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Classical Train Music: Encouraging a Child’s Love of Music

Affiliate links are included below for your convenience. When the Little Engineer was tiny, the days turned into weeks, then months, and I never remembered to do some of the things I had planned to do with my baby.  One of those was to surround him with the music we loved in the hope that he'd ...

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Engine Paint Shop — Train Color Matching Activity for Preschoolers

One of my son's favorite things about trains are their "coats of paint."  Along with wearing solid-color shirts as coats of paint that let him become an engine of that color, he especially loves pretending to paint his wooden trains, or Big Engine (his bed).  Knowing this came in handy the last time ...

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Our Latest Wooden Train Layout

Every few weeks, we disassemble the tracks that take up the majority of the open floor space in our living room, vacuum the play mats, and start anew.  The last time this happened, we got off to a bit of a false start.  I deemed my original plan too dangerous due to the likelihood that the Little ...

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Cut the Rope + Wooden Trains = the Candy Train!

The Little Engineer loves Cut the Rope. Months ago, before he figured it out himself, he used to watch Dada play. When the candy would fall off the screen instead of into the adorable green monster's mouth, he'd make Om Nom's sad noise and do a sign he made up that combined the signs for "cry" and ...

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Grass Tracks – an Outdoor, Active, and Imaginative Train Game

Every day, the Little Engineer wakes up with a plan for the day, a plan he strives to stick to.  Generally, ninety-five percent of it is "play trains!"  Play wooden trains indoors, that is.  I know he really enjoys being outside--he's remapped his grandparents' entire backyard as the Island of ...

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The Perfect Wooden Train Play Rug

Ikea has a new Woodland theme for children's bedroom textiles this year, and the play rug is perfect for wooden train layouts. The VANDRING SPÅR rug depicts a woodland stream and the banks on either side of it.   Underneath a wooden track layout--particularly if you span it with bridges--the ...

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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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