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September 13, 2019
It’s no secret that kids enjoy trains… so why not take something that kids enjoy and turn it into something educational? (It can be done!) There are so many ways to use toy trains to educate young minds and teach kids new things. Learning can be FUN and educational at same time which, in my opinion, is the best way to learn!
Some examples include:
- Vocabulary: Teach new vocabulary using different parts of the train: wheels, engine, tender, throttle, coal car, passenger car, etc.
- Counting: Have your child count things such as the number of trains, the number of cars, the number of track pieces, the number of wheels…. opportunities are endless!
- Grammar: Teach them pronouns. You can ask your child questions like, “Whose train is this?”
They can answer with, “This is my train,” “This is his train” based on who has each train. - Following instructions: Give your child an instruction to follow… such as “make the train stop” or “drive the train over the bridge.” This will test their listening skills as well as their ability to follow directions.
- Taking Turns/Sharing: It’s best to start this at a young age! Encourage children to take turns and sharing the trains as they move them around the track. (My turn, your turn, his turn, her turn)
- Miscellaneous: Have them describe train or track pieces by using colors, adjectives, speed, first/middle/last. For example, “The first car is long and green and moving fast.”
At EnterTRAINment Junction we LOVE promoting learning through trains. Our whole attraction is devoted to it and Junction Hobbies and Toys is here to help too! They have a wide variety of educational toys and a whole lot of trains – which, as seen from the article above, can be used to encourage learning!
We have also found some great websites to encourage learning such as Thomas and friends and Play Trains.