I've Been Working on the Railroad...

Choo Chooooo.  The first union station opened on this day way back in 1853!  Just so happens that union station is in our home city of Indianapolis!  In case you were wanting to celebrate this fun fact today, here are a few terrific train activities to do with your little ones.

Fingerprint Freight Train

Fingerprint Freight Train from Craftoart.com

One of our favorite train books is "Freight Train" by Donald Crews.  It's really neat to see all the different types of cars and different colors.  The story is very short, but still fun to read with the little ones.

This thumbprint/fingerprint activity from Craftoart.com is inspired by the book and is oh so cute!  I love these types of crafts that can become keepsakes!

3D Train with Tracks Craft

Train with Tracks from Parents.com

For a more three dimensional craft this adorable train and track craft from Parents.com should be tons of fun!  Who knew you could make such a cute train with a few wooden blocks, an empty spool, and wagon wheel pasta!  I think at the very least we will be making some craft stick train tracks!

Hand/Arm Tracing Train Craft

Train Craft from TheBestKidsBookSite.com

And lastly here's a fun craft where your child can trace their entire arm and hand and turn it into a train!

Since we are doing a dinosaur unit right now, we're going to get out our Dinosaur Train talking dinosaurs and have come fun!  There are also some great games and videos over at the PBS kids website for Dinosaur Train to check out!