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Peabody TeachFor teachers and grown-ups

Train theme for toddlers: a week of activities

A train theme lesson plan for toddlers: what a day looks like, then the week's circle time (two or three minutes, on laps), books, craft, song, snack, letter and outside time, each with what changes at this age.

Plan this week for toddlersThe whole train week

A day of the train theme with toddlers

  1. Arrival and free play on the floor.
  2. Sing “Simple Simon” with actions; repeat it while you change and feed.
  3. Hold and pass something real for the week (train), and say its name.
  4. Snack: a toddler-safe version of banana sushi (check the recipe's lines for under-4s).
  5. Outside: a short walk looking for track.
  6. Read The Red Bus on laps, pointing and naming.
  7. Nap, then the song once more at pick-up.

Train circle time

  1. Hello song: sing hello to each child by name.
  2. Look out of the window together: sun, rain or clouds?
  3. Show the theme: hold up something real and name it.
  4. Sing: Simple Simon.
  5. Read: The Red Bus (level 1).

Infants and toddlers: two or three minutes, on laps.

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.

Infants and toddlers: one book, read every day; point and name.

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.

Infants and toddlers: let them touch and hold the materials while you make it; nothing small enough to swallow.

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).

Infants and toddlers: skip the trace page; show the picture page and say the word.

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 2 year oldsTrain theme for 3 and 4 year oldsTrain theme, all ages

Checked 2026-10-30