It's no wonder that the Trolley is a favorite of many children. Anything that moves on its own is bound to fascinate someone who has only recently learned to walk on his or her own... both fast and slow.

Separating Real and Pretend

Why is there a Trolley in Mister Rogers' Neighborhood? One of the important tasks of childhood is understanding what's real and what's pretend and the trolley is a way to separate the real Neighborhood -- Mister Rogers' house and visits with neighbors, where things happen in a real way -- from the Neighborhood of Make-Believe, inhabited by the puppet characters, where things can happen by make-believe...by magic.

The Importance of Transitions

We also wanted a transition between the two Neighborhoods to help ease children from one Neighborhood into the other. We may feel that transitions (times between one thing and another) are "nowhere at all," but they are really extremely important, giving children some time to leave behind where they've been and in getting ready to face what's ahead.

After the Trolley returns from Make-Believe, Mister Rogers completes the transition by talking with the children about what they saw in the puppet neighborhood before he moves on to another activity.

Transitions in Child Care

Children need lots of help from their caregivers as they deal with changes from home to child care ... from activity to activity ... back home. As you help them adjust and prepare for what's ahead all through the day, you're helping them deal with changes -- and then they're more able to be open to the learning opportunities that you're offering them.

A Story

We recently heard from a father about his five-year-old son who was looking at the side of a penny that shows the Lincoln Memorial. "Look, Daddy," he called out, "Here's Mister Rogers' Trolley." What a wonderful reminder that when children encounter something new, they bring to it what they already know. That five year old boy who thought the Lincoln Memorial looked like our Trolley, found another side to his penny -- the side with the picture of Abraham Lincoln himself. What do you think he said to his Dad this time? "Look, Daddy! Here's Mister Rogers!"

Back to Theme