Transportation Sensory & Toddler Storytime
Cars, buses, and trains, oh my! Choose two of the following transportation-themed sensory storytime books and pair them with a few of these songs, crafts, and sensory play ideas for more engagement and fun in your next Toddler or Sensory Storytime.
Visit The Youth Desk’s Sensory Storytime page for a complete sensory storytime overview and more detailed guidance.
Transportation Sensory & Toddler Storytime Books
Transportation Songs & Rhymes
Colorful Cars Flannel Board
Place flannel cars on a board as you sing, or distribute flannel cars in different colors to participants and encourage them to bring up their car and place it on the board when their color is called.
Red car, red car, what do you see?
I see a blue car looking at me!
(Credit: Storytime in the Stacks)
Down by the Station
Down by the station early in the morning
See the little train cars all in a row.
Listen to the engineer pull the big whistle.
Toot-toot, toot-toot! Off we go!
Have You Ever Seen a Sailboat
Sing to the tune “The More We Get Together.”
Have you ever seen a sailboat, a sailboat, a sailboat
Have you ever seen a sailboat
Waving its sail?
Wave this way and that way
And that way and this way
Have you ever seen a sailboat waving its sail?
Have you ever seen a race car…zooming down the road
Have you ever seen a dump truck…bumping down the road
Have you ever seen a freight train…chugging down the tracks
Have you ever seen a Rocket ship…flying through space
(Credit: Jbrary)
We Drive and STOP
Print or cut out a big green GO sign and a red STOP sign. Hold up the GO sign during the movement portions of the song and the STOP sign when appropriate.
We drive and drive and STOP
We drive and drive and STOP
We drive and drive and drive and drive
And drive and drive and STOP
Jump…sway…run…sit…
The Wheels on the Bus
The wheels on the bus go round and round
Round and round, round and round
The wheels on the bus go round and round
All through the town
The doors on the bus open and shut…
The wipers on the bus go swish, swish, swish…
The horn on the bus goes beep, beep, beep…
The people on the bus go up and down…
Transportation Sensory Play & Craft Activities
Ending storytime with free play provides children and their caregivers with an excellent opportunity to explore and socialize with one another. Set out any puppets or flannel board pieces you used during storytime for attendees to enjoy, and offer one of these great transportation-themed play activities.
Race Cars
Set out toy cars, trucks, boats, whatever you’ve got. A floor mat with roads and paths on it is a great addition, but you can also use painter’s tape to create your own roads!
Tire Tracks Painting
Provide a piece of cardstock, a dollop of black paint, and toy trucks or cars. Encourage attendees to “drive” their vehicles through the paint and then on their paper to make tracks. Have a pack of baby wipes at each table to help caregivers keep their kiddos tidy. I also like providing each attendee with a tray to set their paper on while they paint. There will still be a mess, but the trays help keep their vehicles on the paper.
