It’s holiday time, which, for my family, means travel. We recently drove up to Massachusetts (from Florida) and back. Our minivan traveled across 13 states in a week and, wow, those hours on the road were long!
Our travels included highways, country roads, mountain passes, and crossing railroad tracks where we watched train car after train car pass by. We saw ginormous navy and freight ships, skyways filled with planes landing and taking off, and hundreds of trucks of every size, shape, and color! America is moving…all the time…twenty-four hours a day and seven days a week!
It really has me thinking about transportation and all the people we depend on to get goods we want and need to our stores and our doorsteps. Millions of workers, skilled in so many ways, that ensure we get medicines, nutritious food, building materials, clothes, and, in December particularly…gifts!! It seems as if nearly all of us celebrate in the winter months!
Here is a little song from Jim Henson’s Wilson & Ditch about celebrating winter across the United States.
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Two common themes in winter tradition are eating special foods and giving gifts. While some of us may have farms that provide food, or talents that can make wonderful presents, many more of us will be heading to the grocery stores and shopping centers to purchase items to aid in celebration.
What are some of the tastes that say winter celebration to you? Hot chocolate? Gingerbread?
No matter what treat you like best about the holidays, chances are the ingredients had to travel before they arrived in your kitchen. Let’s think about the different people and the jobs they do in making sure you get the things you want and need every day.
Click here for a fun little matching game to get you thinking about transportation and jobs.
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Do any of your family or friends have jobs that they drive a special vehicle for? I have an uncle that works for the post office, I also have a friend that drives an ambulance, and another friend’s dad is a truck driver! Did you know that you can drive as a career? If you want to drive a truck… there is training for that!
According to the American Trucking Association, “there are approximately 3.6 million professional truck drivers in the United States. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shares “that more than 2 million drive heavy trucks and tractor-trailers, and more than 1.5 million are delivery drivers or driver/sales workers.” Isn’t that amazing?
Driving a truck sometimes involves long hours. Truck drivers can drive up to 14 hours a day. Did you know that the inside of trucks often has a place to sleep? Some trucks even have a bathroom! This photo shows the inside of a Kenworth driving cab.
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If you are traveling for the holidays, or just even driving around town doing errands, see how many vehicles you spot carrying things both big and small around you. How many different trucks, ships, train cars, police cars, mail carriers, and firetrucks can you find? What do you notice about them? Can you imagine yourself behind the wheel? What kind of vehicle would you like to drive?
We challenge you to create a secret picture of your dream transportation vehicle. Here is our friend Nora sharing how to create a secret picture with just a few materials:
https://www.njtvonline.org/programs/camp-tv/secret-picture-zgixht/
We wish you all safe travels during this holiday season! If you create a secret picture, send it to us at education@wfsu.org. We’d love to share it with our readers.