TRAFFIC LIGHTS
GAME
Submitted by Mel
In a large sapce children move round depending on the instruction given.
GREEN means run, AMBER(orange) means walk and RED means stop. When
the children are used to this you can start picking children out who
are slow at following the instruction. Children can also take turns
in shouting out the colours.
TWINKLE TWINKLE RUSTY CAR
Submitted by Mel
(to tune of twinkle, twinkle)
Twinkle, twinkle chocolate bar
my dad drives a rusty car (make a stearing motion)
off with the break (lift break with hand or foot)
and on with the choke (press with thumb)
off we go in a cloud of smoke (coughing)
twinkle twinkle chocolate bar
my dad drives a rusty car (make a stearing motion)
A FORD ESCORT
Submitted by Mel
(to tune of pizza hut)
a ford escort (large, over-exaggerated steering motion)
a ford escort
a mini mini mini (small fast steering motion)
and a ford escort
(repeat)
ferrari ferrari (fast movement of hand along side like a fast
car zooming past)
mini mini mini (small fast steering motion)
and a ford escort (large, over-exaggerated steering motion)
(repeat)
Transportation Song
Submitted by Andrea
Tune of twinkle twinkle
Twinkle twinkle traffic light
Standing on the corner bright
Red means stop green means go
orange means go slow
Twinkle twinkle traffic light
Standing on the corner bright
CIRCLE TIME TRAVELS
Take youngsters on a journey in which their imagination are their guides.
Have students sit in a circle. Provide each child with a plastic
plate. Have him hold the plate and pretend that it's a steering wheel.
Then tell students that they will be going on imaginary vacations.
Ask a student volunteer to give a vacation destination--such as Grandmother's
house or the beach--and a mode of transportation--such as car or
train. As the children steer their vehicles, encourage them to tell
about the people, places, and things they see on their trip. After
this trip has been completed, ask another volunteer to make the next
destination and transportation suggestion. Off we go!
Transportation Bulletin Board
Submitted by TracyJane
As an art activity for the children, and a bulletin board for you,
trace the children's feet on different colored construction paper. Have
the children color/decorate the feet with crayons, markers, glitter
glue, etc. Post them on the wall, along with their name and
date of creation, with the words, "Our Feet Take Us Everywhere!" Variations:
For younger children, the teacher may take the role of tracing the
feet. For the older children, they can trace their feet on
their own. Also, you may add more items, like feathers, buttons,
for the children to glue their things on.
HOT AIR BALOON
Submitted by Haley
Need: 1 large paper plate, colorful crayons, brown paper, 2 Popsicle
sticks, scissors
Directions: Cut a piece of brown paper into a square. (this is for
the basket) Let the
children color the paper plate anyway they want. Then glue a Popsicle stick
to each top corner of the square. and then to the paper plate. It looks just
like a hot air balloon when it is done.
SPACE SONG
Submiited by Susan
This is a song from an old, 1950s record I once had. We are
using it as part of our space graduation theme.
Beep Beep! Beep Beep! Here comes the satellite!
Beep Beep! Beep Beep! And now it's out of sight.
Beep Beep! Beep Beep! Around the Earth it goes.
Beep Beep! Beep Beep! And that's how science grows.
Beep Beep! Beep Beep! It photographs the skies.
Beep Beep! Beep Beep! And makes us weather wise.
Beep Beep! Beep Beep! It opens new frontiers.
Beep Beep! Beep Beep! For future pioneers.
TONS OF TRANSPORTATION SONGS, AND IDEAS
Submitted by Lois
The Family Car...
Sometimes I ride in the family car.
The engine jerks so we cannot go far.
Pop, pop, pop, pop!
Pop, pop, pop! Juggle, jiggle, Jat!
What's the matter?
Why the tire is flat! Ssssssssss!
Car Song...
(Tune: BINGO)
Look at my bright shiny car
I'm driving it today-o.
C - A - R (BEEP! BEEP!)
C - A - R (BEEP! BEEP!) (We put on our seat belts, put the
C - A - R (BEEP! BEEP!) key in the ignition, got gas etc.
I'm driving it today - o!
(Before we sang our song. Then we pretended we were driving and turning
the steering wheel while we sang and of course we BEEPED our horns!)
Watching Traffic...
(tune: "Frere Jacques")
Watch the cars go, watch the cars go,
Whiz-zing by, whiz-zing by.
Beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep
Beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep,
That's like mine! That's like mine!
Watch the bus go, watch the bus go,
Rolling by, rolling by.
Stop for all the people, stop for all the people.
Get on board! Get in board!
See the trucks go, see the trucks go
Down the street, down the street.
Gas and oil and milk trucks,
Mail and trash and dump trucks,
On their way, on their way.
Little Red Caboose...
Little red caboose, Little red caboose,
Little red caboose behind the train, train,
Smoke-stack on his back, Going down the track,
Little red caboose behind the train, train.
Going On a Big Airplane...
"The Wheels on the Bus."
We walk and we walk down the ramp, down the ramp, down the ramp (repeat)
Going on a big airplane. (walk your hands on your knees)
The ticket taker reads our pass, reads our pass, reads our pass (repeat)
Going on a big airplane. (pretend reading, hands together, palms up)
We find our seat with little windows, little windows, little windows
(repeat)
Going on a big airplane. (make a window with your thumbs and pointer fingers)
The flight attendant says, "Buckle your belt, buckle your belt, buckle your
belt" (repeat)
Going on a big airplane. (put hands across tummy and bump fingers together)
Say to the children, "I think we're starting to move. I think
the wheels are starting to go around very fast (make a slow wheel moving
motion with your hands)
The wheels on the plane go 'round and 'round, 'round and 'round, 'round
and 'round (sing and repeat slowly) Going on a big airplane.
