Know Your Vehicles

Six vehicles fill this page, each drawn large in its own box with its name in capitals underneath: a car, a school bus, a sailboat, an airplane, a helicopter and a train. The child names each one, says where it goes, then colors it.

Between three and five, children are learning to group things by what they have in common, and vehicles make that easy to see. The car and the bus go on roads, the boat floats on water, the airplane and helicopter fly, and the train runs on tracks. Talking this through builds vocabulary and gives the child an early feel for sorting things into groups.

The printed names are not for reading yet. As you say each vehicle's name, run your finger under the word so the child starts to notice that spoken words can be written down.