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BRIO My First Railway Beginner Pack Train Set -- The Play Trains! Guide to Wooden Train Sets: expert advice on the best wooden train set to buy for your little engineer.

Best Train Sets for Toddlers

Toddlerhood is often the time when children receive their first ever train set. But it's also a time when -- between choking hazards and fine motor development -- they're too young for many of the train sets that seem to be absolutely made for them, especially wooden train sets. Fortunately, over ...

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

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

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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The Best Battery-Powered Wooden Trains

So many kids (and their grown-ups) have watched a poor battery-operated wooden train shake and strain and struggle just to get stuck halfway up a wooden train track hill. In the grinding of that little engine's wheels, you can almost hear I think I can, I think I can, I think I can...even as it ...

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55+ Creative Train Gift Ideas for Kids that Will Make You a Hero

Looking for the perfect train gift for a child? Below you'll find some of my best -- and most creative -- gift ideas for kids who love trains! The great thing about buying a present for a kid who loves trains is that you know exactly what to get: More trains! But in those two simple words -- ...

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Handcrafted, realistic wooden trains: a review of Whittle Shortline Railroad

Whittle Shortline Railroad Review: Realistic Wooden Trains

Does your child like real trains? The bright colors and friendly faces found on many wooden trains appeal to a lot of children, but there are also plenty of kids who really want their toys to look like the real thing. And if you're looking for wooden trains that truly look like real trains -- or ...

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Dreamup Toys Wooden Train Set with DUPLO-compatible Block Platforms

Dreamup Toys Wooden Train Set Review

Children love to combine their DUPLO blocks and LEGO bricks with their wooden train sets. But, if you've ever tried it in your home or classroom, you probably have had the same experience we did, with the tracks sliding off the blocks and bricks. That's why I thought Dreamup Toys block platforms ...

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

Best Train Tables — The Ultimate Wooden Train Guide

Along with wooden train sets, wooden train tables are a classic feature in the children's playroom at home and the preschool classroom. It can be hard, however, to get an idea of all the options that are out there -- after all, I consider myself a pretty expert train stuff finder at this point, and ...

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

Old Tracks, New Tricks by Jessica Petersen

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

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

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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A Play Trains! Guide to Train Gifts for Toddlers: Toys, Books, and More

Train Gifts for Toddlers

When I wrote Train Gifts for Toddlers as part of the 50+ Gift Guides for Kids series last year, it was the first post in a series of train gift guides for children organized by age. Now fully updated, it contains even more amazing toy trains, train books, and other train gifts for toddlers! ...

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Do you really need a train table? Honest advice and the pros and cons of train tables from a wooden train expert and mom. http://play-trains.com/

Do You Need a Train Table? — The Play Trains! Ultimate Wooden Train Guide

Do you need a train table? The best decision regarding whether a train table is worth the cost and the space will be different for every family and school. So let's go through the pros and cons of train tables, things I've learned through lots of experience and through talking with other parents and ...

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Temporary alternatives to gluing wooden train tracks down to a wooden train table, recommended by Play Trains!

Alternatives to Gluing Wooden Train Tracks to a Train Table

Many parents decide that gluing wooden train tracks to their child's train table is the way to go. If you've ever watched a toddler playing with a wooden train set -- tracks being pulled apart, bridges getting knocked over, the child getting frustrated, and parents rebuilding the layout over and ...

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Train Gifts for Kids: Pink Trains, Train Sets, and Train Accessories

Pink Train Sets, Toy Trains, and Gifts for Kids

Girls can play with any color of trains, and boys can play with any color of trains -- plain and simple! I consider all of the trains I recommend here on Play Trains! to be for both boys and girls. However, while one shouldn't assume that trains for girls have to be pink, if a girl likes the color, ...

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Christmas Train Books for Kids: a big list of holiday books for children who love trains, including suggestions for festive train activities to accompany the books!

Christmas Train Books for Kids

If there's one type of train books for kids I've delighted in collecting more than the others, it's been Christmas train books. I've been looking forward to sharing this list of holiday books for young railroad enthusiasts for a long time, and here it is. I've also included suggested activities for ...

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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

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 ...

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Best Wooden Train Set Recommendations from Play Trains! -- UK Edition

Our Guide to the Best Wooden Train Sets UK Edition

Whether you're looking for a first train set or looking to add another major addition to an existing wooden train collection, I've turned my expert eye on the wooden train sets that are currently available in the UK so that you can make an informed choice. From small beginner's sets to fun themed ...

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Train Advent Calendar Gifts: tiny toy trains and small train gifts to fill your little engineer's advent calendar.

Train Advent Calendar Gifts

When the Little Engineer was three years old, I had so much fun filling his advent calendar with train-themed advent calendar gifts. If you're looking for train gifts for your child's advent calendar, here is a big list of options for tiny train treasures: small Thomas & Friends trains, little ...

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Big Ticket Train Gifts for Kids -- great gift ideas for wow-factor birthday or Christmas presents for little engineers!

Big Ticket Train Gifts for Kids

Whether you're looking for that main birthday gift or the biggest present under the Christmas tree, celebrating a milestone or just looking to add something irresistible to the play room, this list of big ticket train gifts for kids has plenty of ideas for you! You'll find ideas for toddlers, ...

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The Play Trains! Ultimate Wooden Train Guide -- Freight Cars

Wooden Train Freight Cars — The Play Trains! Ultimate Wooden Train Guide

One of the most common questions I get is, "Where do you find all of the freight cars for your wooden trains?" And it's no wonder, because many of our wooden train activities make use of freight cars to hold seasonal objects, sensory and learning materials, and other fun stuff. Here, I'll answer the ...

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Back to School: Train Backpacks, Lunch Boxes, and More!

Back to School: Train Backpacks and Lunch Boxes

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! ...

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Train Easter Egg Fillers recommended by Play Trains!

Train-Themed Easter Egg Fillers

When it came time to plan for the Little Engineer's first egg hunt, he'd had only had a few tastes of chocolate, and no other candy to speak of (still hasn't had any, I don't think, though he does seem to think chocolate should be a food group).  So while my own fond childhood memories of Easter ...

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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!

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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.
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!

Portable Small World: Pretend Model Train Set

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

Design Your Own LEGO Wooden Train

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.

Learning About Trees with Wooden Train Tracks

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