Everybody Walk the Dinosaur!

Kids love dinosaurs. The roaring, the stomping, the big sharp teeth - what's not to like? And it's definitely not just a boy thing. One of history's greatest fossil hunters was Mary Anning, a poor woman from Dorset who discovered the ichthyosaurus and plesiosaurus.

Dinosaur toys lend themselves really well to imaginative games. They can hide in 'caves' around the house - under the furniture, in cardboard boxes or blanket dens. Outside they can stomp around in the mud or 'forests' of long grass. There's a lovely series of books about a boy called Harry who finds a Bucketful of Dinosaurs. They go everywhere with him, and help him navigate tricky situations like going to the dentist, meeting new people, and starting school. One of my favourite Harry stories is Romp in the Swamp in which Harry makes a new friend, Charlie, who is great at inventing imaginative games using things she's found around the house and garden.

Get Exploring

If you drink filter coffee at home, check out this recipe for home made fossils. You can make the imprint of toys, shells etc in the soft dough, and let it harden into a solid 'rock'.

If you've got some small plastic dinosaur toys, try putting them in a container full of water in the freezer. When they're frozen have fun melting the ice with your hands. It feels lovely on a hot day!

Get Arty

If you've got some spare cardboard boxes, have a go at turning them into caves for your dinos. You could do some cave art with pens, crayons, or chalk or charcoal if you have some.

A really simple way of drawing a dinosaur picture is to trace around your hand, in the position shown below.

Then simply add eyes, spikes, sharp teeth, maybe even spots or stripes. Remember, no one knows for sure what colour dinosaurs were!

Thanks to Megan and family for this great artwork!

Songs and Stories

There are countless books about dinosaurs. Does your little one have a favourite?

• We like Ten Little Dinosaurs, which is a fun way to practise counting.

• Stomp, Chomp, Big Roars! Here Come the Dinosaurs! always gets us stomping and roaring.

• One of my favourite songs to sing in the woods is 'Where's the Dinosaur?' (to the tune of 'Wind the Bobbin Up'):

Where's the dinosaur? Where's the dinosaur?
Here, there, everywhere (x2)
Are they in the sky?
Are they on the ground?
Are they in the bushes, hiding all around?
Clap your hands together, 1,2,3
Hey Mr Dinosaur, you can't catch me!

Have a ROARSOME time playing with dinosaurs!