6 things playing with trains teaches your toddler
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Playing with train sets is a versatile activity. The type of game varies from simple role-playing to complex technical challenges. Building railways stimulates spatial awareness and fine motor skills. The game with the trains themselves can be about speed, gravity and movement.
Playing with toy trains offers several benefits. It stimulates creativity by building unique railways. It also promotes fine motor skills and spatial insight. Moreover, it helps children learn about technology and history.
Toddlers learn a lot from playing with toys. They develop their motor skills, learn to recognize shapes and colors and practice counting. Different toys can be used in different ways, adding to their versatile learning experience.
After playing, a train set must of course be stored properly. A storage box can be used, or in a handy organizer (more about that later). A good train set should be easy to build, offer sufficient movement options and contain attractive elements such as signals and stations.
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Buy at Bol.comWhat we discuss in this comprehensive post:
What do toddlers learn by playing with toy trains?
Toddlers start playing with toy trains when they are about two years old. The best age is from three years old when they can already put words to many of the topics and they are ready for creative pretend play.
Playing with trains has numerous benefits, the most important 6 of which are listed below.
- Motor skill development: Handling small trains and setting up tracks promotes fine motor skills.
- Stimulating imagination: Toddlers create stories and scenarios around their train play, which stimulates their imagination.
- Educational: Train sets provide a chance to learn to count, recognize letters and understand basic science. According to research by Leung, J. (1994) in the Journal of Behavioral Education, toys, especially those with multiple components such as train tracks, are good as reinforcers for language training.
- Social skills: Playing together around a train set promotes communication and cooperation.
- Parent-child bonding: Train games offer parents and children a chance to play and learn together.
- Sparking a passion for STEM: The operation of trains, as well as building the rails, can be the first introduction to STEM subjects such as science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
What are good ideas for using toy trains in different ways?
Toy trains can be used for more than just regular play. Trains are the perfect toy for this because they are versatile, interactive and educational. They stimulate creativity, problem-solving thinking and motor skills.
- Toddler play activities with trains: Toddlers can learn about colors, shapes and counting by playing with trains.
- Train track building game: This game stimulates spatial insight and creativity.
- Learning about trains: Children can learn about different types of trains, their functions and history.
- Learning about physics: Playing with trains allows children to discover basic principles of physics such as gravity and motion.
- Spark a passion for STEM: Trains can introduce kids to the world of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).
- Designing new wooden train layouts: This stimulates creative thinking and spatial skills.
- Learning about nature: By building train tracks in different natural environments, children can learn about different ecosystems.
- Making up stories: Because there is a lot going on around the railways, it is also a perfect toy for making up stories. Where do the dolls go? Does everything continue to run on time without incident?
Toddler play activities with trains
Trains are ideal for toddlers as they provide a range of learning and play opportunities. They stimulate the imagination, promote fine motor skills and teach children about numbers and letters. By playing with trains, toddlers learn to recognize different objects and scenes, count and spell letters.
A fun activity for toddlers is building a train track. This stimulates their creativity and teaches them about cause and effect. They can create different tracks and obstacles, such as tunnels or bridges, and see how the train reacts. Another activity is playing a scavenger hunt with trains. Toddlers can find different objects and load them onto the train, improving their observation skills and knowledge of numbers and letters.
There is a great train set available for 18 month old toddlers. This set is specifically designed for this age group, with large, easy-to-handle pieces and bright colors to catch their attention.
- Easy to set up and is sturdy
- Suitable from 18 months
- No figures or backgrounds included
Train track building games
Construction games such as “Train Valley” and “Railroad Tycoon” let players build and manage railroads. “Train Valley” offers a variety of sets to create unique railways. It adds an element of strategy by preventing trains from colliding. “Railroad Tycoon,” on the other hand, is a sandbox game in which players transport goods and collect resources to expand their railway network. Both games are fun and engaging due to their unique gameplay and multiplayer options.
Children of all ages enjoy this type of gameplay, but younger children learn more from building with real wooden train tracks. Physically manipulating the tracks promotes their STEM skills and improves their spatial awareness. Moreover, it stimulates their creativity and problem-solving thinking.
Building train tracks can be turned into a game in fun ways. For example, children can be challenged to build the longest railway line or to build a railway that connects certain points on a map. They can also be challenged to build a railway that crosses different types of terrain, such as mountains, lakes and forests. This adds an extra layer of strategy and fun to the game.
Learning about trains
By playing with toy trains, children learn a lot about them. Toy trains introduce children to different train types. They learn names and concepts such as steam locomotives, diesel trains and passenger trains. They also discover the functions of each train. For example, a freight train carries goods, while a passenger train carries people.
