Our 3K class had a wonderful opportunity to develop their skills when we learned about and built our own trains in class. Learning is always enhanced when the practical and theoretical are combined, such as in this exciting hands-on lesson. While the trains are cute, the children received a lot of useful instruction and had ample time to explore their creativity.

T was the letter of the week, so we made ​trains to make the connection with the students’ phonemic awareness learning experience. There are many other structures we could have made that begin with T, but trains were the most fun! The children enhanced their cognitive development by identifying the colors, shapes, sizes, and textures of their materials and their finished trains during this exercise. Did you notice each train has a unique color scheme? The children were free to express their creativity by choosing colors without judgment or input.








The students also developed their fine motor skills by painting and using pipe cleaners to connect the cars. Their little fingers had to coordinate with their eyes and arm muscles to hold the paintbrushes, dip in the paint, and apply the paint to the materials. This is a highly-coordinated activity that shouldn’t be taken for granted.

Parents, you can do similar activities at home, or even outside. Help your child identify familiar items and have them tell you the letter it begins with. Use the same letters we use in class to strengthen the connection! Need a little inspiration? It doesn’t get any better than Cookie Monster showing how it’s done!

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