Kids love trains so why not introduce our littlest engineers to an underwater railway? Magnetic vehicles, movement, flexible track, and a sea full of swimming creatures provide endless fun and learning as kids assemble their track with bubbling fish and set the train in motion. The orange octopus is the engineer as he pulls the starfish’s wagon across the figure 8 to the ocean floor. As the train passes over the ocean floor, two fish and a crab dance or swim along, drawn by the magnet and spread little blue and white bubbles throughout the water. Children experiment in making different shapes and routes with the track, learn cause effect as they have some first magnetic fun, and can animate their octopus and star fish, carrying on a conversation. Parents have plenty of opportunity to describe the action, led by their child, to build language learning. “The octopus rolled over the bump into the water.” “The octopus is in front of the train, the starfish is in back.” “The red fish is next to the turtle.” The best toddler toys, like this Undersea Railway, have lots to discover by the child and many details or actions to describe by an adult, feeding the child language associated with their play.
Available at Hape
