• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Happy Tot Shelf

menu icon
go to homepage
  • Find an Activity
  • Activity Membership
  • Learning Space
  • Free Printables
  • About HTS
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • TikTok
    • YouTube
  • search icon
    Homepage link
    • Find an Activity
    • Activity Membership
    • Learning Space
    • Free Printables
    • About HTS
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • TikTok
    • YouTube
  • ×
    Home » Theme Based Learning Activities

    Published: Jan 22, 2018 · Modified: Dec 15, 2019 by Fynn · All activities should be supervised by an adult. This post may contain affiliate links.

    Airport & Airplanes Learning Shelf & Activities

    We had so much fun learning at home with our Airport & Airplanes Learning Shelf. Here's a summary post of all the activities we have done for this theme. To learn about how we do home learning at home with our shelf, I encourage you to read our How HTS Works page first. To know why we love a themed learning shelf, check out this page.

    Airport and Airplanes Theme Learning Shelf

    • Pinterest Idea Board: [theme] AIRPORT & AIRPLANES
    • Unique Hashtag on Instagram: #airporthts
    • Focus Books: The Airport Book by Lisa Brown, Airport by Byron Barton and Planes by Byron Barton
    • Focus Letters: Letters in the child's name and Uppercase/ Lowercase letters matching
    • Focus Chinese Words: 飞, 跑, 游

    This learning shelf and the activities are created for children of ages 1.5 years old to 6 years old. My son was 4 years old and my little girl was 1 year 8 months old when I made this learning shelf for them. All the activities have been categorized into the six main learning areas (language, numeracy, motor skills, discovery of the world, arts & creative expression, social & emotional development) that I am focusing on for my children.

    LEARNING ACTIVITIES FOR TODDLERS (1.5 TO 3 YEARS OLD)

    • Sort and drop pom poms into an egg carton airplane according to the color (numeracy, motor skills)

    • Match the shapes on the wings of the airplane puzzles and complete the airplane puzzles. Printable available on our printable page. (numeracy, motor skills)

    Bonus: This printable can be found on my subscriber-only Printable page. As a bonus for joining my mailing list, you get access to ALL my printables. Get them here>>

    LEARNING ACTIVITIES FOR PRESCHOOLERS (3 TO 6 YEARS OLD)

    • Peg on the wings of the airplane by matching the uppercase letter to lowercase letter

    • Match letters in his/her name on the windows of an airplane (literacy, motor skills)

    • Build Duplo control towers and measure their heights (numeracy, motor skills)

    • Play this game to learn the focus Chinese words: 飞 (fly), 跑 (run), 游 (swim). Follow the instructions on the printable to create this game. (literacy)

    Bonus: This printable can be found on my subscriber-only Printable page. As a bonus for joining my mailing list, you get access to ALL my printables. Get them here>>

    • Stick the dot stickers with the focus Chinese words: 飞 (fly), 跑 (run), 游 (swim) on the appropriate locations (land, sea or sky) on the picture. (literacy)

    • Learn names of countries and practice counting through this DIY airplane board game: Toss the dice, move the number of steps shown on the dice and collect the same number of flags. Read the name of the country on the flag to your kid. Game ends when all the flags are collected. (numeracy, discovery of the world)

    • Load the 'Lego passengers' onto the Duplo airplane according to the seat plan and learn about patterns and colors (numeracy, motor skills). If you don't have the Duplo airplane, simply draw a airplane on a piece of paper with 12 seats.

    • Count the clouds according to the number on the airplane (numeracy)

    • Load and count the number of baggage (Duplo or Lego tiles) on the baggage truck (numeracy).

