Cars Preschool Lesson Plan

Here is a preschool lesson plan about cars.  It includes an original car song, games, math sorting skills, a car craft, and other activities centered around cars.


1. Freeplay

2. Circle/Whole Group: Go outside and look at a car. Let the kiddos climb in, turn on lights, and ask questions. If possible, get a police officer to visit and show the kiddos his car.

3. Song: Traffic Lights (Tune: Mary Had a Little Lamb)

Can you see the traffic lights, traffic lights, traffic lights,

Can you see the traffic lights and how the colors hop?

When the light is turning red, turning red, turning red,

When the light is turning red we know it's time to stop!

Yellow is a very short light, very short light, very short light,

Yellow is a very short light and means it's time to slow.

Green lights are the very best, very best, very best,

Green lights are the very best because it's time to go!

4. Story: Cool Cars by Tony Mitton. What are your favorite cars? Have you ever been in a police car?

5. Craft: Tire Tracks. Let the kiddos dip different toy cars in a tray with paint, and then "drive" the car on their page. Talk about tire prints. Let them see different prints from different cars. Point out size and shape differences and similarities.

6. Learning Activity. Red Light, Green Light. Use a red circle and a green circle cut from construction paper. If desired, glue the circles onto puppet sticks. Review how red means go and green means stop. Face the kiddos, hold the circles behind your back, and have the kiddos line up in a row at least 10 feet away from you. When you hold the green circle out, say "green," and let them come towards you. When you switch to red, say "red" and have them stop. Continue until they reach you. Repeat, but say "verde" and "rojo" for the colors. Let the children take turns being the stop light. If you like, you can change how they walk: they must elephant walk or hop or crawl.

7. Snack: Car tires. Serve muffins...or car tires!

8. Learning Activity. License Plate Sorting. Every car has a license plate on it. License plates have numbers, letters, a state, and sometimes pictures. Make 10-12 little license plates...these can all be printed on one sheet of paper. Let the kiddos find similarities and differences, then assign them to sort all the license plates with a "2" into one pile or all the plates with two letter "T"'s into another pile.

9. Freeplay outside. Begin by "driving" around the yard and "picking up" the kiddos and taking them to the circus. Imagine all the animals you see! When you're done, drive them all back home. Freeplay.

10. Circle to review and summarize day.

Supplies for the day:

your car

police car (optional)

Cool Cars by Tony Mitton

various toy cars that can be rolled in paint

paint on a tray

paper for kiddos

red and green circles cut from construction paper

muffins

little license plates for sorting