Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Celebrate Thanksgiving with Buddy and friends from Dinosaur Train!


Crispness can be felt in the cool autumn breeze, signaling that Thanksgiving is just around the corner.

In addition to kick-starting the holiday season and gathering the family together, Thanksgiving is also a wonderful way to introduce your youngsters to different foods and healthy eating habits as well as family traditions and the customs that mark the various holidays’ celebrations.

As you prepare for your family’s Thanksgiving dinner, involve your child with the menu planning and shopping list. This experience can reinforce counting and basic math skills, provides a visual example of how we can combine things to make something totally different, and can also be used to invite picky eaters to try new foods.

In fact, the Dinosaur Train webpage has a fun family project called Hungry Herbivores (http://www.pbs.org/parents/dinosaurtrain/activities/hungry-herbivores/) that can be used to construct a Thanksgiving dinner for modern day animals that enjoy a plant-based diet (herbivores). This fun project can also be used to encourage your child to eat Thanksgiving dishes like squash, green beans and other vegetables, just like the animals in the project.


One Thanksgiving tradition that is practiced in many homes throughout the nation is the expression of gratitude. As you sit down to Thanksgiving dinner, take a moment to go around the table and ask everyone to share what they are thankful for, young and old alike. The responses can sometimes surprise you, and often remind us of the little things we forget over the course of a year.

You can also use post-Thanksgiving dinnertime to discuss plans for the rest of the holiday season. Put the young ones in some cozy Dinosaur Train themed pajamas and slippers and read one of the many holiday-themed stories that they love:



Dinosaur Train Buddy & Pteranodon Friends Pajamas from American Marketing Enterprises (AME)
SRP: $20.00 This style available at: webundies.com, with alternative styles, including the Dinosaur Train Infant & Toddler Boy's Footed Pajamas at Kmart and Kmart.com. 



Now your little guy can get comfy with Buddy, the curious T-Rex and his Pteranodon pals Shiny, Tiny & Don! The pajama bottoms have an all-over print of Tiny posing on some prehistoric leaves in a primitive camouflage. The short-sleeve top features the dingo friends with contrasting sleeves. These 100% polyester pajamas are flame resistant for safety. Covered waistband. Machine Washable; Easy Care. Imported. Sizes 2T, 3T, 4T.









 Dnosaur Train Infant & Toddler Boy's Footed Pajamas from American Marketing Enterprises (AME)
SRP: $14.99.
Available at Kmart and Kmart.com



Little ones will love to stomp around and roar in dreamland adventures when they wear these adorable infant and toddler boy's footie pajamas from Dinosaur Train. These cozy, colorful pajamas are made of soft fleece and have an easy zip closure, and non-skid footed bottoms. These 100% polyester pajamas are flame resistant for safety. Sizes: 12 months, 18 Months, 2T, 3T, 4T, 5T.



Dinosaur Train Buddy the T-Rex Toddler Boys Moccasin Blue Slippers from Wiesner Products Inc.
SRP: $18.00
Available at: amazon.com

Perfect for any Dinosaur Train fan, these Buddy the T-Rex moccasin slippers feature cuddly soft uppers and an appliqué of Buddy with interesting T Rex facts. The thick, padded soles
are covered in a striped material with textured nubs for slip resistance. Sizes S, M, L.



Dinosaur Train "Buddy & Tiny" Black Toddler Boys Sock-Top Slippers from Wiesner Products Inc.
SRP: $16.00
Available at: amazon.com




It's always a learning adventure on the Dinosaur Train! Buddy and Tiny are featured on these adorable Dinosaur Train "Buddy & Tiny" sock top slippers. Cuddly and soft, the slippers feature ribbed knit cuffs and soft plush uppers with an exciting image of Buddy and Tiny on the toe. Textured soles are slip resistant. Perfect for any Dinosaur Train fan! Sizes S, M, L.


A Holiday with Buddy, a new paperback from Penguin Young Readers Group!



This colorful 32-page paperback book is great for read-aloud holiday fun as it follows Buddy and his family on their search for the biggest Cretaceous conifers, better known to us as Christmas trees, they can find to decorate for the holiday.

The story is guaranteed to get everyone in the holiday spirit (and makes a wonderful holiday gift, too) and can be used to discuss when your family will decorate your home for the holidays and the significance of those decorations. For ages 3 and up. MSRP: $3.99. Available wherever books are sold.





ALL NEW EPISODES

And coming up at PBS Kids on December 10 is a week of all-new episodes. New characters will be introduced – The Grandparents! Have your little ones snuggle up in their PJ’s and Slippers with the entire family to watch these fabulous new episodes! On December 10 tune in to PBS KIDS for “Tiny and the Crocodile”/“Meet the Grandparents” and on December 11 for “The Egg Stealer?”/ “To Grandparents Nest We Go!” the new episodes continue on December 12 with “Double-Crested Trouble”/“Erma and the Conductor” and “Dome-Headed Dinosaur”/”Treasure Hunt” on December 13.

Tiny and the Crocodile/Meet the Grandparents
Team Pteranodon travels to Dienosuchas Swamp to meet Deanna Dienosuchas, a 40 foot crocodile with many big teeth, and a crabby attitude. Tiny leads the way to warm up Deanna who turns out to be more friendly and less scary than our kids imagined.
The Pteranodon kids have special visitors – their Grandma and Grandpa!  The kids delight in realizing they share similar traits with their grandparents (laughs, expressions, and interests), and love showing Grandma and Grandpa around the nest area and playing some games they all like.


 
The Egg Stealer?/To Grandparents' Nest We Go!

Buddy and Don stumble upon a mystery when they find unhatched eggs on their beach,
The mystery grows when some of the eggs are stolen. Don and Buddy become detectives and suspect that maybe Tiny, Shiny, or other friends may be stealing the eggs. They’re not. Soon, all the kids join in to solve the mystery, as they figure out that the eggs belong to an over-protective, caring mom named Olivia Oviraptor who is just trying to keep her eggs safe.

Buddy, Tiny, Shiny, and Don have fun spending a special day with their retired Grandma and Grandpa at their cliffside nest.  The kids get to see things from their Dad’s childhood nature collection, and afterwards they play games and fish with Grandma and Grandpa.

 
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***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. ***

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