Boat theme for 2 year olds: a week of activities
A boat theme lesson plan for 2 year olds: what a day looks like, then the week's circle time (about five minutes, standing up for the song), books, craft, song, snack, letter and outside time, each with what changes at this age.
A day of the boat theme with 2 year olds
- Arrival, hands washed, free play.
- Circle (about five minutes): hello song, then “What makes a boat float?” and sing “rub-a-dub-dub”.
- Craft with a grown-up pouring and cutting: foil boat.
- Snack: Kiwi Turtles.
- Outside: row the boat.
- Read Chip and the Shell, the same book again tomorrow.
- Rest, then color the letter B picture page.
Boat circle time
- Good morning song, then say each name together.
- Calendar: the day, the date and the weather.
- Ask: “What makes a boat float?”
- Sing: Rub-a-Dub-Dub.
- Read: Chip and the Shell (level 2).
Twos: about five minutes; stand up for the song.
Boat theme books
- Chip and the Shell (level 2, free on peabody.kids): Life by the water.
- Kip and the Crab (level 3, free on peabody.kids): A day at the water's edge.
- Fish in a Dish (level 2, free on peabody.kids): Water and a fish.
- Ben and the Puddle Boat (read aloud, level 6): A read-aloud: making a boat for a puddle.
Boat craft: Foil boat
You need (5): a square of foil, a paper sail, a craft stick, tape, a tub of water.
- Fold the foil edges up into a boat.
- Tape the sail to the stick and stand it in the boat.
- Float it, then add little balls of play dough until it sinks.
With a grown-up. No heat, nothing hot.
Twos: a grown-up pours the paint and holds the glue.
Boat song: Rub-a-Dub-Dub
The words
Rub-a-dub-dub, Three men in a tub, And who do you think they be? The butcher, the baker, The candlestick-maker; Turn them out, knaves all three!
Traditional; public domain. From Top 52 nursery rhymes with lyrics.
Boat snack
Kiwi Turtles from the Peabody Kitchen: picture steps, allergy swaps and safety lines on the recipe.
Letter B activities
BbB is for boat. Print the two pages (a trace page and a color page).
Twos: the picture page only; color it and say the word.
Outside activity: Row the boat
Sit in pairs facing each other, hold hands and row back and forth while you sing.
Boat theme for toddlersBoat theme for 3 and 4 year oldsBoat theme, all ages
Checked 2026-10-30