Say, "The airplanes wait their turn to use the runway, while they wait
they get their engines going really fast. Get those motors going. Ready?"
(make engine noises)
The wheels on the plane go 'round and 'round, 'round and 'round, 'round
and 'round, (repeat)
Going on a big airplane. (make a wheel moving motion with your hands)WHOOPEE
(move arms out)
Now I'm flying through the air, through the air, through the air, (repeat)
Now I'm flying through the air on a big airplane! (move arms out and sway)
Freeze Dance...
Make a stop sign - I used a ping pong game paddle covered with red
paper with the word stop in white letters. On the reverse side I
made it green with the word GO. Play music and dance. When the teacher
flips the sign from green to STOP everyone freezes.
Airplane Song...
" Wheels on the Bus."
The pilot on the airplane says fasten your belts (fasten seat belts)
Fasten your belts, fasten your belts.
The pilot on the airplane says fasten your belts
When flying through the sky,
Additional verses:
The children on the airplane go bum pity bump.... (move up and down)
The babies on the airplane go waa, waa, waa.... (rub eyes and pretend
to cry)
The signs on the airplane go ding, ding, ding.... (point to signs)
The drinks on the airplane go splish, splash, splish.... (pretend to hold a
glass and move it)
The luggage on the plane goes up and down.... (pretend to be luggage going
up and down)
I'm A Little Airplane...
(to "I'm a Little Teapot")
I'm a little airplane,
(children raise arms at sides to shoulder height.)
Now watch me fly!
(They spin one of their arms in front of them as if it were a propeller)
Here are my instruments
From down low to up high.
(With their other arm, they reach from the ground to above their heads.)
First I get revved up.
(Children make engine-like noises while still spinning their arms.)
Then I can fly,
(Children raise arms to shoulder height.)
Lifting off the runway
(They start walking forward.)
Up into the sky!
(They go up on their tiptoes and continue to move forward. Let them
circle a while before returning to their original positions.)
Row, Row, Row Your Boat...
Row row row your boat
Gently down the stream,
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily,
Life is such a dream.
Drive, drive drive your car
gently down the street
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily,
Life is such a treat.
Fly fly fly your plane
way up in the air.
Merrily, merrily merrily merrily
Life without a care.
Discussing Maps...
We talked about what we use maps for and we looked at the different
symbols on the maps and guessed what they meant. We also looked at
a state map, a town map, a city map and a Nature Trail map. On the
project table I laid out computer graphics of a house, a train, an
airplane, a castle, a city, a town, a car, a gas pump, a sail boat
and a school. I also put out blue tissue paper (to represent water).
I added markers and glue sticks and paper. The children drew wonderful
maps with roads and "thought out" symbols galore. I had great fun "hearing" about
their maps as they told me how to follow their map and what their
symbols meant.
The Airplane...
The airplane has great big wings
(children stretch out arms.)
Its propeller spins round and sings,
Vvvvvvrrruuuummmmm.
(children move right arms around in a circle.)
The airplane goes up.
(they lift up their arms)
The airplane dips down.
The airplane flies--round all of the town!
(With arms outstretched, they turn around twice.)
Down By the Station...
Down by the station (down by the station)
Early in the morning (early in the morning)
See the little pufferbellies (see the little pufferbellies)
All in a row (all in a row)
See the station master (see the station master)
Turn the little handle (turn the little handle)
Puff, puff, toot, toot (puff, puff, toot, toot)
Off we go! (off we go!)
The Wheels On The Bus...
The wheels on the bus go round and round,
(move hands in circular motion)
Round, and round, round and round.
The wheels on the bus go round and round,
All around the town.
(extend arms up and out)
The people on the bus go up and down.(stand up, sit down)
The horn on the bus goes 'beep,beep,beep'.(hand press horn)
The money on the bus goes 'clink,clink,clink'.(hand motion)
The driver on the bus says, 'Move on back.' (thumb back)
The baby on the bus goes, 'Wah wah wah' (rub eyes)
The windshield wipers go 'swish, swish, swish.'(hands move)
Wagon...
Bumping up and down in my little red wagon
Bumping up and down in my little red wagon
Bumping up and down in my little red wagon
Let's ride off together!
Repeat using
* My little brown donkey
* My little black buggy
* My little blue trolley
* My little green airplane
* My little white sailboat
Train is A-Comin...
(Spiritual)
Train is a-comin', oh, yes
Train is a-comin', oh, yes
Train is a-comin', train is a-comin'
Train is a-comin', oh, yes
Better get your ticket, oh, yes
Better get your ticket, oh, yes
Better get your ticket, better get your ticket,
Better get your ticket, oh, yes
Room for many more, oh, yes
Room for many more, oh, yes
Room for many more, room for many more
Room for many more, oh, yes
Train is a-leavin', oh, yes
Train is a-leavin', oh, yes
Train is a-leavin', train is a-leavin'
Train is a-leavin', oh, yes
Traffic Light Song...
( Mary Had ALittle Lamb).
