For young children try these titles:
Any of the Harry and the Bucketful of Dinosaurs series
Any of the Dinosaur Train Series
Go Diego Go!: The Great Dinosaur Rescue
Sesame Street: Dinosaurs!
Wonder Pets: Save the Dinosaur!
FIELD TRIP:
If you live near a museum that highlights dinosaurs go there for a field trip.
If you are lucky enough to live in a region that has many dinosaur digs see if you can arrange a fossil Hunt for your kids. This is usually done through the nearest museum. We were able to go on a guided hike and participate in fossil prospecting (which means we could find and gather fossils, then show them to our guide and fellow hikers, and then we had to put them back). Our kids were also able to participate in fossil casting through the museum as well.
Visit the badlands...you may live around an area that is used for excavations or had dinosaurs in the past. Journeying to these destinations makes for a great family hike.
PUZZLES:
Print out a Dinosaur Word Search:
Easy Dinosaur Word Search or Difficult Dinosaur Word Search.
Check here for the answer keys:
Easy Dinosaur Word Search Key or Difficult Dinosaur Word Search Key.
JOKES:
Q: What do you call it when dinosaurs crash their cars?
A: Tyrannosaurus Wrecks!
PUPPET SHOWS:
There are many great travelling shows that have terrific dinosaur puppets. Here are two we have seen over the years:
1) Walking with Dinosaurs - http://www.dinosaurlive.com/
2) Dinosaur Petting Zoo (by Erth Physical and Visual Theatre) - http://erth.com.au/
Here are some Dinosaur Movies:
The Good Dinosaur
Dinosaur, Disney movie with digital animation that looks realistic.
Any of the Land Before Time Series (warning: The original movie has a pretty sad moment—think Bambi—so you may want to pass on that one, but the others in the series are just fine).
Scooby-Doo! Legend of the Phantosaur
RoYAL TYRRELL MUSEUM, Drumheller, Alberta
GAMES:
Pin the Dinosaur on the island:
I made this game for my sons's 5th Birthday! I painted a simple island onto poster paper and then drew various dinosaurs (you can use colouring pages from the internet or trace from a colouring book if you want). Each child picked a dinosaur at the beginning of the party and coloured it as a simple craft/party activity. .
There are many dinosaur movies and kids shows to watch as a family. Find some at your library!
AUDIO VISUAL:
Search through your child’s DVD/ video collection (or visit your local library before hand) to find your child’s favourite shows with dinosaurs in them.
the hoodoos
Drumheller, Alberta
Any of the Jurassic Park or Jurassic World movies
Try to find this non-fiction title at your local library:
Bill Nye the Science Guy: Dinosaurs, Disney Educational Productions
Dinosaurs -
For Fun
COLOURING PAGES:
You can find many free colouring pages online by using your favourite search engine and typing in Dinosaur Colouring Pages or print out my Dinosaurs Colouring Page.
Copyright 2012. Family Theme Days. All rights reserved.
natural history MUSEUM, new york city
Q: What do you call it when a dinosaur makes a goal in soccer?
A: A dino-score!
Q: What do dinosaurs like on their pancakes?
A: Try-Syrup-Tops!
Q: What do you call it when you cross a dinosaur and fireworks?
A: Dino-mite!
Q: What do you call a blind dinosaur?
A: I-Don't-Think-He-Saurus
DINOSAUR TOYS:
If your child has some plastic dinosaur toys today would be a great day to play with them together. Try using wooden blocks and some blankets to create a wondrous dinosaur world for the toys!
LET’s PRETEND:
Encourage your child to move like the different dinosaurs you have read about.