The popular Polar Express story paired perfectly with some Saturday morning Naperville Safety Town fun in a newly launched activity for kids ages 4 to 6.
“We are here with our first ever Polar Express learning about railroad safety and then doing some holiday activities,” said Safety Town Program Director Jennifer Weter.
“So kids came in there having chocolate milk and cookies while we were reading the story of the Polar Express, talking about the safety of the railroad and the trains,” explained Weter. “And then now they are participating in just a variety of activities surrounding that. So creating bells, playing games and singing Christmas songs.”
More than just Story Time
This was more than your normal story time. Safety Town and the National Charity League used the book to springboard into a “safety around train tracks” lesson.
“We’re learning about railroad safety as well. So a lot of the things that happen in the Polar Express on the train are not very safe. So trying to educate the young ones about, you know, just railroad safety and what to do around trains and how to know that they’re coming and making sure that they’re safe around trains that are moving and not moving,” said Weter.
“And it also gave us a great opportunity to partner with the National Charity League in Naperville. And they were our volunteers for the day, it was a mother daughter volunteer organization that helped us out,” said Safety Town President Christina Brady.
First Time Success
It was the first time the holiday event was hosted by Safety Town, and brought in a strong turnout.
“It’s just nice to see the kids all come in their pajamas this morning. It was so cool to see these kids come in in their pajamas and a lot of them are familiar with the story of the Polar Express. So they really enjoyed that,” said Weter
“There was a lot of excitement and it sold out quickly. So that was great for us and we will definitely be looking forward to doing this next year as well.” said Brady
Naperville News 17 Patrick Codo Reports.