I love reading holiday-themed books with the Little Engineer. He often requests the best ones all year round, and train-themed books have been especially popular. (No suprise there, of course!) Here is a list of all the Easter train books for kids we've been able to get our hands on. ...
Cherry Blossom Tunnel: Spring Outdoor Activity for Kids
We planted a flowering cherry tree in our backyard when we bought our house several years ago. Somehow, when we weren't looking, it grew into a towering, graceful friend who gives us much needed shade and privacy all summer long. It's easy to forget about the tree in the winter, with it's long ...
St. Patrick’s Day Freight for Wooden Trains
The Little Engineer and I started celebrated St. Patrick's Day with our trains by decorating a few engines and making some new freight. Here are several easy ideas for ways to incorporate the holiday into any kind of toy train play. ...
Easy DIY Valentine Freight for Wooden Trains
Here's one of my favorite things the Little Engineer and I came up with for the Valentine's Day in Vicarstown layout: DIY valentine freight to load into the Troublesome Trucks! I was just going for visual effect when I started on these easy-to-make felt hearts, but they have a nice, firm, and fuzzy ...
Valentine Counting Activity with Thomas and Friends
When the Little Engineer and I adapted Valentine's Day in Vicarstown into a storytelling wooden train layout, we read the book several times in the process. So when I started to set up this valentine counting activity based on the same book, the Little Engineer knew exactly what we were doing -- ...
Valentine’s Day in Vicarstown: Book Review and Wooden Train Layout
The Little Engineer and I enjoy taking what we read and acting it out in play. Often, this means playing it out with our wooden trains. (Big shock, I know.) I think there's a lot to be learned from adapting a book to another form of storytelling. Also, we're hoping the photos of our layout might be ...
DIY Engineer Stripe Heart Pendants – Train Gifts
These paper clay heart pendants are really fun and -- surprisingly easy -- to make. I really enjoyed painting them with engineer stripes and other train-themed designs, including Thomas the Tank Engine himself. And the Little Engineer made his own version of the heart pendants, which he proudly gave ...
Snow for Wooden Train Layouts
Of all the kinds of scenery we've come up with to decorate our wooden train layouts, my favorite is most definitely snow. Not only is it pretty, but it's also interactive: trains can plow through the snow on the tracks, or haul it around in freight cars. It also is perfect for inspiring new story ...
Felt Valentine Train Play Set — Valentine’s Day Craft
The Little Engineer and I have had a lot of fun with felt trains in the past. I'll do a more complete tutorial on our super easy Thomas & Friends set in the future, but this felt valentine train is just as fun, if not more so. I love playing with it because the colors are so striking and ...
Train Valentines
Looking for train valentines for your little engineer to hand out? I had a hard time getting train valentines the first year I looked for them, so I tracked down as many as I possibly could to share here. Here are some great train Valentine's Day cards available online, and a list of free printable ...
Wooden Train Ski Jump — Winter Olympics Activities for Kids
I kept my first two activities for the Winter Play Days series intentionally simple because I knew I was gearing up for something epic: wooden train ski jumping in honor of the Winter Olympics! This one activity has caused a huge surge in the Little Engineer's interest in the Olympics, winter ...
Pretend Snow Sensory Play with Trains
For our first post for the Winter Play Days series, we took our trains out to play in real snow. Today's play idea is a way to echo that experience any time of the year with pretend snow for a fun sensory activity with a little science thrown in. I'll share a few tips for using pretend snow with toy ...
Thomas Gets a Snowplow: Wooden Train Book Activity for Kids
I'm glad that there are a few children's books about trains in the snow that focus on winter rather than the holidays. Not that the Little Engineer minds reading books out of season, but it's nice that there are a few stories that are set in winter without Christmas coming into the picture. Thomas ...
Winter Train Play in the Snow
Here we are at the beginning of another fun series of seasonal play ideas: Winter Play Days! This week, we're teaming up with Fun-a-Day!, Fantastic Fun and Learning, Nothing if Not Intentional, My Nearest and Dearest, and Buggy and Buddy to share some great winter activities for kids. For our first ...
Top DIY Train Projects for Kids 2013
I'm back with one last list of our most popular posts from 2013: our top DIY train projects for kids! Other than the stuffed animal engineer hats, these are all projects to make for or with kids for their wooden train sets. We've even used the mini light boxes with our wooden trains. Most of the ...
Train Engineer Snowman
Nothing is more magical than a child's first snowman. However, sometimes there's a way to make it just a bit more magical for that particular child. In the Little Engineer's case, that magic came in the form of an invitation that required no words to explain: a spare engineer's hat and a baby ...
Top Train Crafts for Kids 2013
I had so much fun putting the Top Train Activities for Kids 2013 post together I decided not to stop there. Here are our top 10 train craft posts from the past year, with ideas that will suit every child: toddlers, preschoolers, school-age children, and up! Many of these crafts can be made by kids ...
Top Train Activities for Kids 2013
As 2013 comes to a close, it's been fun to look back on all the articles I've written for Play Trains! and see which ones were the most popular with you, our readers. I've loved hearing from many of you throughout the year as the fun we've had in our train adventures has inspired play time in homes ...
Coal-Black Chocolate Cupcakes
These are the most chocolatey, moist, and delicious cupcakes I've ever made or tasted. But what makes them extra fun -- whether for a Christmas treat or a train-loving kid's birthday party -- is that thanks to the type of cocoa powder we used, they're as black as coal! ...
Train Gifts for Preschoolers: Toys, Books, and More
If you're looking for a gift for a train-loving preschooler, you're in luck. I've searched far and wide for interesting train books, toys, videos, and other gifts to feed my preschool-aged son's passion for trains, and I've found a ton of cool stuff. Buying a first train set? Looking for building ...
Marble Run Train Play: Quarry Cargo Drop
One of our favorite ways to keep train play interesting is to combine our wooden trains with building toys. I've been wanting to incorporate our marble run into a train layout for a long time, and -- finally! -- we set aside an afternoon to figure it out. After learning through trial and error, the ...
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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.