Freight Train Block Building

Hooray!  Preschool Book Club is back with the beloved book Freight Train by Donald Crews.  The gorgeous, colorful illustrations with simple text are the perfect canvas for exploring the book through play.  If you are a regular reader of this blog  or follow us on Instagram or Facebook you already know I am a huge fan of block building with children.  Today we are combining literacy and block building for Freight Train Block Building.

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WHAT YOU NEED FOR FREIGHT TRAIN BLOCK BUILDING

a copy of the book Freight Train
wooden unit blocks- (look for a set made of maple wood- I recommend this set)
colored construction paper– red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, black
scotch tape
scissors

AREAS OF DEVELOPMENT

literacy
mathematics (measurement, one to one correspondence, shape recognition)
spatial awareness
social development (working with peers)
emotional development (patience)
color recognition
gross motor development
fine motor development

FREIGHT TRAIN BLOCK BUILDING

Begin by reading the book Freight Train.  Set up a Freight Train Block Building Station with colored construction paper, scissors, scotch tape and the wooden block building set.

Tell the children that today they will use the wooden unit blocks, paper, scissors and tape to create their own Freight Train. They began by looking at the full picture of the Freight Train and assigning roles. I was impressed how quickly my three children divided up the different parts of the train.

They decided to use the unit blocks for each part of the train and the double unit block for the black engine.

Once all the train parts were created the children used the book as a reference tool to see what else they needed to create.  The train tracks, of course!

Back to the book again!  More research!

Next my kids decided to create the tunnel and the bridge.

I love the teamwork that occurred during this project.  Once they made the tunnel the challenge became how to fit the Freight Train through it. Oh no!  Why isn’t it fitting?

With a little trial and error (and a few knocked down blocks) they realized that they had created the tunnel too small and needed to widen it.

Hooray!  Our Freight Train made it all the way through!

Want more ways to explore Freight Train through play?  Click on the links below.

Freight Train Math Game  Frogs Snails and Puppy Dog Tails
Train Track Paper Play Mat Mama Papa Bubba
Sponge Painting Train Craft for Kids Buggy & Buddy

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Want to explore more books through play?  Check out the rest of the Preschool Book Club Series!