Week 35 - Transportation

On the last week of April/first week of May, we focused on transportation and things that move. 

We started off the week on Monday with a transportation anchor chart, making a list (using pictures) of all the things the students could think of that help them get around.   We also read the books “Wheels Go Round” and “Hot Rod Hamster” to talk more about cars.

For our movement activity, we played ‘Red light/green light’ and sang the song ‘Where is red light?’ (which is just like ‘where is thumbkin’ but you use red light/ yellow light/ green light instead of the name of the finger, and hold up that color circle when you say it).

For the art activity, the students did a Transportation Collage by coloring and cutting out the different ways to get around and gluing them on their very own poster. 

They also did a ‘What’s Missing’ memory game, where the teacher put up 5 different types of transportation, took one away, and asked what was missing.

At the end of the day, we read “My Race Car.”

On Tuesday we focused on buses.  We read “The Wheels on the Bus” and “Cars and Trucks”, then of course we had to do a fine motor (finger play) of ‘The Wheels on the Bus’, as well as a gross motor version walking/crawling/jumping around the classroom.  One interesting version of the song that I did was that I would substitute in a child’s name, and they had to do something on the bus (e.g.: The Brandon on the bus goes… wah wah wah… etc). 

For our art project, the kids did a School Bus Collage.  I pre-cut school buses and windows, and the kids glued them on to a paper to make a bus, added a background, and glued pictures of kids’ faces out of magazines in the windows.

They also played the Parking Lot Recognition game that I made last year.  I drew a parking lot on a posterboard and laminated it.  Then I wrote in different things in every parking spot, and to play the kids would have to drive their car (matchbox car) to the spot you told them.  Last year, I used sight words in each of the boxes.  This year, I did letters, numbers, and shapes.

On Wednesday we focused on trains.  We read “Chugga Chugga Choo Choo” and “The Train Ride” during circle time.  For our song and movement, we sang ‘I’ve been working on the railroad’.  Of course, we had to watch ‘Thomas the Train,’ and while they watched the movie, we pulled them one at a time to make a Name Train from funinprek.

On Thursday, our focus was airplanes.  My assistant let me borrow the cutest little book she had called “The Little Red Plane”, and we read how the pilot got the plane ready by checking the gauges, filling the tank, and making sure everyone was seated. 

For our movement activity, we played the stop sign game, where the kids were given something to do (hop, jump, crawl, dance, etc) and had to stop when I put up the stop sign.  It’s kind of like freeze dance.

For art, the students made Paper Airplane Mobiles inspired by etsy.  I taught each student how to make a paper airplane, then we made 4 planes together and hung them up on large popsicle sticks from the ceiling.

Finally, on Friday, our focus was boats.  We read “Richard Scarry’s Great Steamboat Mystery” and sang ‘Row Row Row Your Boat’.  The kids made a Popsicle Stick Boat from Pequeocio.