Songs and Fingerpays and Circle Time Activities
The Family Car
Sometimes I ride in the family car.
Car Song
Look at my bright shiny! car
(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
Watch the cars go, watch the cars go, Watch the bus go, watch the bus go, See the trucks go, see the trucks go
Little Red Caboose
Little red caboose, Little red caboose,
Going On a Big Airplane
The wheels on our car go 'round and 'round Say to the children, "I think we're starting to move. I think
the wheels are starting to go around very fast
The wheels on the plane go 'round and 'round, 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?" The wheels on the plane go 'round and 'round,
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
The pilot on the airplane says fasten your belts
Additional verses:
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
I'm a little airplane,
(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
Drive, drive drive your car
Fly fly fly your plane
The Airplane
The airplane has great big wings
Down By the Station
Down by the station
The Wheels On The Bus
The wheels on the bus go round and round,
The people on the bus go up and down.! (stand up, sit down)
Wagon
Bumping up and down in my little red wagon
Repeat using
Train is A-Comin
Train is a-comin', oh, yes
Traffic Light Song
Can you see the traffic light,
The Car Song
We like to travel in our car,
Lonely Bus Driver
One lonely bus driver all alone and blue
The Train
Choo, choo, choo This is a Choo Choo Train
This is a choo choo train
Other Verses
Child goes back, etc.
Bus Song
I drive the bus around the town
Choo- Choo Train
This is a choo-choo train,
Take Me Riding in Your Airplane
Take me riding in your airplane
Change Airplane to Bumpety Bus, Row Boat, Motorcycle, Rocket Ship, or Bicycle.
Motorboat
(Small circle, join hands)
I'm a Little Airplane
I'm a little airplane *****
Transportation Pictures
Display pictures of the following means of transportation: truck, bus, car, train, plane, ship, rocket. Ask the following questions and let the children decide which vehicle answers the questions.
1. Which one is used for going to the moon?
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 t! hey told me how to follow their map and what their symbols meant.
*****
Transportation Art
Shape vehicles
cut out an assortment of shapes and have children put them together to make a train, boat, car, etc.
Map Art
During transportation week I taped maps to the table and had the children drive their vehicles over paint soaked sponges and make tire tracks all over the maps.
Tire Track Art
I provided the kids with vehicles with interesting tire tracks. I taped butcher paper onto a table and provided the kids with stamp pads to roll the tires in. The children had a great time making tire impressions on the paper.
Yellow Submarine
I did a unit on water craft and based it on the Beatles song "We All Live in a Yellow Submarine". To start the unit off, I took a photo of each child in the class, drew a large yellow submarine on cardboard, cut out the portals and inserted each face in a portal. The children enjoyed coming in on the Monday to find that they were living in a yellow submarine! Ideas just flew after that.
Boat
Cut off one entire end of a large cardboard box positioned horizontally. Let the children paint it and decorate it on their own. When dry use it as a prop in the housecorner.
Car Paint & Car Wash
Fill pie pans with different colors of paint let the children drive matchbox cars through the paint and onto paper When finished...they can wash their cars in the car wash!! Just use a tub of soapy water and toothbrushes!!
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.)
Create A Train
Create a train for stuffed animals by punching holes in the sides of cardboard boxes & tying them together with string or old shoelaces. Have the children paint them and decorate them any way they'd like.
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.
*****
Transportation Centers
Outside Fun Gather some toy cars, trucks and trains & a supply of sidewalk chalk. Take the children outside & choose a concrete or blacktop area. Encourage them to draw roads, buildings, & houses.
Housekeeping Train Station
Set up a train station. Add a conductors hat, tickets, newspapers, jackets, severals large boxes to serve as train cars and a whistle. Set up problems to deal with for children such as would you let a passenger ride without a ticket? Let someone off inbeween stops? Insist on sitting near a window? Watch and see how the children deal with the problems.
Block Area
Add a toy railroad set. Include signs, tracks, and train.
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.
Block Corner
Place airplanes into the block area, the children can make runways (blocks end to end) & build control towers.
Going On Vacation
Bring a couple of little suitcases &a! mp; a flight bag into the dress up corner
(the suitcases were actually cosmetic cases). Have things to pack in them -
clothes, socks, hair brush & combs, sunglasses with plastic lenses, toy camera
& stuffed toys.
Line up chairs to simulate a plane & then sing the "people on the plane go
up and down" to the Wheels of the Bus tune. The pilot on the plane says
Please buckle up (instead of the driver saying please move back), etc.
