Preschool Storytime: Choo-Choo!

Children love trains.  Thomas, Chuggington - these are popular series at my library and their books and DVDs circulate very well.  We even purchased a train table for our Children's Room that is well loved by our little patrons.  It seemed high time to do a storytime about trains.  All aboard!  Here's what I did.

Book:  And the Train Goes...by William Bee

I really like this book.  One of its strengths is its repetition.  Passengers get on the train and make comments and noises (like the businessmen who say "time is money, time is money"), and the entire time the station parrot is listening carefully to all the sounds.  The train maintains its sound of "clickerty click, clickerty clack." I had fun reading this aloud and encouraging the kids to make the noises along with me.

Action Rhyme:  This is a Choo-Choo Train

This is a choo-choo train,

     (bend arms at elbows)

Puffing down the track.

     (push arms forward)

Now it's going forward,

     (lean forward)

Now it's going back.

     (lean back)

Now the bell is ringing.

     (pretend to pull the cord)

Now the whistle blows.

     (blow "toot, toot")

What a lot of noise it makes.

    (cover ears with hands)

Everywhere it goes.

    (bend arms again and push them forward)

Source:  SurLaLune Storytime

Book:  Clickety Clack by Rob and Amy Spence; illustrated by Margaret Spengler

Another fun book to read aloud!  The train gets filled with very loud passengers - like talking yaks, dancing acrobats and quacking ducks.  Pretty soon the conductor has a headache!  Will everyone quiet down?  We had fun making the different noises.

Flannel Song:  This Little Train (tune: "This Old Man")

This little train, painted black

It comes chugging down the track

With a "choo-choo, toot-toot"

Hear the whistle blow

This little train comes chugging home.

This little train painted blue

It has seats for me and you

With a "choo-choo, toot-toot"

Hear the whistle blow

This little train comes chugging home.

This little train painted yellow

It shimmies and shakes like a bowl of Jell-O

With a "choo-choo, toot-toot"

Hear the whistle blow

This little train comes chugging home.

This little train painted green

It's the fanciest car you've ever seen

With a "choo-choo, toot-toot"

Hear the whistle blow

This little train comes chugging home.

This little train, it is gray

It takes you places far away

With a "choo-choo, toot-toot"

Hear the whistle blow

This little train comes chugging home.

This caboose, it is red

It will take you home to bed

With a "choo-choo, toot-toot"

Hear the whistle blow

This little train comes chugging home.

Source:  SurLaLune Storytime

Pattern for Flannel Board:  Kiz Club

Book: Chugga Chugga Choo Choo by Kevin Lewis; illustrated by Daniel Kirk

I read this to both my toddler and preschool groups and encouraged them to very loud with their "chugga chugga choo choos."  They did not disappoint.  I'm still regaining the hearing in my right ear.  Just kidding!  This is another great choice to read aloud.  The rhyming and repetition make this a good choice for both age groups.

Song:  The Wheels on the Train (tune: "The Wheels on the Bus")

The wheels on the train go clickety clack, clickety clack, clickety clack,

The wheels on the train go clickety clack, on the railroad tracks.

Repeat with:

The engine on the train goes chug, chug, chug...

The conductor on the train says, "tickets please..."

The people on the train go bounce, bounce, bounce...

The whistle on the train goes toot, toot, toot...

Source:  Librarian Lisa's Storytime

Craft:  Train with Paper Towel Wheels

Source:  Recipe for Reading

This was super easy.  We have an Ellison die cut of a train, which made cutting these out a breeze.  The kids decorated them and used a toilet paper roll cut in half for the wheels.  I did cut a slit in the middle of the "wheels" so the train could fit in.