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EARLY CHILDHOOD NEWSLETTER

 

Volume 4, Issue 5
March 14, 2006


THIS ISSUE'S EARLY CHILDHOOD NEWSLETTER THEME:

Transportation


WELCOME! to Education World's Early Childhood Newsletter. Every other week, I'll share some ideas on a familiar teaching theme. Hopefully you will find a new activity idea or two -- or a new twist on one of your old favorites! Since I know you are very busy, I'll be short and sweet -- like most of activities I suggest.

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A WORD ABOUT THIS ISSUE'S THEME

Kick off your transportation unit by reading aloud our poem below. Read each stanza aloud to familiarize children with it. Then reread the first line of each stanza aloud and encourage children to respond with the second line.

Getting There

How do you go to school each day?
By bus, by car, or another way.

How do you visit gram far away?
Hop on a jet plane and fly there today.

How do ripe oranges get to Maine?
Packed up in boxes and sent on a train.

How do car parts ride to Mich-i-gan?
They travel in trucks or a special van.

How do stores get the toys you buy?
Some toys sail on ships 'cross oceans so wide.

People and things move about it's true.
Without transportation, what would we do?



ACTIVITY IDEAS

TRANSPORTATION POEMS
Down the left-hand side of an easel pad write the letters in the words

J
E
T

P
L
A
N
E

or the name of another form of transportation. Invite children to think of transportation words whose first letters are those found in the words "jet plane." For example J=Jeep, and so on. When all words are found read your acrostic poem aloud together.

HOW WILL I GET THERE?
For circle time, bring in small toy vehicles such as planes, trains, cars, tractors, a helicopter, a boat or ship, a horse, and so on. Put all toys in a large paper bag. Using a puppet say to children, "Hi my name is Tommy (or Tammy) Traveler. I am going on a trip to China (vary destinations). How will I get there?" Invite a child to reach into the bag without looking and bring out a vehicle. Encourage discussion asking, "Is this a good way to travel to China?" Help children tell why it is or is not. Continue playing until everyone has had a chance to choose a vehicle, making sure to change the puppet's destinations.

A SINKING SHIP...
Read to children Who Sank the Boat? by Pamela Allen. When you have finished reading give children small stones or weights and toy boats. Invite them to experiment at the water table to find out how many stones or weights it takes to sink the boat. Ask "If the mouse in the story had gotten into the boat at a different time, would he have still sunk the boat?"

CAR MATH
--- Cut out car shapes in different sizes and in different colors. Label various shoeboxes: Large Red Cars, Small Green Cars, Tiny Yellow Cars, and so on. Invite children to place the cars into the correct "garage." Extend the activity by using cutouts of other kinds of transportation such as helicopters, boats, and planes.
--- Mark plastic cars on the top with a number or a number word. Invite children to place the cars in a number sequence; add or subtract them; show greater than or less than; or match car words and numbers.

THE LIGHT SAYS...
Make this fun snack for children to enjoy. Give each child a graham cracker square. Help them spread some canned frosting on the top. Provide each child with a red, yellow, and green gumdrop to arrange on the frosting as they would appear on a traffic light. Discuss that red means stop, green means go, and yellow means to wait or pause. After children eat their "traffic lights" let them do some "pretend driving," using a paper plate as a steering wheel.



ON THE WEB

Check out the following Web sites for additional background and activities.

Vehicle Coloring Pages
Find some great coloring pages of vehicles to print out and use.
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/vehicles/

Bicycle Makeover
Try this activity using your classroom tricycles or other ride-on toys.
http://pbskids.org/arthur/parentsteachers/activities/acts/bike_makeover....

Go Car, Go!
Let your kids make transportation mini-books using the templates and directions you find here.
http://www.dltk-teach.com/minibooks/transportation/index.htm

Sailboat Cake
A great way to draw your transportation unit to a close. Directions for making this cake are right here.
http://www.eezplanit.com/Cakes/Birthday/boat.htm

Transportation
Dig up loads of print outs and activities that incorporate letters of the alphabet and transportation.
http://www.first-school.ws/theme/transportation.htm