Thomas the Tank Engine {Book Unit}

Generally, my usual book units are done over the span of five days. However, this Thomas the Tank Engine book unit spanned the entirety of one whole day. Yes, this will be a homeschool day with lots of learning. But above all, I wanted all five children to have fun! We have a full set of Thomas the Tank Engine books and have read and reread them until they are almost falling apart. They are now on a treasured shelf in our hallway awaiting our grandchildren ❤️

This time, I asked each of the children to choose their favourite book and I read those aloud to all of them whilst they nibbled on their breakfast. Firstly though, we needed to make the breakfast…

Breakfast

Abigail made some train shaped bread slices using a train cookie cutter. After, we toasted, buttered and marmited them and ate them with a lovely cool glass of milk:

I have been secretly hiding Thomas the Tank Engine bits and bobs for the purpose of this book unit . I wanted enough activities to keep them busy all day but with enough variety that they would not get bored. We already had a beautiful wooden Thomas set which Granny and Grandad have been adding to each birthday and Christmas, as well as biscuit cutters and the odd Thomas and Friends games. However, I did add a few magazines and themed cupcakes to pad out what we already had.

Sibling Time with Thomas the Tank Engine

Thomas the Tank Engine Track Building

One of my favourite favourite things about homeschooling is the development of such close relationships between all five of my children. I feel so blessed because the older three love to be involved in the younger girls’ lives. On this day, I asked Thomas to build a large, intricate railway. He would be playing with them later on:

Thomas the Tank Engine Activity Trays

Whilst Thomas worked on building a fabulous train track for his younger sisters, Lillie and Charlotte partnered up with Abigail and Rebecca to enjoy each tray. First up is Charlotte and Becca (1). For their trays they had a wooden train puzzle, stickers and paper, playdough with tools and train cutters and some dot paint pens and magazine to dot on. They got stuck in straight away, particularly attracted to activities which made the most mess!

Next, Lillie and Abigail. They had a Thomas memory game, a train threading activity and a geometric matching activity, a reusable sticker book, floor puzzle and a train shape activity. Likewise, they dug in with glee!

Thomas the Tank Engine Muffin Tin Meal

I LOVE making themed muffin tin meals. It has all my favourite things: showing love to my children, lots of creativity and much food 😁. To this end, I drew out a sketch of what I wanted to attempt for the girls muffin tin meal. I used a flower shaped muffin tin as I didn’t have/couldn’t find a train shaped one. First, I warmed up some Thomas themed pasta and included some train shaped cheese to put on top. Next, I made the fruit train from mango, pineapple and melon balls. Lastly, I added some Thomas themed crisps and cup cakes. Without doubt, my girls favourite meal of the week!

Thomas the Tank Engine Train Play

Together with their older siblings, they played their little hearts out with their wonderful wooden train set (thank you Granny and Grandad!) for the rest of the afternoon…

…until they all relaxed in front of a Thomas DVD, blowing their Thomas whistles at the TV screen! Without doubt, one of the most successful, joyful days of homeschooling ever!