Activity time: 15 minutes

Materials for Activity

• Leader Resource 1, Dream Train Engine and Cars
• Markers, crayons, and pencils in a variety of colors

Preparation for Activity

• Using Leader Resource 1, make multiple copies of the two different train car illustrations and one or two copies of the engine car (depending on how large your group is, and how many complete Dream Trains you will display).
• Identify a bulletin board or wall where you can display the children's artwork as a train, when the drawing is done.

Description of Activity

Children learn that everybody dreams as they create picture stories of the dreams they may remember.

Distribute the individual pages of a train engine or car and invite the children to see if they can remember a dream and draw a story about it on their train engine or car. Say that when they are done drawing they can tell about their dreams and you will display everyone's dream stories together in a dream train. Show or tell the children where you will put up the display.

It may be difficult for children this age to remember their dreams. Tell the children that everybody dreams, but not everyone can recall what they dreamed. Invite them, if they cannot remember a dream, to use their imaginations to invent a silly and fun dream they may want to have.

Give the group time to draw on the train cars. If a child finishes quickly, offer them another train car to illustrate with another dream story.

When the group is finished drawing, ask for volunteers to tell the story of what they drew. Do not attempt to guess at what a picture might be. The point of the activity is the child's experience and how they explain it. You may choose to model making a silly picture and only explain yours as a dream you have had, or think it would be fun to have.

You may ask:

• Does anyone want to tell the story of your dream?
• Was it easy or hard to remember your dream? Did you decide to make one up, instead?
• Has anyone had the same dream, more than one time?
• Isn't it interesting to think about our mind telling stories, when we are sleeping?