We own a KidKraft Train Table with Trundle Drawers and wanted to review it’s versatility for creative play and learning. A train table is a key tool in therapy and learning in the home and classroom, to boost many skills. We love to come up with frugal ways to encourage development of the child. Using a train table is just one way to do this by using what you’ve got in the home as a multi-purpose item for therapy, play, learning, and exploration!
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Sensory strategies that are motivating can be a big help for some kids. Try these train themed sensory activity ideas
We LOVE our KidKraft Train Table. With it’s trundle drawers, we have lots of storage for trains, pretend play animals, blocks, and even sensory play items. We use our train table almost every day in some type of play and wanted to review the KidKraft train table and share our fun ideas that make this big ticket item a great deal for versatile play for kids.
The KidKraft train table is the perfect size for play from all sides. Many train tables are on the smaller side, but this one is huge! It’s perfect for lots of kids to get at the pretend play fun from all sides. The table has a small lip to the edge to prevent trains from rolling over the sides of the table top. We’ve used this edge to contain not only trains, but marbles, water beads, art supplies, and beads. The train table is easy to assemble and move. We’ve moved our KidKraft Train Table around so many times and it is still very sturdy and in great shape.
Besides the trundle drawers for amazing storage (these drawers are HUGE!), our favorite feature is the reversable table surface. One side has a great landscaped scene with road, parking lot, water, and grassy area for pretend play with trains and cars. The other side of our surface is all white. This is perfect for creative play at it’s finest. Our model is older and it seems like the newer models may have a different color on the reversed side. It would be fun to paint one side of the surface with a solid color, or chalkboard paint, or attach a Lego surface for a DIY Lego table or glue a large sheet of felt to the surface for a DIY felt table.
The height of the table is perfect for children to kneel, sit, or stand around. Adults can get right up to the table and sit on the floor with their legs under the table and stretched out, comfortable and ready for playing!
Using a KidKraft Train Table for Creative Play
Using a Train Table for Sensory Play:
Using a Train Table for a Craft Center:
The size and surface of the train table is perfect for kids crafts. The surface of this large table is perfect for spreading out supplies, craft activities, and even allowing friends to join in on crafty fun! We’ve used our train table in so many art creation activities.
Using a Train Table for Fine Motor Development:
We love to spread out a bunch of magazines and a few pairs of scissors to get busy on scissor skill activities. This large area is a great way to create and play with fine motor activities while exploring many skill sets on the train table surface. Kids can gather around the sides of the train table and play with all kinds of fine motor activities, like in-hand manipulation play while being sure that the lip of the sides will not allow little pieces to flip over onto the floor.
Using a Train Table in Small World Imagination Play:
Oh, we definitely use our train table for trains, cars, and small world pretend play. Free imagination play is often times the most fun! Besides using just trains on the train table, pull in small worlds to encourage and develop language and imagination with play dough, or with pieces like glass gems, small plastic animals, rocks, or more. Your imagination is the limit! We use those giant trundle drawers for storing all of the pieces to imagination play.
Do you have a train table? How do you use it in play? Let us know on our Facebook page or the comments below.
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