Doing a transportation theme? Change the pretend center into an Auto Shop Dramatic Play area! Your students will LOVE pretending to be a mechanic. Plus, it’s super easy to embed a ton of math, literacy, science, and STEM learning experiences into their play!
Grab the Auto Shop Dramatic Play Unit and these other great transportation-themed resources: Transportation Math & Literacy Centers, Transportation STEM, and Transportation Directed Drawings.
This post contains affiliate links, which means I earn a tiny commission when you use my links at no cost to you.
Auto Shop Dramatic Play
Auto Shop Dramatic Play! In my classroom, we use a center theme for about a month. I slowly add props all month long to keep students engaged and excited. We also read books and watch YouTube videos of mechanics to build background knowledge. This photo was taken at the end of our Auto Shop theme in my full-day classroom. I was able to have 2 cars to work on for more students.
Auto Shop Dramatic Play! This photo was from my half-day classroom, and I was only able to fit one car, but I had fewer students, so it worked out.
Cars on Lifts at the Auto Shop! Students can help make many of the props for the Dramatic Play Center. We made our cars out of boxes! It was simple. First, we cut off one side flap and taped the box closed. Next, we cut a hole and taped one side of the flap to the top to create the hood. Be sure to tape only one side so students can open and close the hood. I cut holes in the bottom for students to stick “parts” and wires through. We also made “lifts” using hollow blocks or trash cans, so students could roll under the car on a scooter board just like a real mechanic! So FUN!
Auto Shop Mechanics! Students can really use their imagination in the auto shop while they work on the cars! Here are some of the things that students can do:
- Rotate the tires
- Swap out the headlights and tail lights
- Change the oil
- Add fluids
- Install new parts and wires
- Fill out mechanic reports & customer pages
- Paint the car
- Change the battery
- Problem solve what is wrong with the car
- Read books in the waiting area
- Work collaboratively to fix the vehicle
Mechanic’s Workbench! Don’t worry about buying a ton of props for this theme. Grab a few tools from the blocks center and some funnels and goggles from the Science center. The rest of the items I made or found around my house. Keep reading for more details below!
Vehicle Fluid Bottles! You can make your own fluid bottles! Put water and food coloring in a few empty soap bottles. Then, hot glue and tape the lid on. Now students can pretend to fill the windshield washer fluid, engine fluid, brake fluid, and power steering fluid!
Auto Shop Parts, Tires, Paint & Oil! Need car parts? Have students make their own car parts using items from the classroom.
- tail lights and headlights are pieces of poster board with Velcro
- tires in various sizes are poster board with Velcro
- parts are items from the classroom wrapped in foil (paper plates, cardboard tubes, kitchen utensils)
- cardboard tubes that the students colored
- pieces of tubing
- bungee cords (you can find these at the dollar store)
- paint swatches, paint brushes, and an empty paint can
- craft wire or pipe cleaners in the blue bowl
- a battery made out a cardboard box
- an oil jug- Now, I know you are wondering about the oil….. It is empty! I washed it out as best I could and hot-glued the lid on just to be safe.
Auto Shop Tools, Parts, Fluids & Shirts! Grab tools from your block center, or grab a set from the dollar store. Need mechanic shirts? Fill empty bottles with colored water for the vehicle fluids. Find or buy a pack of plain white shirts and just smear black paint on the shirt, and you have mechanic shirts! Easy! For the parts, students laced beads and pieces of paper on pipe cleaners or wrapped them in foil.
Auto Shop Mechanics! My little mechanics LOVED fixing the cars, AND students collaborated and problem-solved together during play! There were so many conversations with science and math vocabulary happening! Students could get under the cars on the scooters, which was great for their gross motor muscles. They would put wires and parts through the holes that I cut in the bottom of the car. The mechanics could paint the car, change out the headlights, and tail lights. I included different-sized funnels to add in more math talk, too!
Auto Shop Mechanics! Craft wire worked great for students to push through the car sides to rewire the lights or parts in the vehicle. This was really good fine motor work! The mechanics would fill out the mechanic’s report for the customer. I also had a variety of tire sizes so students could practice sorting and matching small, medium, and large objects. The students were so creative using the parts that they created!
Auto Shop Receptionist Desk! This is our receptionist desk, complete with a cash register, appointment book, and auto shop forms. The waiting room was next to it, so customers had a place to wait while their cars were being fixed. Customers could read books while they waited. This picture was taken from the full-day classroom. We did not include prices on the menu, but students wrote the selections.
Auto Shop Receptionist Desk! This photo was taken in my half-day classroom, and the students were older, so we included prices on the menu. This way, more math was incorporated with counting money, writing receipts, and paying for their auto services.
Auto Shop Mechanics’ Desk! The mechanics also had a desk to look up parts on the computer. This is where they completed their reports and worked together to figure out what was wrong with the customer’s vehicles. The students were developing so many great skills, like problem-solving, working together, increasing vocabulary, and sharing any background knowledge they had. Set out an old keyboard to add in more literacy exposure!
Literacy Skills in the Auto Shop! I just love to sneak in tons of literacy experiences into their play. Students don’t even realize they are learning and doing work! Students helped make the signs for the Auto Shop. I created mechanic reports and customer information pages for students to fill out during play to embed more reading and writing.
More Literacy in the Auto Shop! In the waiting room, there is a book bucket for customers to read while they wait. There is also an appointment book! The receptionist could practice writing peers’ names and talking about times. There is an open and closed sign that the students helped make.
Auto Shop Math & Science Experiences! It’s super easy to add math experiences into the Auto Shop, too. I made the tires different sizes, so students had to match the tires. Students are exploring time and identifying numbers when they make appointments, pay, and use the cash register! So much science and STEM exploration too!
Auto Shop Math & Science Experiences! Students can talk about colors, states of matter, and things that cars need to run properly while they play. Different-sized funnels lend themselves to math talk like larger, smaller, etc. At the receptionist desk, students can practice numbers, time, and money.
Auto Shop Information Web! You can do this activity before, during, or after your auto shop/ transportation theme. I give each student a transportation book to read and look at. Afterwards, we talked about the things they saw. Then I give each student an index card or post it note to scribble, write, or draw a kind of vehicle, person, or part in the auto shop.
Want ALL the Auto Shop printables? Go grab Auto Shop Dramatic Play HERE. I have everything made for you, including labels, signs, parent letter, teacher idea pages, prop patterns, prop lists, and more in this pack!
Go read about all my favorite transportation-themed centers and activities HERE. Plus, grab my FREE road number mats too!
Check out this video of the auto shop dramatic play area.
Love this post? Pin this image now!
hey, i’m jackie!
I’m Jackie, your go-to girl for early childhood inspiration and research-based curriculum.