Super Highway
Build a superhighway on the floor. Place masking tape on the carpet to make
various roads, interchanges, on-ramps and off-ramps. Small boxes cut out the
right way can make a wonderful tunnel, bridge, or viaduct.
Transportation Match
Make a set of pictures of transportation vehicles and a set of pictures of vehicle drivers. Laminate both sets. Children must match drivers to vehicles.
Transportation Match...
Label three boxes with pictures of air, land, water. Provide selection of pictures of transportation vehicles. Children must match to correct box.
Block Area
Provide model airplanes, Fisher Price airport and Fisher Price airplane.
Block Area
Provide traffic signs, cars, trucks and heavy pieces of cardboard designed as roads.
Sensory Table
Provide plastic construction vehicles such as graders, backhoes and dumptrucks to play with in sand.
Drivers License At The Registry
Create the Registry of Motor Vehicles in your room. Have a Sign that read Pictures Take Here...SMILE! An Eye Chart. And a table with the words GO/SLOW/STOP laying on it. One by one have kids come to the registry to try and get their license. Have them take an Eye Test ( read 1 of 3 lines with 5 letters of the alphabet on it.) Have their pictures taken (for the license). Answer 2 "Driving" questions...I might ask "What would you do if you came to a cross walk and someone was crossing the street....they had to point to the correct word lying on the table and tell me what it said. Once completed they PASSED and received a slip of paper with OK written on it and stamped with a rubber car stamp.(OF COURSE EVERYONE PASSED!) They took this slip to my assistant. She gave them a sheet that said MY DRIVERS LICENSE. They had to write --1. their name -- 2. stamp any numbers they wanted with number stamps for their LICENSE NUMBER -- 3. write the town they live in. Next they taped their picture onto their license (I used instamatic film...they loved watching their picture appear.). Last of all they decorated their
license with rubber car stamps and bingo daubbers.
Road Test
Outdoors, can set up a road test for trikes too.
*****
Cooking
Apple Sailboat Snack
Have the children make apple sailboats from an apple
Sailboat Eggs
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
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
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.
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Riding Props- Submitted by Patrisha
Car Wash:
Cut off both ends of a large cardboard appliance box. Reinforce the box by wrapping tape around its sides. In the center of the box hang a row of plastic strips across the top of the box. Have the children ride their tricycles through the "car wash".
Cardboard Box Vehicle:
Cut the top and bottom off a cardboard box. Decorate the box to resemble a police car, a fire engine or other emergency vehicle. Attach two ribbon straps to the box that go from the front to the back. Help a child step into the box and place the straps over his or her shoulders. Then have the child drive his or her emergency vehicle through the tricycle lay area.
Gas Pump:
Cut a small hole in the side of a medium sized card board box. Cut off three or four feet from the end of an old garden hose. Insert the cut end of the hose into the hole in the box and securely tape it in place. Attach a pistol grip nozzle to the other end of the hose. Add details to the box with felt tip markers as desired.
Licenses:
Make a pretend driver’s license for each child. Thread the licenses on loops of yarn for the children to wear while they are riding tricycles. They will be more likely to follow the safety rules if they know that there licenses will be suspended for reckless driving.
Parade Prop Box:
Keep a box filled with the following parade props; crepe pa per, streamers, large feathers, balloons, ribbons, stickers and masking tape. Let the children decorate tricycles and wagons and ride along a designated parade route.
Permanent Roads and Parking Spaces:
If you have a concrete tricycle riding area, you can create permanent parking spaces and roads by painting white or yellow stripes on the concrete.
Temporary Roads and Parking Spaces:
Make temporary stripes for roads and parking spaces in your tricycle riding area with chalk and masking tape.
Tow Truck:
Tie a six-foot length of rope to the back of a tricycle. Let a child tie the loose end of the rope to another tricycle, a wag on or a box and tow it.
Traffic Signs:
Cut plywood into geometric shapes and paint them to resemble real street signs. Nail wooden stakes to the signs and stand them in cans filled with cement or dirt. Place the signs around your riding area and encourage the children to follow them. To keep the children on their toes, periodically move the signs around.
Wagon Panels:
Cut two long narrow rectangles out of cardboard. Decorate the rectangles to look like the sides of a bakery truck, a fire engine or other vehicle. Attach the rectangles to the sides of a wagon. Let the children use the paneled wagon in your tricycle play area.
Parking Time
Cut a hole in a shoe box to make a "garage" for a small toy car. Bring the car and garage to circle time. Invite volunteers to help park the car. Give directions such as these: "Park the car near the garage. Park the car far from the garage. Park the car inside the garage. Park the car on top of the garage:'
Extension: Make the car and garage available at free play time.
