Train Conductor Dramatic Play Idea and Setup
No matter what age a person is most of us are fascinated by trains.
Some children can be completely obsessed with trains to the degree that it might be all they think about, talk about, look through books about them and even wear clothing with trains all over them.
Setting up a train conductor dramatic play center may sound a little tricky to some educators or parents, but here is a quick pretend play idea that can provide hours of fun for the children as they learn and play trains.
How to Set up your Dramatic Play Train Center Area:
Since more than once preschool child is going to want to play in the center at once, it would be a good idea to put at least 3-4 chairs in the dramatic play center at a time.
The chairs can be set up two in the front, and two right behind them. Find a few medium-large cardboard boxes at your local grocery store.
Hot glue the boxes together in a line (like box cars on a train) with the open ends up top so the children can put things in the boxes.
Put the boxes behind the chairs to resemble a train. Now you are set up and ready to go.
*Obviously, if you wanted to, you could draw or add items to the outside of these boxes to make them resemble train cars.
What to add in to your Train Dramatic Play:
- A few buckets of toys that the children can dump into the boxes and “transport” to their “destination”.
- On the sides of the train boxes post pictures of real trains/box cars.
- Post pictures of scenery on the walls to make it look like they are traveling outside.
- Put a few bells with softer rings to them so the children can ring them as the train “pulls into the station”.
- Put some train conductor clothes or just some work clothes so the children can dress up and “go to work”.
- Add in small shovels, work gloves, pad of paper, pencil, calendar, clock, telephone.
Extended Learning Ideas:
Train books in the library, train toys on the block shelf, train coloring pages in the coloring center, sing train songs at circle time.