Trains, planes, and automobiles are forms of transportation that fascinate young kids. Videos all over the internet show kids getting excited when they see garbage trucks pass by and cheering at airplanes flying overhead. These different types of transportation are a great way to teach kids about colors, geometric shapes, and STEM! Grab your scissors, glue, and some sheets of paper, and get ready for some crafting educational fun!
1. Toilet Paper Tube Cars
Everyone has toilet paper tubes lying around the house. Instead of throwing them away, help your little ones turn them into fun race cars! Attach bottle caps for wheels. A perfect craft for lessons on recycling and reusing.
Learn More: A Little Pinch of Perfect
2. Cardboard Tube Race Ramps
Incorporate this quick and easy project into your transportation activity planning. Simply cut an old wrapping paper tube in half. Balance one end of the tube on different surfaces and let toy cars race down the track.
Learn More: The Imagination Tree
3. Transportation Vehicle Sensory Activity
Kids love to touch things. Take advantage of their curiosity with this sensory activity. Fill some bins with different materials representing land, air, and water. Then place different forms of transportation in the correct bins and let your kids learn through touch and play.
Learn More: Fantastic Fun and Learning
4. Monster Truck Mudding
Real-life Monster Truck competitions are not the best place to teach young kids about transportation. This activity tones down the noise to let your little ones explore on their own how trucks move in the mud. Mix cornstarch and cocoa powder for stench-free mud.
Learn More: Mama. Papa. Bubba.
5. Construction Vehicles Sensory Bin
Create your very own construction site without the noise! Collect rocks of various sizes, shapes, and colors. Place them in piles. Then, use dump trucks and excavators to move the rocks around. Use the lesson to teach your children colors.
Learn More: Mrs. Plemon’s Kindergarten
6. Road Decorations for Bulletin Boards
If you’re looking for quick and easy decorations for bulletin boards, this activity is for you. Let your kids take the lead on decorating with these printable road pieces. Print the road pieces on black craft paper for an authentic look.
Learn More: Pickle Bums
7. Road Shapes
Combine lessons on shapes with your kid’s favorite toy vehicles. Glue the different road shapes to cardboard cutouts, and let your kids drive around the bends! This low-prep activity is perfect for your classroom set-up materials.
Learn More: Preschool Play and Learn
8. Transportation Shape Collages
Make learning shapes a colorful and creative exercise! Cut shapes out of pieces of construction paper. Then let your little ones assemble them into whatever vehicles they can dream of! When they’ve finished, place the cute paper cars on the fridge for everyone to see.
Learn More: Pocket of Preschool
9. Sponge Paint Trains
Choo-Choo! This quick and easy activity is great for lessons with a fun preschool transportation theme. Perfect for teaching colors and numbers. Give your little ones a sponge and let them create the train of their dreams!
Learn More: Buggy and Buddy
10. Name Trains
Teach your little ones how to spell their name with trains! Write out the letters of their names and watch as they place them in the correct order. Use magnetic letter tiles and a word of the day for an engaging spelling exercise for children.
Learn More: Mrs. Plemon’s Kindergarten
11. Music Education with Trains
Make music learning exciting! Use different-sized trains to represent high and low pitches. Have the trains go faster or slower depending on the music’s tempo. Start with easy songs your kids already know and then gradually add other genres.
Learn More: Play Trains
13. Math with Trains
Collect all the train pieces you have and place them in a “train station.” As Train Station Master, divide by color to have kids practice their graphing skills. Use a measuring tape to create trains of different lengths and practice measurement conversions.
Learn More:Royal Baloo
14. Train Themed Treats
Kids love snack time! Use this fun culinary activity to teach them about the shapes found on trains. Simply draw some railroad tracks along the bottom of a paper plate. Then let your kids design and decorate their personal train! Feel free to substitute cookies and candy for healthier alternatives.
Learn More: Toddler Approved
15. Train Themed Pretend Play
Need a rainy day activity? Use some painter’s tape to create train tracks in your kids’ play area. Use tables and sheets to create tunnels and stations. Then let their imaginations run wild! If you have a party coming up, place chairs in a row and let the kids take turns as conductor and passengers.