    Bonus: This printable can be found on my subscriber-only Printable page. As a bonus for joining my mailing list, you get access to ALL my printables. Get them here>>

    CRAFT PROJECTS, EXPERIMENTS & SENSORY PLAY

    • Fold paper airplanes and have fun playing with them. Discuss which plane flew the furthest and why with your child. (discovery of the world)
    • Pretend play with our DIY airport small world in a cardboard luggage . Watch this video to see this airport small world in play. Do you want to make a cardboard luggage too? I made a video tutorial and you can watch it here. (discovery of the world)

    • Invitation to create a flag. Look at the flags of different countries and talk about the shapes and colors on the flags. Invite your child to make his/her own flag too. (arts & creative expression, discovery of the world)

    I also made a video of the making of this Airport and Airplanes HTS and the video can be found here. Any other questions or feedbacks for me? I love to hear from you. Need more ideas, be sure to check the rest of our learning shelves and activities!

    SaveSave

    SaveSave

    SaveSave

    SaveSave

    SaveSave

    SaveSave

    SaveSave

    SaveSave

    SaveSave

    SaveSave

    SaveSave

    SaveSave

    SaveSaveSaveSave

    SaveSave

    SaveSave

    SaveSave

    SaveSave

    Join my mailing list and get my best learning ideas to nurture a love of learning in your inbox. Join now!

    More Theme Based Learning Activities

    • Printable earth day activities for children
      10 Earth Day Activities for Kids to Nurture A Love for the Environment
    • fun spring activities for kids such as this button bouquet
      15 Spring Activities For Kids to Celebrate the Season
    • Preschool activities for valentine's day
      10 Heartfelt Preschool Activities for Valentine’s Day
    • Fun fall theme preschool activities for kids
      10 Fun & Easy Fall Theme Preschool Activities 

    Sharing is caring!

    17005 shares
    • Share
    • Tweet

    About Fynn

    Fynn is a Math and Science teacher from Singapore, author of The Happy Learning Book for Siblings and founder of Happy Tot Shelf. She helps parents enjoy home learning with their children through her highly popular kids' activity membership, The Happy Learners' Club. Fynn has been featured in various newspapers, websites and on radio shows as an expert in early childhood learning and creative hands-on learning ideas.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Lailah says

      April 12, 2020 at 3:49 pm

      This is one of the best unit themes for toddlers I have come across. The activities are so suited for my sons age (he is 2.5years). Most people suggest activities that are way too advanced. And I have never seen such creative suggestions for an airplane theme. My son absolutely loves planes and I couldn’t think of good enough ideas myself for a unit theme. I’m so happy with this. Thanks so much

      Reply
      • happytotshelf says

        June 06, 2020 at 10:03 am

        I'm so happy to hear that!

        Reply

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Primary Sidebar

    Hi there! I’m Fynn—educator, author, and mom of three. I believe a lifelong love of learning starts at home, and I’m here to help you nurture that spark. Together, let’s create joyful learning experiences that strengthen bonds and inspire curiosity for both you and your little ones!

    More about me →

    Spring Activities for Kids

    • Garden Theme Learning Activities for Kids
      Garden Theme Learning Activities and Learning Shelf
    • fun spring activities for kids such as this button bouquet
      15 Spring Activities For Kids to Celebrate the Season
    • Counting Flowers Activity for Preschoolers
    • Snail Shapes printable activity for children to learn early math
      Snail Shapes Cut and Match Activity

    Popular Posts

    • Fun number activities for kids
      10 Low Prep Number Activities for Preschoolers to Play at Home 
    • Haircut Number Game - A fun counting and cutting activity for preschoolers
      Haircut Number Game - A fun counting and cutting activity for preschoolers
    • Preschoolers learn to read by segmenting and blending CVC words, using this printable activity
      Learn to Read Part 3: CVC Words for Preschoolers
    • Easy printable phonics activities for preschoolers
      Learn to Read Part 1: Hands-On Phonics Activities for Preschoolers 

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • About Fynn
    • Meet the HTS Team
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Disclaimer
    • Terms of Use

    Resources

    • Activity Index
    • Activity Membership
    • Free Printable
    • Learning Space Course

    Buy my books

    • Sibling Activity Book
    • Happy Learning Math Books

    Copyright © 2023 Happy Tot Shelf

    17005 shares