Great books for preschoolers need a fun activity to extend the fun. We’ve shared a bunch of our favorite books and activities here on the blog and this Steam Train, Dream Train busy bag activity is another great book and play idea.
Busy bags are a playful way to get kids involved in creative and independent learning through play and are many times, a DIY craft for the moms to make. If you’ve got a child who loves trains, this preschool book and busy bag activity is for you!
Try these train themed sensory activity ideas for more ways to play with a train theme.
Try these train themed sensory activity ideas for more ways to play with a train theme.
“Steam Train, Dream Train” Book and Busy Bag Activity
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“Steam Train, Dream Train”
is a fun book to read. My kids loved the rhymes and details in the gorgeous pictures. In the book, a train is rumbling to a stop where it fills it’s cars with toys of all kinds. The train workers are playful animals who rest in the trains cars after they’ve filled it. At the end of the book, we see the train is a playset in a child’s bedroom and you can just imagine all of the creative play that happens with that train!
is a fun book to read. My kids loved the rhymes and details in the gorgeous pictures. In the book, a train is rumbling to a stop where it fills it’s cars with toys of all kinds. The train workers are playful animals who rest in the trains cars after they’ve filled it. At the end of the book, we see the train is a playset in a child’s bedroom and you can just imagine all of the creative play that happens with that train!
We decided to make our own playful train set that can be carried along to places where waiting is difficult. This book-related busy bag would be a fun way to pass time while waiting at a restaurant. Slip the book
into a bag along with a few play items and you’ve got a busy bag that will inspire creative play of limitless capacities.
into a bag along with a few play items and you’ve got a busy bag that will inspire creative play of limitless capacities.
You’ll need a few items to fill your busy bag. We used items that correspond with the book
that we had in out house, but if you’re needing a few items, it would be easy to replace them with other toys.
that we had in out house, but if you’re needing a few items, it would be easy to replace them with other toys.
We added these items to our busy bag:
Cardboard shapes (See how to make them here.)
burlap bag
Small alphabet beads
(We received ours from www.craftprojectideas.com)
(We received ours from www.craftprojectideas.com)
Read the book together and as you read, play along and build your dream train!
We used the cardboard shapes to build a shape train. Now is a great time to discuss the shapes that can be used to build a train. Talk about colors, too!
Use the toys to add to the train as you go through the story.
When you’re child is playing independently with their busy bag, they can recall the story or create parts of their own.
Play with your shape train busy bag over and over again!
Want to find more “Steam Train, Dream Train”? Stop by and see what the other bloggers in the Book Club Play Dates series have come up with for this book:
? Stop by and see what the other bloggers in the Book Club Play Dates series have come up with for this book:Make an Egg carton steam train craft based on the book, like Craftulate did.
Play a Number matching game with a printable from Fun-a-Day.
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More preschool books you and your child will love:
Freight Train Color Snack | Ish Block Sculptures | Make Way For Ducklings Sensory Play | Goodnight Moon Memory Game
Love exploring books with hands-on play?
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