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Sand Tracks: Train Beach Activity Inspired by Peter’s Railway

Sand Tracks: Learning with Trains at the Beach @ Play Trains! This activity combines art, science, and sensory play, demonstrating one of the technical pages between chapters in the first book of the Peter's Railway series. These books are perfect for train-loving children of any age!

Today, I have two things to share with you: a fun beach activity that combines creativity, science, and sensory play, and the inspiration for it, a great series of train books for kids of any age! From what I've seen, it can be difficult to find many books about trains that will appeal to ...

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Summer Fun for Kids: Pool Noodle Train Tracks

Pool Noodle Train Tracks: Summer Train Fun for Kids @ Play Trains! Kids can build these train tracks, then add a sprinkler to cool off in an "engine wash."

The sunshine that keeps breaking through our familiar Seattle clouds has been putting thoughts of summer fun in my head.  At the same time, the lure of playing wooden trains is hard for the Little Engineer to resist. We often take the trains outside and play with them on a picnic mat in the ...

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Waterproof Play Pictures: Flower Train

Waterproof Play Pictures: Flower Train @ Play Trains! How to make photo play pieces for water play and messy play, plus a little parenting wisdom gained along the way.

When I made these laminated train pieces, I wasn't planning to incorporate them in water play. But now that we've happened upon that use for them, I can't wait to make more!  These waterproof play pictures are great for both bath time and all kinds of water or messy play. Next time, though, I'm ...

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Toy Surfboard Craft for Kids

Toy Surfboard Summer Craft for Kids from Play Trains!

This surfboard craft for kids is a great way to bring favorite toys into water play. The Little Engineer had so much fun pretending his toys were really surfing! Plus there's a lot of hands-on science going on, as kids try to get the toys to stand up on their surfboards. It would also be fun to make ...

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More Summer Train Activities →

Old Tracks, New Tricks by Jessica Petersen

Old Tracks, New Tricks by Jessica Petersen: a wooden train picture book that inspires creative play!

Old Tracks, New Tricks, is a story about three little wooden train tracks who shake up an old wooden train set. But it's so much more than that. It's a way to inspire children to invent new fun with their old favorite toys, and to value and celebrate the creativity of others at the same time as ...

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Design Your Own LEGO Wooden Train

An easy, temporary way to turn any wooden train into a LEGO train. A fun design project for kids from Play Trains!

Early on, the Little Engineer developed an interest in designing his own wooden trains. I've often wished that LEGO made a train that was compatible with wooden train tracks, but could be customized with any LEGO bricks he wanted to use. The answer was to make our own LEGO wooden train hybrid! By ...

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Portable Small World: Pretend Model Train Set

Portable Small World: Pretend Model Train Set @ Play Trains! Come see how big the Little Engineer grinned the first time he put together this DIY train set you can take along to play anywhere!

Safari Ltd. generously provided us with a Train Toob to try out. No positive review was required and all my opinions and observations are, as always, my own. When Safari Ltd. offered to send us a Train Toob, the Little Engineer was so excited I knew I had to do something special with it.  I had ...

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More Favorite Train Activities →

The Play Trains! Guide to the Best Wooden Train Sets 2021

The Play Trains! Guide to Wooden Train Sets: expert advice on the best wooden train set to buy for your little engineer.

Searching for the best wooden train set for your child? I've turned my expert eye on the wooden train sets that currently on the market so that you can make an informed choice. A train set can sound good on paper, but there's nothing like hands-on play to tell you whether it's going to be the right ...

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Wooden Train Tracks — The Play Trains! Ultimate Wooden Train Guide

The Play Trains! Ultimate Wooden Train Guide -- Wooden Train Track: expert advice and product recommendations

If you traveled back in time to my son's toddler days, you would find us on his bedroom floor, surrounded by wooden train tracks. My son: the one clutching at train in his chubby toddler fist as he ran its wheels down the almost-finished track. Me: the one building my masterpiece railway at ...

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Two Color Oil and Water Discovery Bottles

KID SAFE Two-Color Oil and Water Discovery Bottles @ Play Trains! http://play-trains.com/two-color-oil-and-water-discovery-bottles/ These vibrant discovery bottles contain no lamp oil, using all edible ingredients to make them safe for young children to make themselves!

These vibrant oil and water discovery bottles contain no lamp oil, using all edible ingredients. This makes them a safe science activity for preschoolers to make on their own! We found some fun train-related things to include in our bottle, but you could make them with any (or no) theme in mind. The Little Engineer…

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Learning About Trees with Wooden Train Tracks

Tree Track: Learning About Trees with Wooden Train Tracks @ Play Trains! http://play-trains.com/ The Little Engineer, at 2.5 years old, was enthralled with the whole process for a good hour and a half, and learning about art, biology, and planning and executing a project the whole time! Based on the art installation, "Tree Track", by Christien Meindertsma.

As I was watching the Little Engineer buzz up and down today’s special layout in his room, I realized we somehow managed to learn about art, biology, planning and executing a project, and gross and fine motor skills, all with a pile of wooden train tracks. If I hadn’t already been excited about the results,…

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More Science Activities with Trains →

Jessica Petersen, author of Old Tracks, New Tricks
Hi, I'm Jessica! We're so happy you've climbed aboard the Play Trains! express. Next stop: a trainload of fun and learning for your little engineer!

Our Book!

The Play Trains Ultimate Wooden Train Guide: The Best Wooden Train Tables for Toddlers and Preschoolers

Best Train Tables — The Ultimate Wooden Train Guide

Copyright

Copyright © 2012 - 2023 Jessica Petersen, All Rights Reserved. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Disclosure

Some product links on this site are affiliate links for products we think are worth checking out. The owner of this website is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program and the Lego Brand Retail Affiliate Program. Read our the rest of our disclosure policy here.
A simple trick to give Lego minifigs a way to ride wooden trains -- from Play Trains!

Lego Minifigures and Wooden Trains: Tips and Tricks

Dress Up Costumes for Toy Trains from Play Trains! A fun way to decorate wooden trains (or other toy trains) without damaging them.

Dress Up Costumes for Wooden Trains

Parents' Guide to Building with Dreamup Toys Wooden Railway Block Platforms -- how to combine your child's wooden train track and DUPLO, LEGO, or other interlocking building blocks!

Building with Dreamup Toys Wooden Railway Block Platforms

Our Train Videos on YouTube

About Me

Hi, I'm Jessica! While playing trains for the last several years, my Little Engineer and I have had a lot of fun and learned so much together. I'm excited to share our discoveries with other people who have kids who love trains in their lives.

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Recent Posts

  • Best Train Sets for Toddlers
  • The Play Trains! Guide to the Best Wooden Train Sets 2021
  • The Best Battery-Powered Wooden Trains
  • Wooden Track Veggie Stack: a Wooden Train Activity
  • 55+ Creative Train Gift Ideas for Kids that Will Make You a Hero

Copyright © 2012 - 2018 by Jessica Petersen