Explore the Outdoors with Dinosaur Train - Nature Trackers Book Giveaway!

Spring is springing and what better way to celebrate World Habitat Awareness Month (April) and Earth Day (April 22) then to set out exploring the nature around you with Dinosaur Train’s Buddy and the Nature Trackers.

World Habitat Awareness Month is a worldwide observance for the need to protect the habitat of all Earth’s creatures and to make a conscious effort to preserve nature’s ecosystems, celebrating the spirit of unity between people, animals and the natural environment.   And, Earth Day is an annual day on which events are held worldwide to increase awareness and appreciation of the Earth's natural environment!  The Jim Henson Company, PBS KIDS, Readers Digest Children’s Books and Dinosaur Train are jumping onboard to celebrate Earth Month too!

For some great ideas on how to explore nature, consider joining the Dinosaur Train Nature Tracker’s Club, a FREE to join community of young children, their families and educators committed to learning about nature and doing good things for their environment.   Nature Trackers enjoy exploring and having adventures, respecting their environment, collecting things, tracking and observing plants and animals, and challenging themselves to get outside and make discoveries every day.   Download your Dinosaur Train’s Nature Trackers Club Guide Book, available here and when you have completed all four activities, simply mail in the form provided in the book along with a self-addressed stamped envelope and receive an official Nature Trackers member token!

For even MORE Nature Trackers’ Fun, check out Buddy and The Nature Trackers from Readers Digest Children’s Books.

More than 45 flaps to lift and a learning activity on each spread combine to make this book both entertaining and educational!  The Nature Trackers are always on the lookout for interesting things to discover all around them. Kids will enjoy the adventures of Buddy, Tiny, Shiny and Don as they check out a cave filled with colorful gems, watch baby dinosaurs hatch from eggs, and more. The activities throughout reinforce early learning concepts like colors, action words, counting, matching, and opposites.   SRP $9.99, ages 2 and up.  Available wherever books are sold.

Want other ideas to get into nature? 

• Take the Dinosaur Train Geocaching Challenge!  Geocaching is a modern day, worldwide treasure hunt whereby participants can both hide and seek containers called geocaches.  Geocaching encourages children to explore their surroundings, use observational skills and have an adventure right in their own neighborhood.  Geocaching is a family friendly outdoor adventure that blends technology, gaming and environmental discovery. Each geocache features one of the dinosaurs found on the online Dinosaur Train Field Guide and contains educational information related to that dinosaur.

• ALSO, Starting April 1, PBS KIDS kicks off Earth Month with three weeks of “Explore the Outdoors” local events designed to encourage kids and families to explore the outdoors and discover nature.   For the second year in a row, in partnership with NRPA members across the country, local PBS member stations will be hosting events with PBS KIDS Explore the Outdoors activities and materials.  From investigations of wind, trees and habitats to nature hikes and recycling activities, families can learn up-close about nature and the environment. For more information on local events, or to pick up materials to explore the outdoors on your own, visit PBS Parents (PBSParents.org/outdoors).     

WHEW!  If you need to take a break after all that activity, then its time to sit down, relax and see what else we have in store for you!

The Jim Henson Company and PBS KIDS are offering even more ideas for learning about the nature around you with a brand new online game, Backyard Theropods!

Learn all about today's dinosaurs - birds!  Join Dr. Scott and help place interesting birds in their appropriate habitat. Use a bird caller to attract the bird, listen to the clue and then select where you think it lives. You will learn what different birds sound like, look like, what they are called, where they are likely to live, and about the ancestral connection between birds and dinosaurs. Once you learn a little more about birds you can get out in nature and look for birds in your own backyard! 

ALSO, starting April 1, PBS KIDS kicks off Earth Month with three weeks of “Explore the Outdoors” themed on-air programming, and will air “Dancing with Dinosaurs” the week April 8 – 12. Encore presentations of some of the most musical episodes of Dinosaur Train make for a week of dance-tastic adventures. Buddy, Shiny, Tiny and Don explore ponds, gardens, oceans and more. They sing and dance as they encourage kids to get outside, get into nature and make their own discoveries.  These episodes are:

• That’s Not a Dinosaur/Tiny’s Garden
• Remember the Alamosaurus/Sunrise, Sunset
• Elmer Elasmosaurus/Dinosaur Block Party
• Junior Conductor Jamboree/Troodon Train Day
• Buddy Explores the Tyrannosaurs/Rainy Day Fight

Find more Dinosaur Train Books at HERE

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We have an exciting for a giveaway too. You can win the wonderful Buddy & The Nature Trackers book from Reader’s Digest Children’s Books.  To enter, just fill in the Rafflecopter form below. Giveaway is open to the US only and will end on 4/28/13.  Thanks again to  Dinosaur Train for offering this fantastic prize.

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

 ***Please note that I received no form of monetary compensation for this post. I did receive a sample of the product to try in order to write a fair and honest review. The opinions expressed in this review are my own and were not influenced in any way. Please note that I am not responsible for the delivery of this prize and can not be held accountable if, for any reason, is it not received. Furthermore, I am in no way liable for any injuries that may result from the use or misuse of this product. ***