material Required:

•Rectangle shaped sponge

•Spools, or circle shaped stamps

•Liquid Paint

•Shallow containers, such as styrofoam trays from the grocery store

•Paper

From Learning and Teaching Preschoolers

2) Train Craft Using Boxes and/or Egg Cartons

Depending on the size of boxes, this craft idea can be an individual activity or a group activity. The boxes, such as shoe boxes, can be decorated with crayons, felt pens or paint. Other collage items can be made available for children to add detail, like paper squares, paper towel tubes, egg cartons, glitter and so forth. This open ended art project provides young children an opportunity to be imaginative and creative in their art process.

From Getting Messy with Ms. Jessi

3) Match Shapes

Create a template of an engine with places for paper shapes to be glued

Train Songs for Preschoolers

Down by the Station is a classic preschool song about trains. Another one which can be altered to a specific location or name is Engine Number Nine and is great to sing while leading a children train, marching around the room:

Engine Engine Number Nine

Engine engine number nine

Chugging down Chicago Line

If the train goes off the track

Do you want your money back?

Maybe yes, and maybe no

Choo, choo, choo choo

Train Felt Board Activity

See the trains chugging chugging down the track

Engine in the front, caboose in the back

All the colors streaming past

This train’s going very fast!

Snack Idea!

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Cars Preschool Theme

  

With the popularity of Disney's Cars the Movie and Lightening McQueen, cars is a good theme for a preschool curriculum. The topic can be included within a transportation preschool lesson plan or as part of a safety unit. The following article provides ideas for car crafts, songs and activities appropriate for any early childhood environment.

  

Car Preschool Crafts

There are many crafts that can follow a car theme. The following suggestions are appropriate for toddlers as well.


1.Car Painting: allow young children to paint with cars by placing some spoonfuls of tempera paint onto large pieces of paper and provide small cars and trucks to drive. It is a good idea to choose cars or trucks that have treads on the wheel for they will make more visible tire tracks. Alternatively, the cars can be sitting in a tray of paint.


2.License Plate Rubbings: find old license plates for cars. Each child can create a crayon rubbing of the plate by placing a tracing paper over top and then using the side edge of crayons to create the image.


3.Collective Mural: on a bulletin board, the preschool teacher will place a large picture of a road. The children can cut out car pictures from magazines and then paste them onto the road to help make a classroom mural. This class project also works well for a transportation theme.


4.Shapes: provide children with different shapes, such as rectangles, squares, circles and small triangles and allow them to create cars out of the shapes. This art activity works well with a class demonstration and visual cue for the children to follow.



Car Preschool Songs


Overall, transportation songs can be included into a car preschool lesson plan. The following song is more specific to a car theme.


Twinkle twinkle little star
My daddy drives a motor car
Push a button, and pull the choke
Off he goes with a puff of smoke
Twinkle twinkle little star
My daddy drives a motor car.



Another important lesson to include into a car theme for a preschool class is to discuss safety, and the lights which are used to direct traffic. This following song will correlate well with a game of Go, Go, Stop.


To the tune of "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" –

Twinkle, twinkle traffic light
On the corner shining bright
Red means stop, and green means go
Yellow means go very slow
Twinkle twinkle traffic light
On the corner shining bright



Children Activities for a Car Theme


                    

Car Matching: this matching game can be made out of felt material for the flannel board or other material. The matching activity promotes color recognition. On a flannel board, the teacher will place different color garages. Alternatively, the garages could hold numbers or shapes. Each child in the circle will be provided a matching car with the same color and/or design. The children will be asked to bring their car to the board to place their felt piece into the appropriate garage.


Cars on Trays: instead of cars in the sandbox, which is thoroughly enjoyed by young children, try placing cornmeal on a tray with a few cars. This activity can be a singular station in the classroom.

Spelling Car: on clean juice lids, stick letters on one side and then turn upside down onto a table. For this activity, a child will use a magnet wand to lift the lids to try and make the word car. The process helps with letter skills.


Threading a Car: provide children with a car shape made out of a thick piece of paper with holes punched out around the edge of the shape. The shape will hold a string with a knot at the end through one hole, to allow a child to thread the string through the other holes. This activity is wonderful for fine motor development in young children.

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