Can you see the traffic light,
traffic light, traffic light?
Green means Go and Yellow means Slow, and Red means STOP,STOP,STOP!
The Car Song...
(sung to: "When Johnny Comes Marching Home"
We like to travel in our car,
Hurrah, hurrah.
A car can take us near or far,
Hurrah, hurrah.
We buckle up before we go,
Whether we're going fast or slow,
So we'll all be safer while riding in our car!
Lonely Bus Driver...
One lonely bus driver all alone and blue
He picked up a passenger and then there were two.
Two people riding, they stopped by a tree
They picked up a passenger, and then there were three.
Three people riding, they stopped by a store
They picked up a passenger, and then there were four.
Four people riding, happy and alive,
They picked up a passenger, and then there were five.
Five people riding open swung the door
Four passengers got off the bus, The driver's alone once more.
The Train...
Choo, choo, choo (slide hands together)
The train runs down the track (run fingers down arm)
And then it runs right back. ( Run fingers up arm.)
This is a Choo Choo Train
This is a choo choo train
Child becomes a train by squatting
Puffing down the track
Now its going back. Child goes back, etc.
Now the bell is ringing child pulls make believe bell rope
What a lot of noise it makes cover ears and make train noises
Everywhere it goes. Children move around the room at random.
Bus Song...
(to Pop Goes the Weasel)
I drive the bus around the town
I stop at every corner
My blinking lights and breaks go on
Swish goes the door
A dollar for a ride around town
A quarter for a transfer
Put your money in the slot,
Swish goes the door
Choo- Choo Train...
This is a choo-choo train,
(Bend arms at elbows)
Puffing down the track.
(Rotate forearms in rhythm)
Now it's going forward,
(Push arms forward, continue motion)
Now is going back.
(Pull arms back using same motion)
Now the bell is ringing.
(Pull cord with closed fist)
Now the whistle blows.
(Hold fist near mouth and blow Toot, Toot)
What alot of noise it makes.
(Cover ears with hands)
Everywhere it goes.
(Stretch out arms)
Take Me Riding in Your Airplane...
Take me riding in your airplane
Take me riding in your airplane
Take me riding in your airplane
I want to ride in your airplane.
Change Airplane to Bumpety Bus, Row Boat, Motorcycle, Rocket Ship,
or
Bicycle.
Motorboat...
(Small circle, join hands)
Motorboat, motorboat, go so slow
Motorboat, motorboat go so fast (speed up a little)
Motorboat, motorboat step on the gas! (run) -- Vroom!
Motorboat, motorboat go so slow...out of gas! (fall down)
I'm a Little Airplane...
(I'm A Little Teapot)
I'm a little airplane (arms shoulder height)
I can fly (turn right arm like propeller)
Here is my throttle (reach out with 1 hand)
Give me a try (push throttle in)
When I get all reved up (engine noise)
then I fly (move forward)
Off the runway to the sky (fly around)
Stop Lights...
Cut egg cartons into 3 vertical sections. Cut a small slit in the bottom,
inserted a popsicle stick and taped it to secure it to the back of
the egg carton. Have the children paint each egg carton section the
appropriate color. Also paint a small dixie cup grey. When dry insert
the traffic light into the bottom of the dixie cup (this acted like
the base of a traffic light and enabled the traffic light to stand
up.)
Pack Your Bags...
Provided the children with brown file folders that looked like suitcases
( round the corners and cut a handle along the side. Inside the folder,
the children paste pictures of things they might take on a trip (we
had pre-cut a variety of items from magazine pictures). Leave the
folders open until they've dried. The next day we continued the project
by having the children lick stamps from foreign countries and paste
them on the outside of their "suitcases". They looked like travel
stickers. The stamps came in a big package and were very inexpensive.
Housekeeping Sailing...
Add the following props to the housecorner, sailors hats, Large box(for
boat), fishing poles, life jackets, an 8 foot line on floor in open
area off of boat. The tape line is used for the plank of the boat.
Give children ideas on how to use the plank. Have them practice balancing
on one foot, hopping, shading eyes, walking backwards etc.
Airplanes to Hanger Matching...
Cut from construction paper five hangers. (Make them look like a house
shape and number 1 to 5.) Cut out fifteen planes out of construction
paper. Laminate both sets. Explain to the children that a hanger
is to a plane what a garage is to a car. The children must match
correct number of planes to their hangers.
Snack
Apple Sailboat Snack...
Have the children make apple sailboats from an apple slice, a triangular
piece of cheese, & a toothpick.
Sailboat Eggs...
Allow 1 egg per sailor
Ingredients: hard-boiled eggs, 1/2 teaspoon mustard, carrot sticks,
chopped pimentos, 1 teaspoon mayonnaise, 1 cup diced green peppers,
celery sticks, lettuce leaves,
Utensils: knife and cutting board, bowl, fork, toothpicks for mast, scissors,
paper for sails, tape
Process: Peel the hard-boiled eggs. Discard shells or save for another art
idea, such as eggshell mosaics. Cut the eggs in half. Remove the yolks and
place them in a bowl. Mash the yolks with 1 teaspoon mayonnaise and 1/2 teaspoon
mustard. Mound the mixture back into the egg white sections.
Decorate the egg sections with the celery sticks, carrot sticks and chopped
pimentos. Cut the paper into sails, attach to the toothpicks with tape and
put into eggs. Place the lettuce on a serving plate, then put the eggs on top
of the lettuce.
