Pop Out Choo Choo!

We cleaned out the cupboards this week and found some small empty boxes that needed to be used for a craft, so we thought a little choo choo would be perfect!

Materials Needed: 3 small boxes, variety of colored cardstock, white cardstock, scissors, Elmers glue, popsicle sticks, paint, foam paint brush, crayons, markers, and a paper plate for a paint palate.

Directions:
1. Paint each small box one color (or a variety of colors). With younger kids you might want to do a thin base coat before they paint to cover over some of the words... otherwise they don't paint enough layers to cover the boxes.

2. Set boxes aside to dry.

3. Choose a background cardstock paper. We needed to tape two sheets together so ours was long enough. Put two lines of glue down for train tracks. Have your child line the popsicle sticks up on top of the glue lines to make the tracks.

4. Add perpendicular glue lines and popsicle sticks to finish off the tracks.

5. Set everything aside to dry!

6. Draw different colored circles onto white cardstock for wheels. Give your child corresponding crayons (for each wheel color) and have them try to match the color and then color in the appropriate matching circle.

Too many circles/colors can be overwhelming for littler guys... so if you cover over the part of the coloring project you are not currently doing, little ones can focus better.

My son made it through five of the eight wheels before he was done with coloring circles and wanted me to finish it. I was pretty proud. This mini matching activity required a lot of focus for him.

While we were still waiting for the paint and glue to dry we made some windows for the train as well... using the same marker/crayon matching activity.

7. Cut a grill for the front of the engine out of colored paper. Also cut a rectangle and roll it into a steam engine pipe.

8. Tape or glue to the front of the engine.

9. Draw little glue squares on the dried trains. Have your child add the windows on top of the glue.

10. Add glue dots where the wheels should go and have your child stick the wheels to the bottom of the train.

11. Glue all the train pieces to the popsicle stick tracks and let them dry before you hang this masterpiece.

12. Cut out some clouds to put in the sky above the train and glue them on.

We finished this project off by reading the book The Caterpillar and the Express Train by Jeremy Foster-Fell.

We also watched this version of the story on YouTube...