Here at Edspire HQ
We are train mad
Absolutely bonkers for trucks, tracks and trains
Today I saw my lovely friend Karin
Asking for inspiration for tracks
And decided that I should share
Some of our engineering feats
To be fair I cannot take any credit at all
Daddy and his little helpers
Do all the track building round here
I choose the parts that we buy
I add the storytelling element
But the construction and engineering
Has very little to do with me
Esther and William have adored trains for as long as I can remember
They have loved Thomas now for at least a year
I often think of beautiful Baby Tilda
And wonder if she would have been sucked in
To the splendour of Sodor
The romance of the railway
Or if she would have chosen her own different path?
I am not entirely sure the choice would have been her own.
Here at Edspire HQ
We are train mad
Absolutely bonkers for trucks, tracks and trains
No matter how many new toys we get
No matter what different types of trains we try
We always come back to our traditional wooden track
Made up of BigJigs and Brio
Janod and GLTC
A dash of Tesco accessories
And some unnamed, unbranded wooden trains
A real mish mash
Of wooden wonder
Our favourite waste of time
Filling the playroom with trains and track
So what would be my tips for a top toddler track?
From two and a half to three and a half
This is what Esther and William have most enjoyed
Top tracks include a range of bridges
We have bridges of varying colours, sizes and functions
The gentle rise and fall of the viaduct is a favourite
Top tracks include interesting twists and turns
They involve having to make choices
This way or that way?
Under or over?
Top tracks encourage problem solving and decision making
A turntable is a great addition to a complex track
It opens up lots of different routes and runs
Top tracks include different levels
Create them with wooden blocks
Or use the furniture to add interest
Under the sofa leg
Round the play table
Up and over a shelf
Between two surfaces
Top tracks are not always in the same place
Sometimes inside, sometimes out
Sometimes on the floor
Sometimes on a table
Top tracks have room for lots of engines
Working together along the lines
Top tracks have potential for accidents
For trains getting into trouble
Falling off bridges
Crashing off tracks
Dead ends and no entry signs
Top tracks have bells to ring
Have actions that cause exciting things to happen
Top tracks make use of lots of other toys
Past the castle
Through the tunnel
Beside the track runs road for the Land Train
Top tracks can be found in autumn leaves
Or covered in super soft snow
Top tracks offer characters and potential for telling stories
Top tracks set different scenarios and scenes
Top tracks invite children to use their imaginations
To enter a world of magical play
Top tracks for twins need to be big enough to play together
Side by side
Interacting but not interrupting one another’s play
So much fun to be had with trains and track
So much potential for learning through play
So many things to test, solve, adapt and explore
We play with our trains everyday
Each time in a slightly different way
How did you play with your trains today?
Love this Jennie your children really are train mad, my 3 will play with the wooden train set occasionally, the boys are getting a bit too big for all of that now, but their and mine favourite train set is the Thomas the tank engine duplo sets, we recently set the duplo sets up again over Christmas and all 3 joined in playing together, even the 7 year old still loves duplo! Not sure you can still get Thomas duplo now but I would highly recommend the sets if you can still buy them!
Wow! I’m always so amazed by the clever tracks D makes in your playroom. I can’t even come close when I try at home. I love the idea of using the furniture and other static toys as part of the setup. As S gets older, I plan to be more creative too. S loved the snow tracks when we last visited you, so I’m thinking of doing something with sand in preparation for the summer.
I adore the pic of William in his superhero custom!
xx
Wow – that is an impressive amount of track! I can certainly verify you know your stuff!! You helped me when I was looking for my little girl’s first train set and we went with Brio as you recommended and she LOVES it xx fab post xx
Jennie,
Absolutely breathtaking. Thank you so much for your wonderful tips, photos and inspiration. You always inspire…in everything you do. Sam would be entranced to play with Esther and William. Thank you so much for writing this, for David and his creations and Esther & William for their imagination. Matilda would have been right alongside them…much love to you all.
Karin xx
Karin xx
All your tracks look great, James is the track maker in this house too (I haven’t the logical brain to make anything complex) I think next birthday/Christmas with the boys I might invest in some more interesting track pieces as Sam seems to be enjoying trains a lot at the moment! Thanks for the inspiration x
This is absolutely amazing, Jennie. We have a mixture of Brio, BigJigs and Tesco here and we love them so much. Seeing this post just makes me want to buy more and do more. You always create such magical memories for Esther and William. TC is a huge Thomas fan already so I’m bookmarking this post for future reference. Thank you so much for posting all this xx
Oh this is wonderful. You can see how engrossed they are. Love that Tilda is still included xx
Oh wow, this is amazing! My kids had their first wooden train set for Christmas and it’s already clear they’ll get hours of fun from it as it’s just wonderful. Have pinned this to show the husband the kind of tracks he needs to be working on!
My friend and his son with their creative track
http://youtu.be/NGg-iAXLMKw
Love this. We are also train-mad in our house! In fact, a lot of what Father Christmas bought this year was train-related.
I like how you really incorporate different worlds within the train tracks i.e. the airport.
I recently started a similar mini-series on my blog showing a photo of our latest train track creation- mostly created by my partner, he is the engineer in our house. Hoping my two take after him instead of me in that department!
If you ever fancy starting a train-themed ‘linky’, or know of one to join, then let me know- i’d be well up for it!
Becky