Trains...
Make marshmallow trains. Use pretzel sticks to hook the "cars" together & use
peanut butter to glue cheerios on as wheels & other features. Or
instead of marshmellos for the body of the car you may use graham crackers.
Transportation Books
Traffic Jam - Sylvia Tester
The Little Train - Lois Lenski
Let's Take An Airplane Trip - Billy Pope
The Big Book of Real Trucks - Elizabeth Cameron
Davy Goes Places - Lois Lenski -
On the Go - Ann Morris
Things That Go -Anne Rockwell
Your First Airplane Ride - Fred Rogers
Other Ideas For Transportation
1. Have the children come to school in striped shirts (like conductors).
2. For homework, have the children each bring in a box car of a train & something
for it to carry. Then hook the train up (use strings with paper clips
tied at each end) & have the children chant "I think I can" while
you pull the train.
3. Sing Hap Palmer's song, "Clickity Clack" substituting the items that the
children put in their box cars in the appropriate place.
TRANSPORTATION, COLORS, & NUMBER MATCHING
Submitted by Lisa
We just did a transportation activity that used colors as well. I
hope I can explain this, I had a paper to
photocopy!
You have a paper and divide it with lines into 4 "parking spaces" (mine
said Parking Lot at the top
with a tree to color)
You make 4 cars per child, one each of red, blue, green, yellow with
the numers 1,2,3,4 on them. Label
the slots 1,2,3,4. The child is supposed to: Match the cars to the right number,
then color the slot the
correct color. Then they glue sticked the car onto the colored spot.
Sounds complicated, but I just helped the younger ones and made the
coloring/gluing the activity's focus (It
didn't matter if the numbers didn't match) The older children enjoyed matching
and then doing the rest.
(I teach 2 1/2 to 5 year olds combined in one class)
TRANSPORTATION FINGER PLAYS
Submitted by Lisa
The Family Car
Sometimes I ride in the family car
The engine jerks so we can't go too far!
Pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop!
Pop, pop, pop, juggle, jiggle, jat!
What is the matter?
Why, the tire is FLAT!
Choo Choo Train
This is a choo- choo train (bend arms
at elbows)
Puffing down the track (rotate
arms around)
Now it's going forward (push
arms forward)
Now it's going back (arms
backwards)
Now the bell is ringing (pull
bell cord)
Now the whistle blows (hold
fist near mouth)
and say "toot toot"
What a lot of noise it makes (cover ears)
Everywhere it goes (stretch
out arms)
The Airplane
The airplane has big wide wings (stretch
out arms)
It's propeller spins around and sings (make one arm go
around)
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVV! (make the sound)
The airplane goes up in the sky (lift arms up and down)
Then down it goes just see it fly!
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVV! (make sound again)
Up, up, up, down, down, down (arms up and down)
Over every housetop in our town!
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVV! (make sound again)
My Bicycle
One wheel, two wheels on the ground (revolve hand in forward circle)
My feet make the pedal go round and round (pedal with feet)
Handle bars help me steer so straight (pretend to steer)
Down the sidewalk and through the gate!
MY FAVORITE MACHINE
(sing to My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean)
My favorite machine's a (steam shovel)
I sure like the way that it works
My favorite machine's a (steam shovel)
Oh come watch my (steam shovel) work!
(scoop dirt, scoop dirt) I sure like the way that it
works, it works!
(scoop dirt, scoop dirt) Oh come watch my (steam
shovel) work!
*Get the children to choose machines and an action that it would do,
then put it in the place in brackets to extend the song
POEM
Red on top
Green below
Red means stop
Green means go
Yellow means wait
Even if you're late.
AIRPLANE OUTTA CANDY
Submitted by Vicky
A really cute project/take home snack I saw was making an airplane
out of candy.
Use 2 lifesavers, stick of gum and a roll of sweeties and one rubber
band.
take the 2 lifesavers and string the rubber band through the holes. put
the sweetie roll between the lifesavers on top of the rubber band (to look
like a canon) then add the gum stick over the top sideways to be the wings
and
wrap the rubber band from the outer side of the lifesaver wheels over each
edge of the gum. Now you have an airplane.
TRANSPORTATION IDEAS!!!!! AND LOTS OF THEM
Submitted by Cheryl
Apple Sailboat Snack
The children make apple sailboats from an apple slice, a triangular
piece of cheese, and a pretzel stick.
Sailboat Eggs
Allow 1 egg per sailor
Ingredients: hard-boiled eggs, 1/2 teaspoon mustard, carrot sticks, chopped
pimentos, 1 teaspoon mayonnaise, 1 cup diced green peppers, celery sticks,
lettuce leaves,
Utensils: knife and cutting board, bowl, fork, toothpicks for mast, scissors,
paper for sails, tape
Process: Peel the hard-boiled eggs. Discard shells or save for another art
idea, such as eggshell mosaics. Cut the eggs in half. Remove the yolks and
place them in a bowl. Mash the yolks with 1 teaspoon mayonnaise and 1/2
teaspoon mustard. Mound the mixture back into the egg white sections.
Decorate the egg sections with the celery sticks, carrot sticks and chopped
pimentos. Cut the paper into sails, attach to the toothpicks with tape and
put into eggs. Place the lettuce on a serving plate, then put the eggs on top
of the lettuce.
Make marshmallow trains.
