Print an engineer hat template on white paper, one for each child. Ask the children to color their hats with crayons. You may also want to put out stickers, construction paper, tissue and glue so the children can customize their hats. After the hats are decorated, ask the children to cut out their hats along the template lines. Provide children age-appropriate scissors with rounded edges for safety. Then place a long strip of construction paper around each child's head and staple the ends together so it fits snugly. Staple the construction paper strip to the finished train engineer hats.
Do the same with a conductor hat template or purchase one costume conductor's hat from a party supplies store. You can wear the conductor's hat during storytime and playtime, taking on the role of the classroom's conductor.
Select a book or story with a transportation or train theme. Books featuring "Thomas the Tank Engine" are educational and enjoyable to preschool-aged children. Explain to children the duties of a train conductor. Show examples of a conductor's clothing and hat choices so the children will understand the hats they are making will look like a real conductor's hat. Conductors wear professional attire, a dark suit with a tie and matching dark conductor's hat. Unlike a conductor's professional uniform, an engineer's uniform is designed for working. Engineers wear basic clothing, such as a T-shirt, overalls and oftentimes a bandana around the neck. The hat usually has narrow blue and white stripes. You may also want to include in your reading activity the names of the locomotive parts, how trains work and what trains haul.
Select songs with a train theme. Ask the children to sing along and help them learn the lyrics to each song. Help the kids create hand and body movements for each of the words in the songs, so they are involved and have fun at the same time. The children can wear their engineer or conductor hats while singing the songs for added fun.
Large cardboard boxes create small trains for the children to play in. Alternatively, create a line with the students' chairs to form a train. The child in the first seat is the engineer. Children take turns playing that role.
Cut and print out the word "Ticket" on paper. Hand each student a ticket. Then the child who is playing the conductor takes tickets from the preschool travelers before boarding the train. A handheld hole punch doubles as a ticket puncher. The conductor may also choose where the train is headed. Ask children to choose a location where they would like to travel. Provide a globe or map and point out where the class is traveling. If your preschool children read a book about Thomas the Tank Engine, the class may choose to travel to the fictional Island of Sodor.
Then everyone can call out, "All aboard!"