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Train theme for 3 and 4 year olds: a week of activities

A train theme lesson plan for 3 and 4 year olds: what a day looks like, then the week's circle time (ten to fifteen minutes, with a child holding the book), books, craft, song, snack, letter and outside time, each with what changes at this age.

Plan this week for 3 and 4 year oldsThe whole train week

A day of the train theme with 3 and 4 year olds

  1. Arrival, sign-in, and a job from the helper chart.
  2. Circle (ten to fifteen minutes): calendar, “Where would you go on a train?”, sing “simple simon”, then The Red Bus.
  3. Centers, with the craft at one table: box train.
  4. Letter T: trace it once, then hunt for T around the room.
  5. Snack: Banana Sushi, with children pouring and counting.
  6. Outside: train line.
  7. Rest, then a longer read-aloud: Go, Go, Go.

Train circle time

  1. Good morning song, then say each name together.
  2. Calendar: the day, the date and the weather.
  3. Ask: “Where would you go on a train?”
  4. Sing: Simple Simon.
  5. Read: The Red Bus (level 1).

Threes and fours: ten to fifteen minutes; let a child hold the book.

Train theme books

  • The Red Bus (level 1, free on peabody.kids): A ride with stops along the way, like a train.
  • Dex on the Bus (level 3, free on peabody.kids): Going places.
  • The Big Truck (level 2, free on peabody.kids): Something big that pulls.
  • Go, Go, Go (read aloud, level 4): A read-aloud: going and moving.

Train craft: Box train

You need (5): small boxes or paper rectangles, paper circles (wheels), crayons, glue stick, yarn.

  1. Glue wheels on each car.
  2. Color the engine and the cars.
  3. Join them in a line with yarn.

With a grown-up. No heat, nothing hot.

Train song: Simple Simon

The words

Simple Simon met a pieman, Going to the fair; Said Simple Simon to the pieman, "Let me taste your ware."

Traditional; public domain. From Top 52 nursery rhymes with lyrics.

Train snack

Banana Sushi from the Peabody Kitchen: picture steps, allergy swaps and safety lines on the recipe.

Swap: Flour tortillas → corn tortillas; Peanut butter → sunflower seed butter.

Letter T activities

TtT is for train. Print the two pages (a trace page and a color page).

Threes and fours: trace T and t once, then find T in the room and in the book.

Outside activity: Train line

Hands on shoulders, the whole room is a train. Chug slow, chug fast, stop at the station, through the tunnel (under a blanket).

Train theme for toddlersTrain theme for 2 year oldsTrain theme, all ages

Checked 2026-10-30