Use pretzel sticks to hook the "cars" together and use peanut butter
to glue cheerios on as wheels and other features.
Sandwich Sailboats
Need: Hot dog buns (separated), tuna or chicken salad, lettuce
leaves, and
plastic straws.
Use a sharp knife to cut out the inside of the buns, 1/2" from edges (careful
not to cut through bottoms). Let children fill the buns with the salad. Help
each child thread straw through the lettuce leaf and place in the salad
to make the sail.
Sailboat Sandwiches
These clever snacks, filled with tuna and topped with a Cheddar cheese
sail,
carry on the seaside theme.
Crescent dinner rolls
Tuna salad
Cheddar cheese
Toothpicks
Slice the tops off the rolls and hollow them out. Fill the rolls with the tuna
salad or any other filling. Slice the cheese into rectangles about 1/2 inch
thick and cut the rectangles on the diagonal to make triangles. Insert a
toothpick into each triangle to make little sails.
Banana Boat Salad
Need: Bananas, jam or jelly, cottage cheese, lettuce, and cherries.
Peel a banana and use a plastic knife to cut the banana in half lengthwise.
Place the banana on the lettuce leaves in a bowl. Top it with
cottage cheese, jam, and a cherry.
Hot Dog Canoes
Cut hot dogs in half. Use two refrigerator biscuits. Let the children
pat and stretch each biscuit so it makes a rectangle longer than
the hot dog. Wrap the biscuits around the hot dog and pinch up the
ends to look
like a canoe. Bake about 10 minutes at 375.
Just "Plane" Fun:
Cut a banana in half lengthwise. Place one half, cute side up,
on a plate.
Use a whole graham-cracker rectangle for the wings and a quarter rectangle
for the horizontal part of the tail. Spread peanut butter on the rest
of the banana and top it with the other banana half. Cut a slit at the
tail end of the top half, and push a graham cracker rudder piece in place. Apply
raisin windows in place with a little tab of peanut butter.
Make trains out Hostess Twinkies
Take one twinkie and 6 vanilla wafers. Use those decorator gels in
the tubes(or you can use cream cheese to glue the wheels on) and
have the kids decorate the twinkies then "glue" the wheels on the
sides. Use a marshmallow for the smoke stack.
Homemade Dashboards
Cardboard box Plastic container lids Brads Crayons and
markers Cardboard
tubes Bottle caps
Make a dashboard--Find a sturdy cardboard box at least 18 inches wide. Next,
attach parts--lots of them. (Here comes the payoff from saving all those plastic
lids and odd-size plastic gizmos we mentioned in the Introduction.)
Punch a hole in the top of a yogurt container, and affix it to the box with
a brad (a pronged metal affixer you can purchase at any stationery store).
There is now a free-spinning dial. Put markings on the dial and the box to
make a meter. Affix a paper plate the same way--the dashboard now has a steering
wheel. A paper towel tube makes a splendid gear shift lever, and bottle tops
make excellent buttons. The more dials and buttons and moving
parts, the more interesting the dashboard. Be sure to leave a slot for a key!
We used ours in the car at first, then found that the dashboard can be used
for off-road travel, too. Use the dashboard to explore the depths of the
ocean, or even the outer reaches of the galaxy.
Clothespin Sailboat
Need: spring type clothespins, toothpicks, white paper, glue or
glue
sticks, scissors,
markers
Remove the hinges from the clothespins. Cut a 2 1/2 in. square of paper.
Glue the flat pieces of the clothespins together, leaving a hole at one end.
Insert the toothpick into the paper forming a "sail". Put glue into the hole
and inset the toothpick, & let dry.
Tugboats
Materials: ½ pint milk carton, six black construction paper
circles, toilet paper tubes, two 1-in. slits in bottom directly across
from one another, cotton balls, red and black tempera paint, glue
What to Do: Have the children paint the sides of the milk carton red and the
toilet paper tube black. Add some white glue to the red paint to help it adhere
to the milk carton. Before the paint dries, the children can add black circles
to the sides of the boat, three to a side. They will stick without gluing when
glue is already in paint. Push the tube onto the boat center. Pull and stretch
the cotton ball glue to the top of the tube. After boats dry attach
and string and use in water.
Traffic Lights
Cut egg cartons into 3 vertical sections. Cut a small slit in the bottom,
inserted a popsicle stick and taped it to secure it to the back of
the egg carton. The children painted each egg carton section the
appropriate color. They also painted a small dixie cup gray. When
dry we inserted the traffic light into the bottom of the dixie cup
(this acted like the base of a traffic light and enabled the traffic
light to stand up.)
Take half an egg carton (six sections , 3 rows) and let the children
put red, yellow and green cellophane (sp?) over the holes. Then attach
a tongue depressor as a handle. They can be used as stop lights
and the children can
have fun looking though them and pretending they're stop lights.
Styrofoam Plane
Cut two rectangles from a Styrofoam tray (be sure they are the
same size.
Cut a slit through the center of one rectangle about 1/3 of the way from
one end. Slide the other rectangle through and there you have it
an airplane. Place a large paper clip on the nose of the plane to give
it some weight.
Decorate with stickers.
Murals
Create a transportation mural by cutting a piece of light colored bulletin
board paper approx. 6-8 feet in length. Using a marker, draw the
horizon, a road, and a body of water. Allow the children to color
the grass, road,
water, etc. like a huge coloring page. Then give the children pieces of assorted
construction paper and allow them to create cars, trucks, emergency vehicles,
airplanes, boats, bicycles, etc. and glue on in the appropriate
areas.
