Airplanes: Day Four

Other Air Transportation
"H is for Helicopter and Hot Air Balloon"

Discover some of the other vehicles, besides planes, that fly.
Learn parts of these vehicles.
Discuss how they compare/contrast with airplanes.


Books:
Curious George and the Hot Air Balloon by H. A. Rey, Margret Rey

Helicopters (Pull Ahead Books) by Jeffrey Zuehlke

Planes At The Airport by Peter Mandel and Ed Miller

Planes, Gliders, Helicopters: and Other Flying Machines (How Things Work) by Terry J. Jennings

Flying in a Hot Air Balloon (Carolrhoda Photo Books) by Cheryl Walsh Bellville

Thomas and the Helicopter Rescue by Christoper Awdry



Activities:

Helicopter Theme from First School: Includes helicopter crafts, H is for Helicopter Activity Page, Helicopter dot-to-dots, lesson ideas, etc.

Helicopter Coloring Page

Helicopter Tangram (Print the Tangram Pattern Page to use with this)




Hot Air Balloon Theme from First School: Hot Air Balloon history, color and trace, shape match-up

M&M Hot Air Balloon




Hot Air Balloon Snack

Airplanes: Day Three

More Airplanes

Books
The Little Airplane (Lois Lenski Books) by Lois Lenski

DK Big Book of Airplanes by Caroline Bingham




Song:
WE ARE FLYING
Tune: "Frere Jacques"

We are flying, we are flying
Up so high, up so high.
See the fluffy white clouds,
See the sparkly sunshine
In the sky, in the sky.

We are flying, we are flying
Round and round, round and round.
See the tiny houses,
See the tiny people
On the ground, on the ground.

Elizabeth Scofield

Have your children "fly" around the room as you name things that can fly and things that can't fly, such as planes, butterflies, birds, boats, houses, and dogs. Whenever the children hear the name of something that can't fly, have them slow down and gently "land" on the ground. Continue as long as you wish.


Activities:
Coloring Pages

Tongue Depressor Airplanes

Staple two craft sticks together to form a "t". Have children use craft scraps to decorate the tongue depressor airplanes.

Airplane Art©
Poetry Play For Preschoolers
By Kimberly M. Hutmacher

Zigging, zagging
Way up high
Painting pictures
In the sky!

Read the story "It Looked Like Split Milk." Print the poem "Airplane Art" by Kimberly M. Hutmacher. After reading the poem have the children complete the illustration for the poem.

Meat Tray Airplanes

Airplane Mobile: decorate several paper airplanes and hang them with string. Make into a mobile.

FINGERPRINT AIRPLANE BOOKS
Set out washable inkpads. Give each of your children five small index cards numbered from 1 to 5. Invite the children to stamp matching numbers of fingerprints on their cards for airplane bodies and add wings with crayons. When they have finished, help them stack their cards in numerical order and staple them together to make counting books.

AIRPLANE PICTURES
Give each of your children a small airplane shape cut from any color of paper to decorate as desired. Invite them to glue their planes onto pieces of blue paper. To complete their pictures, let them glue wisps of cotton on their papers for clouds.

PRETEND FLIGHTS
Line up chairs to make an "airplane cabin." Invite your children to sit in the cabin while you "pilot" the plane. As you do so, talk about the sights the passengers can see out the windows. When your flight is over, let the children take turns being the pilot and describing the views.

Airplanes: Day Two

P is for Pilot

Understand what a pilot does and why their job is important.

Books:
I Want To Be A Pilot by Dan Liebman

Young Amelia Earhart - Pbk (First-Start Biographies) by Sarah Alcott and James Anton

Song:
The Propellers on the Plane

(sung to THE WHEELS ON THE BUS)

The propellers on the plane go round and round

Round and round, round and round
The propellers on the plane go round and round
All through the sky

The pilot on the plane says Move On Back! Move On Back! Move On Back!
The pilot on the plane says Move On Back!
All through the sky

The people on the plane go up and down, up and down, up and down
The people on the plane go up and down
All through the sky

Substitute these also:

• The wipers on the plane go swish, swish, swish
• The seats on the plane go back and forth
• The lady on the plane says, "Get off my feet…."
• The baby on the plane goes, "Wa-Wa-Wa…."
• Use a child’s name as in "Mark on the plane says, "Let me off!"
• The people on the plane said, "We had a nice ride…."

Activities:
Talk about what a pilot (aviator) does. What is a pilot? What job do they do? See here for an online resource.

Read the book about Amelia Earhart and discuss her great story as a pilot.

P is for Pilot Coloring Page

Be a Pilot: practice what it might be like to be a pilot by making a pretend cockpit out of a large box. Add some buttons and dials like what a plane might have. Put on headphones and pretend to take off and fly the plane.

Build Paper Airplanes: Here is an easy model. Fly the planes around the room or have contests. make unique designs and compare the best plane for different kinds of flight...longest, furthest, trickiest, etc.

Airplanes: Day One

A is for Airplane

Books:
The Airplane Alphabet Book (Jerry Pallotta's Alphabet Books) by Jerry Pallotta

We're Going On an Airplane!: Ragged Bears by Steve Augarde

I Love Planes! by Philemon Sturges


Songs:
I'm a Little Airplane

(sung to I’M A LITTLE TEAPOT)

I’m a little airplane in the sky!
Here are my wings, which help me fly.
First I get all revved up, and zoom on by
Lifting off the runway, up into the sky!