By playing with toy trains, children also learn about train infrastructure. They learn about railways, stations and signals. In addition, they develop an understanding of the movement of trains, such as forward, backward and stopping.
Learning about physics
By playing with wheel toys such as trains, children can learn deep physics concepts. The research of Featonby, D. (2005) “Toys and physics. Physics Education” states that toys can capture students' attention, and many toys behave in ways that can be used to explain forces, motion, electricity, etc.
The way the toy's wheels turn teaches children about friction and gravity. They see how different surfaces affect the speed and movement of their train. By riding the train on a slope, they learn about speed, momentum and inertia.
Sparking passion for STEM
STEM is an educational concept that stands for the integration of science (Science), technology (Technology), engineering (Engineering) and mathematics (Mathematics). The goal is to promote critical thinking, problem-solving skills and creativity through practical application of these disciplines.
Toy trains can foster a passion for STEM. They provide children with a fun and engaging way to learn different STEM concepts. By building train tracks, children develop spatial awareness and technical skills. Designing different railway structures promotes creativity and problem-solving skills.
Additionally, toy trains can help with learning to code. For example, you can use colored ovals to control the train's actions. This way, children learn the basics of coding. They must navigate obstacles and create scenarios, which stimulates their creativity and logical thinking.
Designing new wooden train layouts
Designing new wooden train tracks is probably the most fun because it encompasses several facets. It stimulates creativity by building different scenarios and stories. It helps develop spatial awareness by navigating obstacles. It promotes reasoning by figuring out how structures fit. It is an engaging activity for both children and adults.
Creating different layouts makes it possible to learn new things. Building and designing train tracks is a fun and educational game.
Learning about nature
Toy trains, especially wooden ones, help learn about nature. Wooden trains stimulate creativity and natural learning. You can also encourage them to come up with fun and engaging ways to use natural objects, such as leaves for trees, rocks for roads and slopes, and different objects for cargo.
Water can be used with some train tracks to allow children to learn about water transportation by filling and emptying trucks and freight cars.
Making up stories
Toy trains are fantastic tools for creating stories. They stimulate children's imagination, promote creativity and help develop storytelling skills.
Building different railway layouts with toy trains is a complex activity. It requires creating and incorporating different scenarios, such as a station, people waiting and boarding, and associated accessories. These activities promote creativity and help children play different roles.
Toy trains also provide a great backdrop for creating stories. For example, children can create stories around the journey of the train, the interactions between the wooden figures and the animals along the tracks. These activities promote storytelling and help children build complex stories.
Plus, kids can create stories based on books they've read, or come up with new stories inspired by their toy trains. This not only promotes reading, but also creativity and storytelling.
What are ways to store wooden toy rails?
Wooden train tracks also need to be put away after playing. There are several ways to do this.
Plastic containers are a good option. They are large and easy to find in stores or online. Spores can be organized in these containers. It is important to store them in a dark place to prevent damage.
Organizers are another option to store your wooden train tracks. They are found in different sizes and shapes. They help keep the tracks organized and in place.
Which wooden train sets are recommended for play value?
Wooden train sets must have good play value. This means that they enable building and contain a variety of parts. They should be made of high-quality materials that are safe for children and durable enough to provide hours of fun.
It is important that a good wooden train set offers flexibility in design, to stimulate children's creativity and imagination. This ensures involvement and promotes development in various areas, such as spatial awareness and STEM skills.
- The train has a steep slope to drive down
- Very nice landscape details
- Big set
- Pricey
- Higher rails on supports are not for little ones
Do wooden train tracks offer more benefits than playing with other toys?
Wooden train tracks do not always offer more, but mainly different advantages than other toys, especially for the development of young children. Building and manipulating wooden train tracks helps develop fine motor skills. Kids have to connect pieces, lay down rails and push trains, which improves their hand-eye coordination and precision.
Wooden train tracks also encourage creativity and imagination, but the biggest advantage over it playing with many kinds of toys, it is long-lasting fun. Wooden train tracks are durable and often last for generations. They provide long-lasting fun and can be expanded with new sets and accessories.
Always something to do for the holidays or rainy day?
Play Choice now has the ultimate activity book collection, with over 60 pages of fun coloring pages and educational puzzles.
Joost Nusselder, the founder of Speelkeuze.nl is a content marketer, father and loves trying out new toys. As a child he came into contact with everything related to games when his mother started the Tinnen Soldaat in Ede. Now he and his team create helpful blog articles to help loyal readers with fun play ideas.