Boat
Two six-egg styrofoam cartons (use the flat top halves) make a seaworthy
boat. Cut one top in half to make cabin; cut out windows and glue
egg cup on top. Glue cabin to bottom of boat, paint, then add tiny
flags and a
lifesaving ring.
-SAILBOATS:
1.) Use 1/2 a walnut shell. Fill shell with clay. Have children color
(or paint) triangles for sails) and attach sails to wooden coffee
stirrers. Insert stirrer into clay!
2.) shape sailboat: use semi-circle, triangles and long narrow rectangles to
create a sailboat.
3.) use Styrofoam meat tray for the boat. Add pipe cleaner in center, for mast,
and diamond shape folded around the pipe cleaner, for the sail.
ART CENTER:
-Tracks. Let children roll various cars (with different types of wheels)
through paint and then run across their paper. This will make different
types of tire tracks.
-Wagon wheel collages. Use wagon wheel macaroni, dye them different colors.
(food coloring and water, let them soak and then dry out) children glue them
to their paper.
-Wagon easel painting. Cut large paper into wagon shapes. Let children paint
them at the easel and then stick round circles on it, for the wheels.
-Have children trace circles and then add lines for spokes of tires.
-Stop signs. Cut large octagon shape paper and let children paint them red,
at the easel. Then give them the letters S-T-O-P, cut from white paper and
have them add them on.
-Shoe Box Trains. Have children paint and decorate shoe boxes. Add two wheels
on each side of each shoe box. String them together.
-Shape train. Give children a couple of rectangles (for the cars), and some
smaller squares (to be windows), Thin rectangular shapes to be the "links"
between the cars.
They can add some other shapes, to make different types of rail cars, too.
-Collages of Land transportation. Cut pictures of cars, trucks, bikes,
trains, etc. and glue onto paper.
-License plate rubbings. If possible, get some old license plates and after
discussing how every plate is different, let children rub over them to get
the letters and numbers to appear through.
PLANE AND TRAIN WHEELS SNACK
Submitted by Marilyn
Take a whole, small banana. Lie the banana down on a plate. Have
the
children put a quarter section of a graham cracker on either side of the
banana so that it looks like the plane's wings. Place another quarter at the
rear top back of the banana . Give them raisins to place along
the sides of
the banana to look like the passenger windows. In the very front of the
banana, stick in short, thin strips of licorice candy and bend outward to
look like the propeller in the front of the plane.
Also, for another snack, we cooked up the pasta that looks like Wagon
Wheels.
Only thing is that we called it Train Wheels. :)
Transportation song
Submitted by Tammy of the KOS Loop
This week we are doing transportation and this is one of the songs
my colleague sang today with the class.
Old MacDonald Had a Car
Old MacDonald had a car E-I-E-I-O
And on this car there was a horn E-I-E-I-O
With a beep beep here
And a beep beep there
Here a beep, there a beep
Everywhere a beep beep
Old MacDonald had a car E-I-E-I-O
Other verses:
wheel (or tire)--spin spin
steering wheel--turn turn
window--up down, up down
motor--vroom vroom
wipers--swish swish
TRANSPORTATION
Submitted by Marilyn
We changed our housekeeping corner into a school bus stop. The
children painted a large box yellow and some black. Then they
glued on circles, rectangles and squares in red, black and white. We
placed our bus in the housekeeping area and added a traffic light
poster, hung some road maps on the wall, brought in from the playground
our 3 foot stop sign, a gas pump. We put 4 chairs in the bus,
a driver's cap, a small hula hoop as the steering wheel and a small
road map on a clip board. Well, some of the children played
for 2 hours in that area. They took turns driving and being
passengers. Extra chairs where in the area for the waiting
children.
On a nearby table, I put out actual road maps from New York, Pa., New Jersey
and had quite a few micro machines (miniature toy cars, trains, planes) on
the table, too. The children were fascinated with the maps and "drove" the
micro machines across the states.
At one of our circle times, we played the movement game transportation. I
saw it done at an NAEYC workshop. It is VERY easy to play. Take
masking tape and tape about a 7 foot strip to the rug. Directly opposite,
tape another strip the same size. Line the children up behind the tape
at one side of the rug. Then give :"clues" describing different modes
of transportation. For example, "I am big, I can be found in the sky,
and the person who drives me is a pilot". The children get very
excited to be the first to guess the answer and when they do - have them call
out PLANE and then move quickly across the rug to the other piece of tape,
pretending to be a plane. We did this for car, bus, ambulance, fire truck,
train, ice skates, They absolutely loved this easy game and felt very, very
smart to be able to guess all the clues. We finished with the book Night Ride
by Michel Gay. They loved the story so much that I had to reread it during
their snack, and promise to read it when we have our next class
Transportation snack
We have been discussing transportation all month with the children
in my 3/4's class. Today we were talking about airplanes, pilots,
terminals, runways. For snack the children made their :"own
airplanes" Take a small sized banana and have it precut in
half lengthwise. Give both halves on a plate to each child. Have
the child spread peanut butter on one of the halves. Then place
a graham cracker (that has been broken in half lengthwise onto the
peanut butter. Place the second half of the banana on top of
that cracker. So now you have the two halves together with
peanut butter and a graham cracker in the middle. Have the
children put a quarter of a graham cracker sticking out at one end
of the banana. Add some raisins on top or choice chips (for
windows. ) The children LOVED this so much. It is a fun
and healthy snack.
