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 ...
Snow and Ice Winter Pom Pom Trees
Now that we're deep into winter, it's time for another seasonal variation on our pipe cleaner trees. These black trees started out as spooky trees for Halloween. Then we added color for Halloween carnival pom pom trees and fall pom pom trees. Now, soft pom pom snow and hard glass gem ice has landed ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
White Christmas Wooden Train Layout
For the final day of Christmas Play Days, I wanted to share a Christmas wooden train layout I surprised the Little Engineer with on his train table last year. I really enjoyed finding little toys around the house that helped set the scene and encourage imaginative play. And I always love adding any ...
Kid-Made Felt Train Ornament
I let the Little Engineer pick what we'd do for our contribution to Mama Miss' 20 Days of a Kid Made Christmas: Ornaments series. Of all the ideas I suggested to him, he was most excited by the idea of making a felt train ornament, so that's what we're doing today! This is an easy craft that kids ...
Review & Activities: The Choo Choo Bob Show Train DVDs for Kids (Giveaway!)
I'm so excited to tell you about a fantastic TV show for kids who love trains: The Choo Choo Bob Show! I first heard about it from a Play Trains! reader over on Facebook, so I was very happy when the generous people at the show contacted me and asked if we'd like to check it out. Even better, ...
Play Dough Train Set
This activity started from a simple question: "Mama, do they make Play-Doh train sets?" We did a quick search on the internet to confirm that no, Play-Doh didn't have a train-making set. Disappointment was just starting to set in when I suggested, "Why don't we make our own play dough train set?" ...
Learning Sprout Toys — Tacoma Toy Store Train Tables
Looking for a great place to take your child to play trains in Tacoma, Washington? Learning Sprout Toys is one of our favorite toy stores, with classic and innovative toys set up to explore everywhere you look. It's well worth the drive down from Seattle to play with their three -- three! -- ...
DIY Wooden Toy Castles for Trains — Thomas & Friends King of the Railway
These DIY wooden toy castles look fantastic with our wooden train tracks, but they were so easy -- and inexpensive! -- to make. This is a fun project to do with a child, teaching them about measurement along the way, or to give as a gift to round out a train collection with a unique piece. And ...
Outdoor Fall Train Play — Fall Invitations to Play
For our final activity in the Fall Invitations to Play series, I saved the simplest invitation of all. It also happens to be the closest to my heart, inspired by something the Little Engineer has done every year since his love of trains began. Fifty years from now, I see myself watching the leaves ...
Learning About Trees with Wooden Train Tracks
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 ...
DIY Troublesome Truck Face Stickers for Wooden Trains
So easy to make, these DIY face stickers for Troublesome Trucks are a great way to add some personality to a child's wooden trains. ...
Famous and Fictional Train Engineer Cards
The idea for this activity came out of nowhere one Saturday morning. I don't remember exactly what we were playing -- something about Casey Jones or another real-life train engineer, no doubt -- but I remember looking at the Little Engineer and saying, "Wouldn't it be cool if someone made trading ...
Sticker Train Craft for Kids
Ever since the Little Engineer was a toddler, I've been obsessed with collecting different sizes, shapes, and colors of color coding stickers to use for art and craft projects. Not just for him -- I enjoy making pictures with them, too! I love how being limited to a few simple shapes brings out ...
Our Train Summer Bucket List
Today we're over at Seattle's Child Weekly, sharing our family's summer bucket list. Which is, of course, ALL about trains. While there are a number of ideas local to the Puget Sound area, no matter where you live, if your child likes trains, you'll find plenty of ideas for your own summer plans. ...
Blowing Color Steam: Relaxation Technique for Children
This relaxation technique for children is based on Dr. Wendy Sue Swanson's recommendation of teaching anxious children to "blow colors" as a tool to calm themselves down. Please visit her wonderful blog, Seattle Mama Doc, to read Help Your Anxious Child: Blow Colors and watch the accompanying ...
Word Family Freight Yard: Reading Practice with Wooden Trains
Today I'm over at Train Up a Child, guest posting an activity I'm really excited about: Word Family Freight Yard! This is a great way to combine reading practice with train play. I've shared several fun variations, so you're sure to find an activity to match your little engineer's reading ...
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.