Introduce the preschool kids to boats as a form of transportation. Cover the range of boats, from small personal watercraft to enormous cargo ships. Take a field trip to a local marina so the kids can tour a boat. Provide toy boats for the kids to enjoy during play time. Use shapes cut from construction paper to construct pictures of sailboats, using triangles for sails, a thin rectangle for the mast and a trapezoid for the boat. Teach the kids the terms that are used on boats and use them in the classroom for a fun infusion of the theme.
Provide preschool activities about trains, which hold a top spot in the hearts of many young children. Take the kids to a local recreational train if one is available. Set up a toy train in the preschool classroom for hands-on play opportunities. Make a child-sized train for classroom play out of appliance boxes. Decorate the outsides of the boxes to resemble train cars, cutting a door in each box for kids to use when climbing inside. Limit the number of children that can play in the cardboard train at one time to avoid damage to the boxes.
Develop curriculum for the preschool program about emergency vehicles. Include lessons about fire trucks, ambulances and police cars for this segment of the unit on transportation. Organize a field trip to a police or fire station, or arrange a special visit from the police officers and fire fighters at the preschool. The emergency vehicle theme provides the chance to review safety rules and lessons about strangers or getting lost.
Include activities based on cars and trucks, the most familiar vehicles to most children. Add several toy cars and trucks to the play center in the preschool. Review car safety, including seat belts, car seats and proper car behavior. Provide a large cardboard box for each child, allowing him to decorate the outside to resemble a car. Cut a door in each car for the kids. Let the kids sit in their cars during playtime or group time, which will help the kids stay still without entering the personal space of the other students.