TRANSPORTATION
Submitted by Marilyn
Roll out three long pieces of white paper. Attach it to the
wall. Have the children paint two long strips in
different shades of blue. Next, the other strip in various
shades of brown. Put them up horizontally on your bulletin
board. Then throughout your unit on transportation, as the
children make different types of vehicles, or cut out pictures from
magazines, have them add it to the appropriate place. For example,
planes, helicopters, hot air balloons would be on the top, blue strip
for the sky....cars, trucks, horses, etc., would be on the brown
paper strip for land, and lastly, boats, canoes, water-skiing would
be on the bottom paper strip for water.
TRANSPORTATION SONGS
Submitted by Sally
Engine on the Track
Here is the engine on the track. (hold up thumb)
Here is the coal car, just in back. (pointer)
Here is the box car to carry freight. (middle)
Here is the mail car. Don't be late. (ring)
Way back here at the end of the train. (little)
Rides the caboose through the sun and rain.
Get A Ticket
Get a ticket, ticket, ticket for the train.
Get a ticket, ticket, ticket for the train.
Don't stand out in the wind and rain.
Get a ticket, ticket, ticket for the train.
Verse 2 Bus: Climb aboard, you can ride with us.
Verse 3 Plane: Don't stand out in the wind and rain.
Verse 4 Boat: The water's too cold to swim or float.
Verse 5 Bike: It's way too far to walk or hike.
TRANSPORTATION UNIT
Following cross curricular ideas submitted by Marilyn
I will soon be starting my month off talking about transportation.
After discussing the word transportation and how the children come
to school we will brainstorm about other modes of travel. I
have cut out many forms of transportation from magazines. Things
such as cars, planes, trucks, school bus, stroller, bike, wheel chair,
scooter, skis, golf cart, walking, ships, rocket, buggy, horses,
roller skates, ice skates, car seats, and just about anything I could
get my hands on. After showing the pix, I have the children
name it, tell me what they think it is used for(where you could travel
with it) and if it is found in the sky, water, or land. The
children have alot of fun with this,
For activities,
Use real road maps and have the children put micro machine cars, planes,
and trains on them, -
Use cars dipped in paint to make road tracks-
Paint a large box yellow and give the children different shapes to glue on
the bus to make lights, windows, doors, etc.-
Get all sized shoe boxes, have the children put tape on them and then paint
them. After they are dry, peel off the tape to see the design. Afterwards,
attach the boxes with string and make a classroom train-
Give the children different shapes of paper and let them make vehicles. Use
the lids from fast food drinks from 7-eleven, burger king for the wheels -
Cut out a shape like a boot and have the children use yarn to lace up the middle. have
them decorate the boot and add a piece of cardboard covered with aluminum foil. Attach
at the bottom of the boot to look like an ice skate blade-
Have the children decorate paper in the shape of small triangles and a tongue
depressor. Attach the triangle to the tongue depressor and stick
in a bar of ivory soap. Have a sailboat race in your water table. Color
the water with blue food coloring -
Cut out shapes of vehicles from cardboard and place in writing area as stencils.-
Make paper airplanes-
Play dough with vehicle cookie cutters-
Books
Space Vehicles by Anne Rockwell
Boat by Anne Rockwell
Planes by Anne Rockwell
Bikesby Anne Rockwell
Cars By Anne Rockwell
Night Ride by Michel Gay
Bus Stops by Taro Gomi
Big Book of Trucks by Patricia Relf
Benjy's Boat Trip by Margaret Graham
TRANSPORTATION
Submitted by Carol
I went box shopping the other day and came up with a large refrigerator
box that we are turning into a school bus.
Before our 4's came to school we traced out window shapes, six on each side
of the box. We only cut out every other window. In the other spots
we plan on using light blue paper of the same size for the children to draw
faces on. We will glue these "windows" with the faces looking out in
between the cut out windows. We also cut out a door on the side of the
bus and an emergency door on the back end of the "bus." The emergency
door was wide enough for two windows so we have one cut out and one made by
a child with a face. We also used a smaller box to attach to the front
of the bus for the engine (old fashioned bus..not the kind that is straight
down in the front)! The children will paint lights and bumpers on the front
and back of our bus. We took the steering wheel from one of our larger wooden
ride on toys (it is removable) and put a hole in the engine compartment to
support it so our bus would have a steering wheel. We traced stop sign
shapes on red construction paper for the children to cut out and they used
white paint to paint STOP on them. We will glue these to tag board to stiffen
them up and use one for the side of our bus and another to attaché to
a large tube attached to a base for a road sign. We did the same for
yield signs using yellow paper and black markers. When the children come back
to school on Monday they will paint wheels on their bus and a long black stripe
on the sides. One of our girls told us that we should call the bus "The
Kid's School Bus" so we will have some of our better writers paint this on
the side of our bus. We will also have the children paint several red and orange
(add salt to the paint to make it sparkle)circles for the buses safety lights.
TAKING A TRIP FLANNEL BOARD STORY:
Submitted by Jan
Pieces Needed:Bradley Bear, train, boat, airplane, bus, car, hot
air balloon, roller skates
TAKING A TRIP
On Sunday Bradley Bear told his mother that he wanted to go to Disneyland. “I
want to ride on Space Mountain,” said Bradley. How will you get
there? asked his mother. I'm going to take the train,” he declared. “Have
a good time,” called his mother.
