From the Little Engine to the Little Caboose, trains are a storytime hit. I learned a couple of new-to-me songs in prepping for this week’s storytime, and boy, are they catchy! Be prepared to chugga-chugga and whoo-whoo all the way through your program.
Early Literacy Tip: Toddlers love playing word games — repeating rhymes, singing songs and reciting chants. Rhyming words, even if they are nonsense, help them understand that language is made up of strings and patterns of phonemes, or individual sounds. Being able to hear these in oral language develops skills that help reading written language later.
Welcome Song: Hello, Friends* (TT) (TB) (FT)**
Warm Up Song: Wake Up, Feet* (TT) (TB) (FT)
This is a repeated song that everyone seems to enjoy. I always begin and end with feet and tummies, but find two other body parts to wiggle in the middle. This week it was elbows and cheeks.
Lifting Rhyme: Toast in the Toaster* (TT) (FT)
Rhyme: This is Big, Big, Big* (FT)
Intro: Chugga, chugga, chugga, chugga, CHOO CHOO! The storytime train is pulling into the station! It’s time to celebrate trains!
I bought a wooden train whistle just for this rhyme, and everyone got excited when I gave it a toot – kids and adults alike! It actually was the inspiration for our craft today.
Action Rhyme: Choo Choo Train (TT) (TB) (FT)
Here’s a little choo choo train chugging down the track (chug arms)
Now it’s going forward (chug forward)
Now it’s going back (chug backwards)
Hear the bell ringing (ring a bell), Now the whistle blows (woo!)
What a lot of noise it makes everywhere it goes!
Source: Adventures of a Bookworm
Tickle Rhyme: Down the Track (TT) (FT)
Chugga-chugga Chugga-chugga, Choo-choo!
The train runs down the track (walk fingers up one arm)
Chugga-chugga Chugga-chugga, Choo-choo!
And then it runs right back (walk fingers down)
Source: King County (WA) Library System
Transition: If You’re Ready for a Story* (TT) (TB) (FT)
Numbers, senses, noises, scenery – there’s a lot packed into this simple book.
Read: Chugga Chugga Choo Choo by Emma Garcia (TT) (FT)
This one is very visually appealing, but there are times that the rhyme scheme changes or is a little awkward, so be sure to practice ahead of time. I lean in to the hissing and ask the kids to help me.
Read: Snakes on a Train by Kathryn Dennis (TB)
I modified this one slightly to match the train cars from Donald Crews’ Freight Train. I found these beautiful printables from kizclub.com and printed and laminated them for this flannelboard. Of course, it’s super long so it’s hard to take a picture. In my program I ended up just making two parallel lines.
Flannel/Counting Rhyme: Clickety Clack
Clickety-clack, clickety-clack,
Here comes the train on the railroad track!
Clickety-clunn, clickety-clunn, Here comes ENGINE number 1
Clickety-clew, clickety-clew, Here is COAL CAR number 2
Clickety-clee, clickety-clee, Here is BOX CAR number 3
Clickety-clore, clickety-clore, GONDOLA CAR is number 4
Clickety-clive, clickety-clive, Here comes CATTLE CAR number 5
Clickety-clicks, clickety-clicks, HOPPER CAR is number 6
Clickety-cleven, clickety-cleven, Here’s TANK CAR number 7
Clickety-clate, clickety-clate, Little red CABOOSE is number 8!
Clickety-clack, clickety-clack,
There goes the train on the railroad track! Choo-choo! Goodbye!
Source: Storytime Katie
This one actually messed me up – after singing it, I could not get the tune of “Wheels on the Bus” in my head. This happens to me on occasion, where a tune just completely escapes me. Sigh. In any event, this is a really cute song, and I was glad to learn it.
Song: The Little Red Train Going Down the Track (TT)
There’s a little red train going down the track
Look at the wheels go clickety clack
Chorus: And the train wheels are rolling, rolling, rolling, rolling
And the train wheels are rolling, rolling right along
There’s an engine in the front and a caboose in the back
Look at those wheels go clickety clack… (chorus)
The little train goes to the top of the hill,
It goes very slow but it gets there still
It gets to the top and it goes back down
Look at the wheels go around and around (chorus)
Source: Kathy Reid-Naiman via Jbrary
After having trouble the first session with the “Little Red Train” song, I skipped it for the last two sessions and I was able to recall the Wheels on the Bus tune. Whew. Those groups really enjoyed the motions on this one.
