Theme Thursday: Chugga Chugga Choo Choo

Happy Thursday Everybody! Last week we learned all about trains during story time.


Song: Good Morning Dear Earth


Song: We Clap and Say Hello


Flannel: Little Mouse, Little Mouse


Song: If You're Happy and You Know It


Rhyme: 10 Little Fingers


Book: Freight Train by Donald Crews



Finger Play: 2 Little Blackbirds


Song: Shake Your Sillies Out


Song: Move Your Body Along


Flannel: This Little Train


Book: Shark vs. Train by Chris Barton
 


Song: Itsy Bitsy Spider


Finger Play: Engine on the Track


Song: Turn Around




Make and Take Craft: Stand Alone Trains


I got this great idea for a story time craft from Recipe for Reading. It was a huge hit and one of my favorite crafts we've ever done!

Supplies:
-card stock train shapes (prepared beforehand)
-toilet paper tubes
-crayons


Process: To get ready, cut the toilet paper tubes into 4ths and then cut a slit, about halfway through, in each piece. Cut out your train shape on sturdy card stock so the train will stand up by itself and not flop around. After story time, I laid out crayons and the toilet paper tube wheels on the table, showed the caregivers as a group how to put the wheels on and then walked around and provided help as needed. The kids loved coloring the trains and it was one of the most successful crafts that we've done- developmentally it was appropriate, but there was still the extra flair from the toilet paper tube wheels that turned it into something more than just a uniquely shaped coloring sheet.

Time: I'm not going to lie, cutting shapes out of card stock was a pain. By the time I drew a train engine that I liked, it was pretty complex and I could only get my scissor through two pieces of the card stock at a time. My advice? Choose a simpler engine. Prep took about an hour, broken up throughout the day and the craft itself took about 20 minutes.