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Driving my Car- Submitted by Patrisha
Hoops / other obstacles to form a "driving course"
Discuss with children possible reasons for traffic accidents. Suggest that a car is an extension of one’s personal space. Further suggest that people go to "Driving School" to learn how to drive. Good drivers don’t bump into each other. It damages their cars & increases their insurance rates.
Give each child a hoop. Indicate that this is their car. Students hold the hoop horizontally around their bodies with both hands. Ask them to start their car and begin driving around the space you have set up as a "driving course". Remind them to watch out for each other’s self space and not to have an accident."
Call out driving-related things for the students to do such as:
"Green light" = Go
Gradually add obstacles that the students have to go around, over, or through.
Suggest that they use the above signals when they turn (Blinker) or Stop (Right heel forward). Remind them to maintain a safe self space and not run over into other cars. Students who have "wrecks" may be asked to return to driving school (a separate place where the teacher or an aid continues to cue traffic skills).
Closure A car is an extension of your personal space. If you invade another person’s personal space, someone might get hurt.
Moving On Down The Highway- Submitted by Patrisha
The little bur car is first in line.
The red pickup truck is second in line.
The green tow truck is third in line,
Moving on down the highway.
The police motorcycle is fourth in line.
The big white van is fifth in line.
The cement mixer is sixth in line,
Moving on down the highway.
Substitute descriptions of your children’s vehicles for those in the song.
Railroad Cars- Submitted by Patrisha Display cardboard cartons in a line outside the circle. Have your children count the cartons. Explain that this is a train with however many cars, and each car can only hold one person. Select however many children to ride in the train and have each climb into a separate box . Help the group count the passengers. Now have each passenger exit the train and choose a replacement. Repeat the activity, counting train cars and passengers each time.
*****
Click on the "Back" Button to go back to
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!
(Tune: BINGO)
I'm driving it today-o.
C - A - R (BEEP! BEEP!)
C - A - R (BEEP! BEEP!)
C - A - R (BEEP! BEEP!)
I'm driving it today - o!
(tune: "Frere Jacques")
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!
Rolling by, rolling by.
Stop for all the people, stop for all the people.
Get on board! Get in board!
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 behind the train, train,
Smoke-stack on his back, Going down the track,
Little red caboose behind the train, train.
(Sung to "The Wheels on the Bus")
(repeat)
Going to the airport.
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)
(make a slow wheel moving
motion with your hands)
'round and 'round, 'round
and 'round
(sing and repeat slowly)
Going on a big airplane.
(make engine noises)
'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)
(Sung to " Wheels on the Bus")
(fasten seat belts)
Fasten your belts, fasten your belts.
The pilot on the airplane says fasten your belts
When flying through the sky,
The children on the airplane go bum pity bump.... (move up and down)
(to "I'm a Little Teapot")
(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!
Gently down the stream,
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily,
Life is such a dream.
gently down the street
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily,
Life is such a treat.
way up in the air.
Merrily, merrily merrily merrily
Life without a care.
(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)
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!)
(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 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)
Bumping up and down in my little red wagon
Bumping up and down in my little red wagon
Let's ride off together!
* My little brown donkey
* My little black buggy
* My little blue trolley
* My little green airplane
* My little white sailboat
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
(sung to "Mary Had ALittle Lamb")
traffic light, traffic light?
Green means Go and Yellow means Slow,
and Red means STOP,STOP,STOP!
(sung to: "When Johnny Comes Marching Home")
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!
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.
(slide hands together)
The train runs down the track
(run fingers down arm)
And then it runs right back.
( Run fingers up arm.)
Child becomes a train by squatting
Puffing down! the track
Now its going back.
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.
(sung to "Pop Goes the Weasel")
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
(Bend arms at elbows)
Puffing down the track.
(Rotate forearms in rhythm)
Now it's goi! ng 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
I want to ride in your airplane.
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)
(sung to "I'm A Little Teapot")
(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)
2. Which one travels on tracks?
3. Which one carries vegetables from farm to city?
4. Which one goes through the air?
5. Which one do we park in our garage?
6. Which one! stops in many cities and carries many people?
7. Which one travels on the ocean?
slice, a triangular piece of cheese, & a toothpick.
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
"Red light" = Stop
(can also put right heel in front as though pressing the brake)
"Honk" (the horn)
"Right/Left Blinker" = Open and close a couple fingers on the designated hand.
Sung to "Skip to My Lou"
the PnF Main Theme and Curriculum Pages
