Train Books

We just finished up T is for Trains Unit. Little Bit loved playing and reading about trains. Below is a list of books that we read as we learned all about trains. There are fiction and non-fiction books included on the list. Little Bit enjoyed the non-fiction as much as the fictional books. The books range from ACB books, rhyming, informational, and classic story books.

The Little Engine that Could is a classic story. Little Bit loved the story and that the train was a big helper. Totally Tots has a few ideas that you can use when reading the book.

Trains Steaming! Pulling! Huffing! This is a book that shows what a train does and its parts.

Steam Train, Dream Train perfect for bedtime story time.

The Goodnight Train is another fun book to read as your little one is getting ready to go to sleep.

Seymour Simon's Book of Trains is full of facts that older kids will love. Little Bit enjoyed looking at the pictures and matching the train pictures to trains she found in other books.

Train Trip is about a little boy that takes the train to visit his grandfather.

I'm Fast! A train races a car to Chicago. Check out the book to see who is the fastest.

The Train Goes Clickety-Clack is a fun book to read and listen to the sounds a train makes. The book also explains what the train does.

All Aboard ABC This non-fiction book was Little Bits favorite. She loved the pictures and explained to me what she had seen on Thomas that was in the book. Bonus - it is an ABC book!

Hey Mr. Choo-Choo Where Are You Going? This book have a great rhyme to it and fun pictures.

Freight Train is a simple read with bright color cars. I enjoy the pictures in this book, they are so bright and gives the feel they are moving. You can also find lots of ideas to use with this book at Virtual Book Club for Kids. 

 All Aboard! is a easy read with great pictures of real trains. Little Bit liked the pictures and the sounds the of the train you make as you are reading.

Trains, Cranes and Troublesome Trucks is one of many Thomas the Train books you can read. Thomas the train is a favorite of Little Bit. This is a story about the troublesome trucks that cause the trains to wreck.

Prairie Train is a sweet story about a little girl taking a train across the prairie to visit her grandmother in the city. The story has a rhyme and good description of all the things that happen on the train ride. As we read this book Little Bit talked about how she rides in a car to see Grandma not a train. For older kids you can discuss how train rides were different in the past compared to train rides now.


There are many more train books that are available that were not included in the list. I would love to know what books are your favorite. What train book does your little one love?

T is for Train

 

 

Little Bit is in a train phase. After lunch and before quiet time she watches one show and everyday she picks Thomas. So, instead of T is for Turtles like I planned we did T is for Trains. My little girl has been a tomboy since she was born, no princesses or dresses for her, it is Cars, dirt and blocks. I can't blame her though I would rather wear a t-shirt and flip-flops than high heels and lipstick. Like mother, like daughter. :) 

 

As we learned about trains we read lots of train books. Check out our list of train books, 14 Book About Trains.

I created a box train from a few boxes we had from our move. The idea for a big train came from {kidlist} activities for little kids. The train that she made is incredible! I did not make a train as large or colorful as hers but it was perfect for Little Bit.

 

My husband cut windows and a door out of the front box, I added a small box to the front, and a chimmey with white smoke. For the cars in the back I used two small boxes that we connected with a small strip of cardboard between get section. Black wheels and a yellow light was added to finish the train off. The train moves easily when pushed. Little Bit pushes it all over the house saying, "chugga-chugga, choo-choo!"

Now, how can you have a train with no track??? Well, a roll of masking tape created a perfect track. The track runs through our living room, dining room and playroom to create a complete circle. Little Bit LOVES the track! She rides her small scooter, pushes her train and with Daddy races the track on foot.

You can also added railroad signs to your track area. Check out these signs found online you can use.   Free Printable Railroad Crossing Signs -  Sign 1  Sign 2

Little Bit wanted to decorate her train right away. She added a face and then used markers and paint to color on it. This was her favorite activity this week, she loved making her train pretty. Please excuse the PJ's, they are Little Bits favorite and she decided to wear her PJ's on this day.

I found a fun idea for a train book at 1+1+1=1. The book she created was set up a bit differently. I decided to make ours like a real book and added a few extra pages that I found at TeacherPayTeachers as park of a train packet. Little Bit put the book together and was excited to play with each page.

Page 1 - Thomas and Friends book 
Page 2 - Thomas Shape Match Up. I drew the shapes on the page so that Little Bit could 
               match the shapes. 
Page 3 - Color Train coloring book. 
Page 4 - Thomas Number Book. 
Page 5 - Thomas Number Puzzle. 
Page 6 - Practice page for tracing. 

The following blogs have great train ideas. 

Play Trains! - This is an entire blog for just trains.

Simple Living Mama - Train Themed Preschool Unit

Lets Play Music - Down At the Station: Train Songs

Tippytoe Crafts - Name Train

We enjoyed talking about and playing with trains. What are your favorite train activities?

Quiet Time Boxes

We have started to slowly get into our daily and weekly routine for this year. There have been lots of things that have interfered with our schedule the past few weeks but I think we are finally getting into a rhythm. Our daily routine includes is quiet time, nap time is for babies so we call it quiet time :) If you ask Little Bit she will say she does not nap, but there are days when she is so tired that she gives up and sleeps. For all the other days she plays quietly on the rug in her room or in her bed.

I have seen quiet boxes online for sometime now and love the idea of a box that provides Little Bit with new fresh toys to play with. After looking around on Pinterest I found a few blog post that helped get me started. This is a list of blogs help me.

• Tons of Fun - Quiet Boxes
• Watch Us Grow - Quiet Time Boxes
• Fantastic Fun & Learning - Workboxes

I decided to use 6 boxes instead of 5 like most of the blogs that I read. With 6 boxes I can just rotate through all of them so that she gets something different every Monday. It will also give me more time before you is ready for items in the box to be switched out. I decided to add 4-5 activities in each box. Every book has a writing/coloring and or letter activity and two books from a set of Little Miss Spider books I had. Finding the toys for the boxes motivated me and I ended up organizing all of Little Bit's toys in her room. As I went through all her toys I looked for activities that are 1. quiet, 2. small, 3. not usually played with because they were buried under bigger, louder toys. It was actually easier than I thought and I think the boxes are a good mix of activities.


Box #1 - 2 Little Miss Spider books
             - 3 My Little Ponies, comb, hairdrier and mirror
             - Princess coloring pages with markers
             - Letter/Number Blocks, my mom made the letter blocks for Little Bit last Christmas. 
               They are great for counting, practicing the alphabet or just building. 

Box #2 - 2 Little Miss Spider books
             - Winnie the Pooh picture matching cards
             - Cars puzzle
             - Lace'n'Trace animals
             - Dora activity pages and crayons

Box #3 - 2 Little Miss Spider books
             - Mrs. Potato Head and Baby Potato Head (plus accessories)
             - 3 notepads, pen, stickers
             - mini flashlight (not pictured)

Box #4 - 2 Little Miss Spider books
            - Leapfrog letter trace pad
            - Minnie Mouse puzzle
            - Bendy, twisty rabbit (Little Bit loves the rabbits from our Easter bin)
            - Finger puppets

Box #5 - 2 Little Miss Spider books
            - Alphabet beads with string
            - Dora puzzle
            - Coloring book from our cruise ship and crayons

Box #6 - 2 Little Miss Spider books 
            - Magna Doodle 
            - Kaleidoscope
            - Things That Go Together puzzle  

Overtime I am sure I will switch things up in the boxes. Maybe add more seasonal items for fall, Christmas, winter, etc. What do you do with your little one during quiet/nap time? Have you used quiet boxes before? If so, what worked well for you? I would love to hear your thoughts. 

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