Locomotive

"Hear the HISSSSSSSSS and the SPIT of the steam!  Hear the engine breathe like a beast:  HUFF HUFF HUFF!" 

See how a steam engine works!  This is an incredibly simplified explanation of how steam can create movement, but it was enough to appease my son!  My son helped me fill our tea kettle up with water and then we put it on the stove to heat up.  While we were waiting, it was a great time to talk about stove safety, and also how when you see steam that means something is very HOT!  When the kettle finally started whistling (just like the train!), we held a pinwheel over the steam and watched it spin like crazy!  It took a little finagling to get the pinwheel at just the right angle for it to really whirl, but once it got going, it was really fun!  

***Make sure your Little keeps hands away from the steam!

"She carries the crew that makes her run: brakemen, fireman, engineer... and in charge of them all, the conductor, the captain of the train.  He cries: 'All aboard!'  Step up, step quick!  Up in the cab the crew's making ready.  The train's about to leave!"

Play with trains!  My son has a set of wooden train tracks, so we played with those for awhile.  Then, we wanted to make things a bit more life-sized!  We lined up several empty diaper boxes and then some dining room chairs, and made a fantastic train that snaked through the living room.  We even got a shovel from the sandbox and shoveled "coal" (building blocks) into a tinder car to make sure our locomotive had enough fuel!