Attention all passengers, please buckle your seat belts and get ready for an amazing, fun-filled year of traveling! It’s time to pack your bags, print your boarding pass, and grab your passport! That’s right, we’re traveling around the world using Oriental Trading products. This month our school is preparing for travel with our school theme – “The World Is at Your Fingertips”. Throughout the year we are going to travel the world. Our school will be transformed into a new destination! So pack your bags and your passport, too. It’s going to be a fun year for you!
Preparing to Travel Bulletin Board
Get your students excited about your school travel theme by creating a fun, informational bulletin board. I designed a travel logo to go along with our school theme of "The World Is at Your Fingertips." My friend, Nikki, from Melonheadz Illustrating, created a custom image of my principal in a flight attendant uniform. I set the scene by using a number of cardboard stand-ups. The Large Skyscraper Stand-Ups and Awesome Adventure Plane Standup with a personal Up & Away Aisle Runner give it a true airport feel in the school. I decorated the table with a number of informational texts, flags, and pencils for the students to enjoy! All the items used to create this bulletin can be found above.
Preparing to Travel: Activity
We have a number of crafts and activities that align perfectly with our school-wide travel theme. My students loved making these Airplane Headband Craft Kits and filling out their very own Color Your Own All About Me Passports to help them prepare for travel. My students loved drawing a self-portrait of themselves on the passports and identifying their hair and eye color. I plan to use these passports throughout the year as we travel around the world. There are a number of blank pages in the passport book that will allow students to draw pictures of historical landmarks or objects that are well-known in each destination traveled. 
These prepackaged crafts are great for working on fine motor skills. The self-adhesive foam pieces make it easy for children of all ages to independently put them together. 
These DIY Wood Airplane Kits make a perfect addition to your school travel theme. My students enjoyed using Awesome Acrylic Paint Set and Plaid® Paintbrush Super Value Pack to design and decorate their very own aircraft. You can extend this activity by labeling the different parts of a plane.
Where Will We Travel Next?
You might be wondering where our first destination will be. Perhaps you'll just have to wait and see! I'll give you a hint or a picture clue. A "Big Apple" is all I can do.