On Monday, he told his father he was going to the beach. I want
to look for seashells and fly my kite, said Bradley. How will you get
there?” asked his father. I’ll sail on a boat” he
explained. Don't forget your bathing suit, laughed his father.
On Tuesday he told his mother that he thought he would visit his grandmother
because she was always glad to see him. How, will you get there? asked his
mother. I’ll zoom in an airplane in the sky, he shouted. Tell
her I said hello, smiled his mother.
On Wednesday Bradley planned a trip to the zoo. “I like to watch
the elephants,” he said. His mother asked how he would get to the zoo. “I’ll
wait at the bus stop for the bus,” he said. “Be home for
lunch,” joked his mother.
On Thursday Bradley wanted to go camping in the mountains.“ I’ll
like to sleep in a tend with my sleeping bag,” he said.“ How will
you get there?” asked his father. “I’ll go in a car
and
drive to the mountains,” said Bradley. “Drive carefully,
laughed his father.
On Friday he wished for a trip to the moon. “How will you get to
the moon?” questioned his mother. “I’ll float high
in the sky in a hot air balloon,” he said. “Sounds like fun,” his
mother told him.
On Saturday he said, “Today I’m going next door to play with my
friend.” “How will you get there?” asked his father.
I’m going on my roller skates,” said Bradley. “Have
a good
time, said his father. “I will” shouted Bradley, “because
I’m really going.”
You can also change some of the pieces to add different transportation
ideas. I have used rocket ship, truck, bike and skate board.
TRANSPORTATION _ SCHOOL BUS
Submitted by Teri
I used a refrigerator box (don't we love ref. boxes?) and painted
it school bus yellow. Then I used black to paint the lines
on it and also the name of our school. We have set our dramatic
play up as a bus stop complete with tickets, snack stand, etc. At
circle time I am going to give each child a ticket with a letter
or color on it. I have a bunch of chairs set up in a bus form. They
will have to look at their ticket and find the chair that matches
their ticket. Once all of the passengers are seated we will
sing The Wheels on the Bus. I am also using the cardboard bus
to reinforce bus rules. Our first field trip is fast approaching.
Title: TRANSPORTATION UNIT
Following cross curricular ideas submitted by TySharyl
Literature: Freight Train; School Bus, Trucks--Donald Crews
The Bumpy School Bus---Charyl Friedman
Wheels on the Bus---Raffi
The Wheels on the Bus---Harriet Ziefert
Big Wheels--Anne Rockwell
Wheel Away!---Dayle Ann Dodds
Gus the Bus---Olga Cossi
Wheels---Venice Shone
Music:
Title: "The School Bus Song"
(Tune-"Old McDonald Had a Farm")
Riding a school bus all day long, bumpity bump we go.
Riding the school bus all day long, bumpity bump we go.
Stopping near and stopping far, wave to(name a child in the class and
wave.)
(Repeat first line; repeat using different name or names.)
*(clap hands at bumpy words)
Family involvement:
Ask children to bring in a picture of a wheel or wheels from a
magazine or newspaper; let children share the picture with others at
Circle. At the end of the week, let children glue all the pictures on
poster board and hang up.
Circle Activities:
Critical thinking and language development:
Ask children the following questions at Circle:
Do you see any wheels in the classroom? Where? (verbal responses, no
pointing) When you came to school today, did you see any wheels?
Where? Do you have any toys at home that have wheels on them?
Why do people use wagons? Why do people use wheelchairs? Could a
car just have one wheel? Why does an airplane need wheels?
Auditory discrimination introduction to rhyming skills.
Procedure: Ask the children to listen carefully to what you read and
be ready to add a rhyming word at the end of each phase.
There are wheels all around us, wherever we are. I'm riding on wheels
when I ride in a CAR.
When I put on my skates, I just laugh like a clown. I have fun and I hardly
ever fall DOWN.
I love ferris wheels, and I guess you know why; A ferris wheel lifts you way
up in the SKY.
My big brother says, "There is one thing I like, and that is to ride all around
on my BIKE.
Can you ride a tricycle? Well, I think, maybe. You rode in a stroller when
you were a BABY.
And now the rhyme is finished, and I think you know; you'll go on seeing wheels,
wherever you GO.
Science:
Procedure: Give each child an oak tag circle, square, and triangle
with a hole punched in the middle of each. Have them hypothesize
which one will make the best wheel. Then have them push an
unsharpened pencil halfway through each shape for an axle. Let
them roll their pencils with shapes touching the floor. Which
pencil rolls the easiest? Why? Which shape makes the
best wheel?
Dramatic Play:
Have children sit on the rug, in a circle. Give each child a paper
plate steering wheel. Make up a story about a school bustle children
are the drivers. In your story, include stop signs, traffic lights,
traffic, turns, varying speeds etc. As you drive, ask questions Who's
on the bus? Where are you going? etc.
Name recognition:
Procedure: Give each child a wheel ( a paper circle) with his/her name
on it. Tell the children that one of the wheels fell off their
bicycles and rolled away. They must find the missing wheels
by searching the room for wheels with their names on them. When
they find the matching wheels, they drive back to circle!
FOR MORE IDEAS ON TRANSPORTATION GO TO OUR TRANSPORTATION
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