In the first of a new six-part series, Annette Rawstrone delves into the popular topic of vehicles, starting with activities featuring trains
Trains are a popular toy, probably because they move along and have carriages that can fasten together, and that’s before the different noises they can make and tracks, tunnels, platforms and stations are added to the mix. Along with supporting children to play with trains in your setting, you can also follow their interests and extend them into many areas.
In the setting
- Consider investing in a quality small-world train set and organising an area where children can set up lengths of track without being disturbed. Wooden train sets are preferable. Brio is often recommended but it is expensive (look out for second-hand sets). They can be mixed with cheaper Bigjigs and Ikea train tracks. Start with a figure of eight track and a few engines, then add turntables, points and carriages when budget allows.
- Share books and pictures with the children of different types of trains; compare them to the trains in your setting and discuss what they are used for. Look at the differences between the trains, such as the colour, size and shape. Point out specific features, including engine, carriages, track and freight.
- Ask the children what experiences they have of trains or trams – have they ever been on one? Have they travelled on a steam train or underground train? How fast were they?
- Introduce the concept of how trains move, and discuss that trains are powered by a range of energy sources including diesel, electricity and steam – or even pulled by cables or horses. Compare a picture of a steam train to a diesel train and talk about how trains have changed over the years.
- Invite the children to bring in photos and souvenirs of their train or tram adventures to show the group. Ask them what they saw and did, such as what happened at the train station and what they could see through the train windows. Use the photos to make a display and help the children to write anecdotes about their experiences – waving at the train drivers from bridges, or pulling faces at their reflections in tunnels.
- What sounds do trains make? Use train clips from YouTube to support this.
- Look at how a train follows a track and talk about the use of bridges and tunnels – why are they needed?
- Set up your own ticket office for role play resourced with train timetables, tickets, leaflets about days out, route mapsand a card reader or till.
In the community
- Is there a local railway station that you could visit? Are there any safe places where children can watch trains pass? Could you take the children on an actual train or tram ride? Or do you have a miniature railway nearby?
- Otherwise, could you visit a train or transport museum? Or do you know of any local train enthusiasts who could share their collections and knowledge?
- Children often lack awareness of the dangers posed by railways, such as how fast trains travel and the danger of falling onto tracks. Include safety discussions in your explorations, from never playing on train lines to not running on platforms and keeping as far back from the edge of the platform as possible.
Train books
Fiction
- Amazing Machines: Terrific Trains by Tony Mitton – follows the animal crew as they become train drivers, conductors and passengers.
- And the Train Goes… by William Bee– beautifully illustrated and a joy to read out loud.
- The Cat and the Mouse and the Runaway Train by Peter Bently – a fast-paced rhyming adventure.
- Freight Train and Inside Freight Train by Donald Crews – the simple sentences in these books are quickly memorised and recited by the children.
- Oi! Get off Our Train by John Burningham – a little boy is joined by all kinds of endangered animals.
- Thomas the Tank Engine by Rev W Awdry – this series offers a great selection, as do the Little Red Train books by Benedict Blathwayt.
- William and the Night-Train by Mij Kelly – William can’t resist exploring the train.
Non-fiction
- See Inside Trains by Emily Bone – from Stephenson’s Rocket to bullet trains.
- The Usborne Big Book of Trains by Megan Cullis – illustrations and facts.
- Terrific Trains by Tony Mitton and Ant Parker – information book with rhythmical rhyming text.