Author Unknown

Did You Ever See an Airplane

(sung to DID YOU EVER SEE A LASSIE)

Did you ever see an airplane, an airplane, an airplane
Did you ever see an airplane way up in the sky?
There are big ones and small ones
And short ones and tall ones
Did you ever see an airplane way up in the sky?

Author Unknown

Activities:

After reading one of the airplane books, talk about the parts of a plane. Stand up and pretend to be planes. Fly around the room.



Build a Runway: Have your children use blocks to set up an airport on the floor. Select toy airplanes of several different colors. Make runways for the planes by taping pieces of matching colored paper to the floor. Then let the children "fly" the planes in and out of their airport using the matching colored runways for takeoffs and landings.



A is for Airplane Puzzle

Airplane Picture: Write out the word Airplane, emphasizing the A. Print out an airplane coloring page. Color and glue in pictures of children into the windows as passengers.

I Can Be Helpful: Day Five

Field Trip/Community Helper

Pick a local place to visit: park, swimming pool, lake, zoo, beach, etc. Make an outing of it, but talk about making sure to keep the area clean. We can help out by picking up trash we see lying around and trying to recycle what can be.

Take small trash bags and before you start playing, have each person pick up ten or so items of trash.

Make sure to clean up before leaving, too!

I Can Be Helpful: Day Four

Chores

Book:

The Berenstain Bears and the Trouble with Chores

Songs:

It's Time To Cleanup
(Tune: "Frere Jacques")
Are you helping,
are you helping
Pick up toys, Pick up toys
Let us all be helpers,
Let us all be helpers.
Girls and boys, girls and boys.

IT’S TIME TO CLEAN-UP
Tune: “The Farmer In The Dell”

It’s time to clean up now.
It’s time to clean up now.
Heigh-ho, just watch us go.
It’s time to clean up now. We’ll put our things away.
Ready for another day.
Heigh-ho, just watch us go.
We’ll put our things away.

Activities:

Farm Chores

Show a picture of a farm and a farmer. Talk about some of the things that need to be done everyday in order to take care of the farm and provide food for us to eat. Teach children to do this finger play:

Five little farmers woke up with the sun.
(hold up hand)
It was early morning and the chores must be done.
The first little farmer went out to milk the cow.
(hold up thumb)
The second little farmer thought he'd better plow.
(hold up index finger)
The third little farmer cultivated weeds.
(hold up middle finger)
The fourth little farmer planted more seed.
(hold up fourth finger)
The fifth little farmer drove his tractor round.
(hold up last finger)
Five little farmers, the best that can be found.
(hold up hand)

Chores
Even small children can understand the importance and need for work and helping out around the house. Spend some time cleaning and ask the children to join you. Have small children help you put the laundry into the machines, put folded clothes into their drawers, put the pillows on the bed, pick up their toys, dust, or other age-appropriate chores.

Have available for the children: dust mops, rags, washcloths, water, soapy water, feather duster, brooms. Make this a fun activity by singing as you go....

This Is The Way We Clean
(tune: "Here We Go Round The Mulberry Bush""

This is the way we clean our room,
Clean our room, clean our room,
This is the way we clean our room,
Until the job is done!

This is the way we sweep our floors, make the bed, dust the shelf....

Chore Chart: Talk to children about chores/jobs that they are expected to do each day. Make a customized chore chart. You can use this site or make one of your own. Check off when each job is completed and consider some type of reward attached to hard work. (We give out coins at the end of the day for each chore.)

I Can Be Helpful: Day Three

Clean and Dirty--Part 2

Children will understand the difference between a clean house and a dirty house. There are things they can do to help keep the house clean.

Book:
Just a Mess--Mercer Meyer

Make a Mess:
Scatter bits of trash bags or crumpled up paper around the room. Ask if the room is clean or dirty. Sing some clean up songs and have children make the room clean as quickly as possible. Then, dirty it up and clean it again!



Songs:
Clean Up Song
Clean up,
Clean up,
Everybody, Everywhere.
Clean up,
Clean up,
Everybody do their share.

Clean It Up!
(Sung to the tune of: "Are You Sleeping")

Trash is dirty, trash is dirty,
Clean it up! Clean it up!
Put it in the trash can.
Put it in the trash can.
Clean it up! Clean it up!


Other Activities:

Body Painting

Need: water paints, tempera paints, and/or fingerpaints.

Have everyone put on his or her bathing suit. Using water paints, tempera paints and fingerpaints have children draw shapes or pictures on their body's. The children can take turns drawing shapes on their friends.

After the children have covered as much skin as possible, get out the hose and sprinkler (and sponges), and wash their "canvas" clean.

If a camera is available take a few photos of the human masterpieces.

(Can also be done in the bath with with colored bath "paints" for less mess!)

Car Wash

On a water play warm day let the children wash cars (wheeled toys) outside. Provide buckets of mild soap and sponges or rags for washing. Provide a hose to rinse the wheeled toys off. If no hose is available bring out buckets of clear water and dump them over the wheeled toys to rinse the soap off.

(Can also be done in the bathtub with smaller toys.)

It is so much nicer to have things clean, and kids can be helpful in cleaning up!