Song: The Wheels on the Train (TB) (FT)
The wheels on the train go clickety-clack,
Clickety-clack, clickety-clack
The wheels on the train go clickety-clack,
All along the track
The whistle on the train goes toot, toot, toot…
The conductor on the train says, “All aboard!”…
The people on the train go bounce, bounce, bounce…
The engine on the train goes chug, chug, chug…
Source: Jen in the Library
I remember this one from my childhood, though we didn’t count down then, just sang it with one peanut. For some extra silliness, blow a raspberry after singing “peanut butter.” The video below isn’t the tune I remember, though, it’s more like this one.
Fingerplay: Three Peanuts (TB) (FT)
Three peanuts sat on a railorad track (hold up three fingers)
Their hearts were all a-flutter (flutter hand on chest)
Around the bend came Number 10 (make wide around motion)
Whoo-whooo (pull train whistle cord), Peanut Butter!
(count down)
Source: King County (WA) Library System
This is a barnstormer of a song – it goes fast but is so much fun.
Song: Little Red Caboose (TT) (TB) (FT)
Little red caboose chug, chug, chug,
Little red caboose chug, chug, chug,
Little red caboose behind the train, train, train, train
Smokestack on its back, back, back, back
Coming down the track, track, track, track
Little red caboose behind the train, Woo-woo!
Little red caboose chug, chug, chug
Little red caboose chug, chug, chug,
Little red caboose behind the train, train, train, train
Always at the end, end, end, end
Comin’ round the bend, bend, bend, bend
Little red caboose behind the train, Woo-woo!
Always on time, time, time, time
Comin’ down the line, line, line, line
Little red caboose behind the train, train, train
Never running late, late, late, late
Comin’ through the gate, gate, gate, gate
Little red caboose behind the train, Woo-woo!
Source: Lindsay Munroe
Get a downloadable ukulele songsheet for “Little Red Caboose” here!
Action Song: Zoom, Zoom, Zoom!* (TT) (TB) (FT)
Craft: Cardboard Train Whistle
I couldn’t flaunt my train whistle without letting the kids make one of their own! Essentially, we made a simple kazoo using a toilet paper tube, wax paper, and a rubber band. The instructions call for making a small hole somewhere along the exposed edge (i.e. not under the wax paper) which I pre-made. I also pre-cut circles of wax paper. I provided dot markers for decoration, but any paint or markers would work. I tried drawing a train on mine – it was not super successful. An all-over design would likely work better! Lastly, it can be tricky to “play” a kazoo – you can’t blow into it, you have to hum, so we practiced a little when they were done making theirs.
Play Time
The toddlers have two laundry baskets of baby toys – rattles and cars, sorters and stackers, toy phones and spinners. For the older kids, I have foam blocks, soft food toys, puzzles, and a few other items that are a little more sophisticated than the baby toys. For Family Time, I gauge the overall age of the group and put out what seems right for them. We play for 5-10 minutes at the most, then I ring the bell and ask the kids to help me clean up. I think the clean up bit is good practice for them!
Goodbye Song: See You Later Alligator* (TT) (TB) (FT)
Goodbye Rhyme: Tickle the Stars* (TT) (TB) (FT)
Other books I had available for families to browse (and may work for you on this theme)
Mr. Complain Takes the Train – Wade Bradford & S. britt
Freight Train – Donald Crews
Listen Up! Train Song – Victoria Allenby
And the Train Goes… – William Bee
I Like Trains – Daisy Hirst
I Can Make a Train Noise – Michael Emberley & Marie-Louise Fitzpatrick
How to Train a Train – Jason Carter Eaton & John Rocco
Choo-Choo School – Amy Krouse Rosenthal & Mike Yamada
I’m Fast! – Kate & Jim McMullan
This storytime was presented in-person on 4/3, 4/4, & 4/5/23.
Storytime Handout:
*Lyrics to these songs can be found on the Repeated Songs & Rhymes page.
**These symbols indicate the program sessions I used the activities for:
(TT) Toddler Time, ages 1-2
(TB) Teddy Bears, ages 2-3.5
(FT) Family Time, ages 0-3.5
Storytime with Ms. Emily Library 