We hope that you all enjoyed the weekend.
Today’s story is called The Runaway Train and is all about Duffy Driver and his adventures on ‘The Little Red Train’. It is one of a series of books written by Benedict Blathwayt.
We hope that you enjoyed listening to the story. Here are some things to talk about after you have listened together.
- What did Duffy Driver forget to do at the beginning of the story?
- Can you remember some of the different types of transport that he used to try and catch up with the train?
- How did Duffy Driver manage to get back onto the train?
Here are some activities that you can try that are linked to the story.
Role play
We love to build trains, boats and other vehicles at Nursery using a whole variety of resources. Can you make a train at home? Have a look around and see what you can find to use. You might put your dining chairs in a line or make a row of cushions on the floor. If you have any cardboard boxes you could use those. Where will you go on the train? What can you see out of the window?
Do you need a ticket? Cut some small pieces of paper and use them as tickets. The conductor could collect them and write on where each passenger is travelling to. Remember, writing for a purpose is great way to get children mark making in Nursery. Writing/mark making of all forms is valued – from lines and circles to zig zags and crosses.
Small world
Do you have a train track at home? Have a go at building a circle track together. Children can usually join pieces of track together, but they often find it difficult to work out how to make the track join together to form a loop. Have a go and send us a photograph of your completed track!
Creative
Have you ever noticed that different vehicles leave different tracks? If it’s a sunny day, drive your toy vehicle through some water and see if it leaves a track on the floor outside. Alternatively, put some paint on a plate and get some paper – the bigger the better! You could use the back of some old wallpaper or wrapping paper. Dip your vehicle’s wheels into the paint and drive it along the paper. What tracks does it make? Remember to wash your vehicles before the paint dries too much!
If you don’t want to get too messy, you could draw your own roads or train tracks. We often put a large cardboard box or piece of paper on the floor at Nursery and ask children to draw roads or track. We then add other details such as ponds and trees. Children love to create their own towns and roads/tracks to drive the trains and cars along.
If you don’t have any small vehicles at home, you could make your own simple train using shoe boxes!
Sing a long at home
- Where will the Magic Train Ride take you?
- This Little Train goes.. We move our arms by our sides, in time with the music, pretending to be trains. Do you need to move your arms quickly or slowly?
Mathematics
- Next time you go for a walk, have a look for the numbers that are all around you. Can you spot any numbers on the cars? Children are not expected to know the numbers yet, but they may begin to recognise numerals of personal significance such as 3 or 4 for their age.
- How many red/blue/white cars can you count as you walk along the path?
- Look at a selection of different vehicles including bikes, cars, buses and vans – How many wheels do they have?
Watch
Find out more about steam trains and different types of train with Catie and her amazing machines.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0bp1jrj/caties-amazing-machines-series-1-4-rail-machines
Get active
Duffy Driver tried to catch the train on a bicycle. Have you got a bike, scooter or ride on toy? Go outside and have a go at using the pedals or balancing. Remember to be safe and wear your cycle helmet.
Wednesday activity
When we play outside at Nursery on a sunny day, one of the most popular activities is creating a car/bike wash. We put some soapy water in a bucket and add some cloths/sponges, washing up brushes and a few old spray bottles. Children love to clean the wheels on the trikes; this often develops into garage role play including fixing bikes and refuelling at the petrol station.
