By Tamisha Anthony
Hello Little New-Yorkers! Follow along with this post to create your very own train and train station at home, and don’t forget to join us live every Tuesday and Friday at 3:30 pm when we sing a special Little New-Yorkers hello song, do silly stretches and exercises, and read a storybook — all from the comfort of your home!
This month we are excited about the special exhibition, Holiday Express: Toys and Trains from the Jerni Collection, now on view at the New-York Historical Society. This special exhibition includes toys from the late 19th century all the way through the World War II era!
This week we are inspired by the book Terrific Trains by Tony Mitton and illustrated by Ant Parker. There are so many parts to making a train go! From the freight car to the smokestack to the rails. For today’s project, we’ll create our own trains which will pass through stations and stops that you design! All aboard!
Supplies*
- Construction paper, cardstock or plain white paper
- Something to color with: markers, pastels, colored pencils, crayons or a combination!
- Scissors
- Glue or tape
* A note on supplies: If you don’t have exactly the supplies listed, improvise! These projects are designed to be versatile, so feel free to use whatever materials and tools you have at home. And if your final product looks different than what you see here, that’s wonderful!
STEP 1: Color your train and station
Whether you are using markers or colored pencils, add some shapes, patterns and textures to your train! If you want, color the tracks and stop sign too.
Do you like polka dots or stripes? Maybe you want to add an animal or person on your train! Have fun and be creative.
STEP 2: Cut out your train and train station
Cut along the thick black grid lines that separate your tracks and stop sign. Then cut out the train.
Once you finish cutting, you will have nine squares (eight tracks and one stop sign) and one train!
STEP 3: Arrange your train tracks
Every track piece is a square! Pretend it is a puzzle and decide what direction your train tracks should go. Rotate the squares so the ends of the tracks line up. Then glue or tape them down.
STEP 4: Design your train station
What do you imagine being around your train station? Are there houses? Lakes? Maybe a dragons? Using markers or crayons, design the special sites your train will drive past.
If you want, you can add a puff of steam to your train. Just tape or glue a stretched out cotton ball to your train’s smokestack.
STEP 5: Let’s play!
Now your train is ready to travel through the world you created! Choo choooooo!
Thanks for following along. We hope to see you at Little New-Yorkers each Tuesday and Friday at 3:30 pm!
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