Train Conductor Pretend Play

We let Boo use my hole punch a while ago and noticed how much he enjoyed it. The Good Doctor suggested I have him pretend he's a train conductor and punch train tickets. So last week when it was FREEZING cold here, I set it all up.

We have a Thomas the Train pop-up tent that we got on Craig's List a while ago. I grabbed some paper out of our recycle and cut out a few tickets. I also cut out some paper to be money so we could pay for our tickets and any snacks along the way. Boo had fun pretending first to be a passenger: buying his ticket, boarding the train, getting his ticket punched, stowing his luggage, and then traveling through the house with a few pit stops to buy snacks, etc. Our destinations included the Magical Forest {our living room where our Christmas tree is set up and we also have a ficus} and Office Land {you can figure out where that was}. He really liked being the conductor too. It was a lot of fun.

To extend the role playing activity, you could also do the suitcase craft from No Time For Flashcards. We did that craft before traveling for Thanksgiving. Boo had fun picking out things he needed for the trip and we used our Cozy Coupe to pretend like we were driving the long drive to Mimi & Pop's, complete with stops for gas.

What are some of your favorite role playing activities to do with your kids?