Shopping for classroom furniture and decor can be SO expensive. But it doesn’t have to be when you can get a little crafty yourself! Today I am sharing my Kmart Train Table Hack which will turn your bland table into a multi-purpose piece of furniture for learning and play!
First you’ll need to head to your local Kmart store and grab their amazingly affordable train table – it’s only $49 AUD #bargainshopping!
You’ll see that it’s bright blue which I find just a little too bright for our play space. But that’s nothing a little bit of spray paint can’t fix! My husband is a painter by trade, so he used prepped the table and then used White Knight Rust Guard Enamel spray paint from Bunnings. One can was enough to cover all the parts you can see. We didn’t bother painting the base because sometimes we still use it as a train table.
Next you’ll want to grab a 1m x 1m piece of fake turf. Mine is from Bunnings but I’ve seen it at places like Big W, The Reject Shop and many other fabulous homeware stores. Simply cut a piece to fit the top of your train table and you are good to go. The Kmart table has a nice lip around the edges which will stop your turf from slipping.
Now you have a beautiful little hacked table which is now perfect for small world play! Add your favourite plastic animals and natural loose parts for some exciting imaginative play. We have made little fairy worlds and jungles using our hacked train table. You can also add some background music using your phone to really set the scene.
Don’t stop there though, you can also use your beautiful new table to set up learning spaces based on the interests of the Little Learners in your classroom. I set up this little Creepy Crawly invitation using some of our Wild Republic bugs, books, posters and magnifying glasses.
If you’re feeling extra creative, you could order a piece of ply and cut it to size. Paint it with a coat of chalkboard paint and then your Little Learners can draw their own small worlds. Perfect!
You can also grab a FREE copy of my Sensory Play Shopping list which will set a solid foundation for your sensory play! It’s filled with affordable resources to kickstart your sensory play stash today! You’ll also get three bonus activities suitable for sensory play beginners!
What would you use your Hacked Train Table for?
For more play inspiration, be sure to join the Play Ideas for Little Learners facebook group!
So creative! Thank you and well done 🙂 So glad I came across your page!
I think I have the same train table and I am looking to give it a makeover. Can you tell me how much and what kind of prep work you did. You just used spray paint to paint the outside?