We do this for our dinosaur theme. I have a few of the kids bury the dinosaurs and then a few of them dig them up. Teachers give each child a piece of sandpaper, a piece of wallpaper, and a crayon or marker. Let the children color on the sandpaper and the wallpaper. Next, talk about how different the papers feel and how their pictures are different.
Teachers make finger-paint by adding food coloring to vanilla pudding.
Allow the children to play for an extended amount of time. Lay out newspaper and let the kids color the boxes and help them add the wheels to the train. Then with the help of another adult put together the train with fasteners. The Rainbow Resource Room has a Transportation Activity Theme and for songs, fingerplays and nursery rhymes about trains go to Rhymes for Transportation Themes. We take the animals and some playdough then pretend the animals are hungry and the playdough is the grass.