What kid hasn’t been fascinated by a loud plane flying overhead? When we travel, airplanes are hands down my twins’ favorite way to go. They love everything about airplanes from their huge size and fascinating cockpits to their funky seat belts and tray tables.

This week we went on a quick flight back to the Midwest. I pulled out some airplane themed activities to build on their excitement. Using our favorite book about airplanes, one of our all time favorite games for preschoolers, and some fun manipulatives and movement we had a blast learning about numbers and zooming like airplanes.

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Learning Numbers with Airplanes

Learning numbers is a complicated task. Preschoolers are busy trying to learn the order to say the numbers, how to recognize each number in print, how to count objects one at a time, and how to put all of those things together. If you think about it – it is a lot to figure out. Games like this help make it fun.

Materials:

Flight 1-2-3 by Maria Van Lieshout
Pretend Airplanes (optional)
Manipulatives to use as cargo
Number Cards (Handwritten is also fine)
2 Dice (we like these big ones)

Read: Flight 1-2-3

This beautifully illustrated book by Maria van Lieshout is one of our favorites about plane rides. It walks you through a trip on an airplane from arriving at the airport and going through security to flying on the plane. I love that it tells you the steps of air travel so you can talk about them and prepare your child. Lieshout has also integrated some fun counting opportunities in the story as well. A fun counting book for kids who love to travel or are just a fan of airplanes. Find on Amazon.

You May Also Like: 10+ Picture Books about Airplanes to Read Before You Take Flight

Play: Flying Cargo Numbers Game

I got this idea from one of our favorite board games, the Busytown Airport Game which is completely fabulous for preschoolers. (You can see all 8 of our favorite games for preschoolers here!) In the game, you roll a dice and practice recognizing and counting 1 and 2 as you load up passengers. When you fly to the different destinations you also practice recognizing and counting cargo. It is a super fun game and my kids cannot get enough.

The only downside is that my kids have graduated to bigger numbers and those aren’t included in the game. Enter our Cargo Numbers Game.

To Set Up:

Gather a variety of manipulatives. I used teddy bears, teddy bear chairs, dinosaurs, and some gems. Choices are good. Also gather dice, number cards, and pretend airplanes.

To Play:

Pick the youngest to start. We played a non-competitive version of this game. Feel free to change the game so that each person is working to transport the most cargo.

1. On your turn, you will roll both dice and figure out what number you rolled. (Note: if you are playing with younger preschoolers feel free to play with only 1 die to make the numbers easier until they are mastered)
2. Find the corresponding number card (this is the number recognition piece). We called the cards our Airplane Cargo Tickets.
3. Once you have your ticket, you will need to load up on cargo. Choose what you want to carry and load it on your plane. If you are playing without an airplane, feel free to load up a bowl, other container, or just your hand.
4. Fly your cargo to their destination. We used the destinations from the Busy Town Airport Game and put them around the house for a little extra gross motor movement.
5. Keep your ticket. If someone else rolls the same number then they have to keep rolling until they get one of the numbers that is still available.
6. When all the numbers are used up play stops. To find a winner there are a few options as mentioned above. We play without winners. At the end of the game, we simply count the cargo at each destination to figure out which got the most and least. We count all together and my kids get excited about the BIG numbers. You could also each have an assigned destination and then compare at the end to see who transported the most cargo.

However you play, this game offers lots of opportunities for working with numbers and between the movement and the airplanes and the dice rolling my preschoolers thought it was a great time.

More Airplane Unit Ideas

Styrofoam Cup Airplane Craft from Playdough and Popsicles

Exciting Reading List of Airplane Children’s Books from Crafty Mama in ME

Airplane Crafts for Kids from Look! We’re Learning!

Airplane Board Books for Toddlers from The Jenny Evolution

Airplane Travel from iGameMom

Airplane Preschool Printables from Living Life and Learning

Airplane Color by letter Sight Words from Mrs. Karle’s Sight and Sound Reading

Airplane High Frequency Words from Adventures of Adam

Clothespin Airplane Engineering Challenge from Schooling a Monkey