Learn More: Toddler Approved
16. Airplane Piggy Banks
Do you have a budding world traveler on your hands? Help them save up for your next trip with this fun activity. All you need is an empty plastic bottle and some construction paper. Use the saved money later for math lessons in your 3rd, 4th, or 5th-grade classroom.
Learn More: Pinterest
17. Paper Airplanes
An oldie, but a goodie. Help your little ones craft paper airplanes of different shapes and sizes. Line up in a row and see whose goes the furthest! A great way to discuss topics like air resistance, geometry, and speed.
Learn More: Fold ‘N Fly
18. Sorting Colors Airplane Activity
Help your kids learn their colors. Create a plane out of an old egg carton and grab different colored pompoms, beads, or candy. Then have your kids sort the objects by color. Also great for teaching more than, less than, and equal to.
Learn More: Happy Tot Shelf
19. Oh, the Places You’ll Go
Looking for a way to teach your students national flags and geography? Use this easy DIY game board to do just that! Roll the dice and collect the number of flags. Read out the country name. For older kids, have them correctly identify the country to stay in the space.
Learn More: Craft Box Girls
20. Straw Airplanes
This quick and easy activity provides hours of fun! Simply create two rings of paper and attach them to each end of a straw. Let your little ones decorate them before taking them outside to fly.
Learn More: Toddler Approved
21. Fruity Airplane Snacks
Let your little ones play with their food with this fun snack-time activity. Use bananas and oranges to create plane propellers. Or you can cut bananas length-wise to create the side of a plane with chocolate chip windows. Add some mini marshmallow clouds.
Learn More: Sprinkle Some Fun
22. Ice Boats
Looking for a cool summer activity? Simply freeze some colored water in an ice cube tray. Be sure to add the straw masts before freezing. Have the kids design some sails. Place the ice boats in a pool of water and watch what happens! Great for curriculum units on the water cycle and water density.
Learn More: Busy Toddler
23. Sponge Sailboats
Can a sponge boat sink? Have your kids find out with this colorful activity. Cut sponges into different sizes and widths. Create masts from paper and wooden skewers. Place the sponges in water and see if they sink. For older elementary students, turn it into a lesson on mass by weighing the dry and wet sponges.
Learn More: Easy Peasy and Fun
24. Boat Building
A great activity for 3rd, 4th or 5th-grade students! Have your kids collect different boat-building materials (coffee filters, construction paper, straws, etc.) to design and build their ships, Then test their seaworthiness. Perfect for a wide range of STEM curriculum units.
Learn More: Feel Good Teaching
25. Float Your Foil Boat
This worksheet outlines an easy activity for younger elementary kids. Have your kids build an aluminum foil boat. Then, let them guess how many pennies it will hold before it sinks. Drop the pennies one by one. Whoever has the most pennies gets to be captain for the day!
Learn More: Pinterest
26. Apple Sailboats
A tasty and healthy snack is sometimes difficult to achieve. Luckily, these simple apple and cheese sailboats are both! Use apple slices for the hull, a pretzel and cheese for the mast and sail, and a cheerio for a porthole. Add a teddy bear or animal cracker as the ship’s captain.
Learn More: Colorations
27. Transportation Pattern Blocks
Help your kids learn geometry with these printable pattern block mats. All you need are some standard pattern blocks (available online). Let your kids explore how shapes are divided and added together to create new ones.
Learn More: Prekinders
28. DIY Rocket Ships
Get ready for space exploration! Connect an empty plastic bottle to some PVC pipe. Then, place your kids’ carefully designed rocket on the launch pad. Step on the bottle and watch the rocket fly!
Learn More: Maker Camp
29. Baking Soda Power Boats
Give your science lesson an extra boost! Craft a simple boat out of Styrofoam. Secure a cap of baking soda to the hull and add straws as propulsion jets. Carefully add vinegar and watch the chemical reaction make the boats go.
Learn More: The OT Toolbox
30. Rubber Band Helicopters
The key to a great helicopter is to wind it well! Purchase a helicopter-making kit and help your little ones wind it up. Carefully let it go and follow its flight path around the house.
Learn More: Mama Smiles
26 Warm-Up Activities for Elementary Students 