Giveaway: Dinosaur Train - Get Ready For Kindergarten

I think one of the hardest moments a Mom can have is that day when your little one starts kindergarten, and they're off to school. Sniffle! (OK, after about 2 weeks I think everyone recovers and rejoices a little. LOL There are moments I rethink the whole homeschooling idea... lol)

But before that moment is there, we have the responsibility as parents to get our kids ready by learning to write, say their ABC's, and counting. Since their attention span isn't the longest at this age, using favorite characters and TV shows can help them learn. When I was a little girl, Sesame Street was one of the few learning choices on the air. Now, with cable, there are lots more options, including another Henson Company show, Dinosaur Train! The Dinosaur Train website has a bunch of activities for encouraging scientific thinking among the preschool set, as well as fun coloring pages and games.


If you're looking for a fun activity to do with your kids this week, try this one:

Help your child learn some basic insect anatomy by creating a model of a dragonfly, and learn that some animals seen in the world today also lived at the time of the dinosaurs. Basic supplies needed include construction paper, wooden Popsicle sticks, strong tape, pipe cleaners, colored markers, glue and glitter (and photographs of real dragonflies from books or the Internet). For instructions go to: Dinosaur Train: Dragonfly Acitivity

How about making a dinosaur panorama in an old shoe box?

There are lots more available on the website (and Internet in general), so have fun - it gives us as parents an excuse to play, and brush up on some of the topics we learned when we were younger. The Dinosaur Train website even has a little field guide containing information on 26 different species of dinosaurs, many of which you'll see on the show.

In conjunction with the Dinosaur Train series, the Henson Company is releasing a new line of toys, called Get ready for Kindergarten. There are some neat things coming out, including a Dino Train T-Rex backpack from ACCESSORIES 22 and a Dinosaur Train Take ‘N’ Play Anywhere™ Go Fishing™ Magnetic Activity from PATCH PRODUCTS:


That game looks fun, doesn't it? There's lots of other goodies available, so be sure to check them out at your local stores like Target, Amazon.com, and toy speciality stores.

Win it! Do you have Dinosaur Train fans in your house too? One lucky reader will win a Dinosaur Train backpack full of goodies from the new learning toy line! To enter, tell us your (grand)child's favorite dinosaur, and one way you've helped your child learn things for school.

As always, you can receive extra entries for:

-Subscribing to my feed or following my blog (1 entry, your choice of ways to follow)
-Blogging about this giveaway with a link back
-Tweeting about this giveaway (leave the link in your comment below or @psychotichouse)
Example: Enter to win Dinosaur Train Prize Pack http://goo.gl/fb/yBObx @psychotichouse ends 9/4

That's four (4) possible entries! Giveaway ends September 4th at 11:59 PM PST, and please leave your email address in your entry or have it available in your profile. US only, sorry :(

I didn't receive anything for this post, but one reader will win a prize thanks to the giveaway sponsor.