While we were creating and playing with the story cups we made for our light boxes, the Little Engineer particularly seemed to enjoy stacking two or three cups to make little scenes -- the sun cup over a blue sky cup, for example. That gave me the idea to make these stacking tree cups for light ...
On the first day of preschool, there's nothing quite like the pride of wearing one's very own backpack. It's even more exciting when it's decorated with one of your favorite things. Here is a collection of super cute train backpacks and train lunch boxes for kids who love trains! ...
I was getting ready to photograph a different portable train set, one we've taken with us many times in the past, when I had an idea. No, a challenge. I managed to fit a train small world in a pencil box, I thought. I would be pretty awesome if I could fit a complete wooden train set in ...
If your child has ever wanted to be able to combine DUPLO or LEGO blocks with wooden train tracks, good news: there's a new product designed to connect tracks and bricks. Dreamup Toys sent us some of their Wooden Railway Block Platforms to test out, and I'm extremely happy to report that they do ...
Whether for Halloween or an afternoon of pretend play, kids love dressing up. When the Little Engineer extended the need for costumes to his stuffed animals, I thought, why should they have all the fun? So I figured out a way to make dress up costumes for his wooden trains as well. It's a fun, ...
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 confidently sharing their own ideas. This page contains ...
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. I couldn't wait to pick out the perfect first wooden train set for my son. As the Little Engineer learned to toddle ...
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 ...
Ice and snow have been a recurring theme in our train play, no matter the season. First we froze toy trains in ice and found many different ways to play with snow (real or pretend) and trains. This summer, we made a train out of ice and sent it whooshing around our deck. The logical next step was to haul…
Mixing baking soda and vinegar is a classic science activity for kids, and once you’ve tried it with your child, it’s easy to understand why. It’s hands-on, safe for young kids, and pretty amazing, especially for a child who has never experienced it before. Last year, I introduced one of the cool baking soda and…
