— December 15, 2024

Is your preschooler obsessed with trains? Every time we drive by a railroad crossing sign my kiddo has to notify the entire van that there is a train track. Hear one in the distance, we must stop and listen. And if we ever see one in person, it’s all we hear about for the next week! If your child loves trains too then this week of learning is perfect for them. From sorting activities to learning shapes to art your child will love learning with these train activities.

All the train activities and printables mentioned here are included in a completely free week of learning for your preschooler. Complete instructions, free printables and coloring pages, as well as books and poem suggestions are also included. Explore Tt is for Train here.

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A sample homeschool schedule full of train activities for preschool.

Monday highlight: Train car wall display printable.

Every Monday we begin by introducing the new theme by reading books. The books fit easily into the morning basket. Afterwards it is time to introduce the new letter, T. There are multiple alphabet wall display themes available for this. I created the train themed alphabet display because my 3 year old loves trains. He has been using it for the entire Letter of the Week and is always excited to add to it and use it for review. 

The Alphabet Wall Displays are not a part of Letter of the Week but are a great for learning the alphabet. The outline of the uppercase and lowercase letters are included on a boxcar. He colors or traces inside the letters until he says he is finished. Then I place rolled tape on the back of the boxcar and he hangs it up next to the letter S. Now we sing the alphabet while pointing to the corresponding letters. Once we reach Tt he repeats after me, t is for train.

Tuesday highlight: By land, air, and sea sorting printable.

Beginning our day with a morning basket is always an excellent way to bring our family together for learning before tackling any train activities. The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper is always a classic. We also enjoy reading Chugga, Chugga, Choo-Choo by Kevin Lewis and Freight Train by Donald Crews. 

There are a lot of train books aside from the ones included in Tt is for Train, which are curated for beautiful illustrations and timeless stories. You will also find poems about trains by classic poets. 

After the morning basket we review the alphabet using our wooden alphabet puzzle. I only include the letters he has learned to help focus his attention. 

Next, I gave Mick, 3 years old, a coloring page for the week because I needed time to laminate and cut out the printable. Once he finished coloring he was ready to sort objects based on similarities. In this case it is sorting transportation based on the mode of transport. By land, air, or sea. The free printable is available here.

Wednesday highlight: Train car shape matching.

After the morning basket and alphabet review using the wall display we use a train themed printable to practice shape matching. The printable is free at Tt is for Train. Again, I was not prepared ahead of time so I provided Mick with a second train themed coloring page to entertain him while I prepared the printable. I enjoy cutting them down so that my 3 year old can practice a few shapes at a time. Gradually increasing to all the shapes that are included.

Thursday highlight: Paint wooden train kit.

Our last day for Letter of the Week usually includes one of the more exciting activities. And that is definitely the case today. We begin as usual with train themed books and poems. As well as the wooden alphabet puzzle.

Afterwards, I set up a paint station for acrylic paint in our dining room. I brought out the wooden train kit for the first time and his eyes lit up with excitement and wonder. It is perfect sized and very durable to play with. The pride of ownership he had on his face while painting it was priceless. My boys absolutely love painting their very own toy train. This little extra activity beats any pre-painted, pre-finished train any day. Read more about the activity here.

Field trip train activities.

If you’re lucky enough to have a train museum nearby then this is the perfect end to a week of Tt is for Train. I have yet to go to a train museum that is similar to another. Some have actual large passenger trains to ride with historical information posted in the old train depot. 

Other train museums have countless model trains running over all sorts of constructed landscapes and time periods. At these latter museums they usually have the facility set up for kids. They could have a train themed playground, Thomas the Trains to ride and steer yourself, theme park-like train rides, carnival rides, historical information, and more. 

If you do not have this type of attraction as an option you can simply let your child watch some train videos online. Thomas the Train is an option, however I encourage you to show your child real trains in action. This YouTube channel, CoasterFan2105, is an excellent resource. Their editing is fantastic for showing primarily the engines to keep the video paced well for a child’s attention span.

Creative activities for 3-5 year old’s at home.

Are you looking for activities for your preschooler to do at home? Tt is for Train is only one week in a 26 week curriculum. Letter of the Week is reimagined for all that home learning has to offer while still focusing on learning letter shapes. Check it out at the button below.

A week of Tt is for Train at a glance.

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