Get Ready For Kindergarten Month with Dinosaur Train Huge Prize Pack Giveaway

~~The giveaway is now CLOSED~~

August is “Get Ready for Kindergarten Month." To celebrate, The Jim Henson Company has provided some fun activity ideas on the Dinosaur Train website for parents to ease the stress of this momentous first day and help their children learn some basic preschool level science concepts. Here are a few examples:

• Help your child practice the letters of the alphabet while learning about the diversity of dinosaurs that once lived on Earth with the “Dinosaurs A – Z song.” 
• 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.
• Help your child understand and apply the term "hypothesis," investigate and make predictions about the science of color, using household basics including food coloring, clean food jars/containers, colored markers and a cookie sheet.

The company has also offered some “Get ready for Kindergarten” shopping ideas for play, learning and fun(available at major retailers).

DINO TRAIN T-REX BACKPACK FROM ACCESSORIES 22: The DINOSAUR TRAIN 16” backpack features our favorite T-rex Buddy. It also features adjustable padded shoulder straps and 3 easy zippered compartments making it great to carry DINOSAUR TRAIN toys and school supplies as well as mesh side pockets for markers, pencils, etc. The glossy Buddy appliqué makes Buddy virtually come alive on both the blue and brown styles. This is a definite back-to-school must have for any DINOSAUR TRAIN fan! MSRP $14.99

DINOSAUR TRAIN I AM A T-REX FROM GROSSETT & DUNLAP: Buddy has spent his whole life in a pteranodon nest. He knows he's not a pteranodon, but he's not sure what he is. When his family decides to visit a new stop on the DINOSAUR TRAIN, Buddy finally learns the truth. He's a T-rex! This simple storybook is the perfect introduction to the world of DINOSAUR TRAIN! Ages 3 and up. MSRP $3.99

TRICERATOPS FOR LUNCH BY GOLDEN BOOKS; ILLUSTRATED BY CALEB MEURER
A Little Golden Book about Dinosaur Train! The Triceratops are coming over for lunch. Do you serve them plants or fish? That's what Buddy and his dinosaur siblings need to figure out before Tank and Trudie Triceratops arrive at the train station. This Little Golden Book retells an episode of the new PBS Kids animated series Dinosaur Train. It explains to young readers the difference between herbivores and carnivores—so that the next time you're dining with a dino, you'll know what to expect! Ages 2-5; MSRP $3.99

DINOSAUR TRAIN TAKE ‘N’ PLAY ANYWHERE™ GO FISHING™ MAGNETIC ACTIVITY FROM PATCH PRODUCTS: Now kids can help Buddy and his family catch fish! They’ll practice hand-eye coordination and matching skills as they use the magnetic fishing pole to grab fish and try to land them in just the right spot. DINOSAUR TRAIN Go Fishing teaches cooperation, trial and error, or listening to and following instructions. Take ‘N’ Play Anywhere activities feature big magnetic pieces that are easy for kids to use and hard for kids to lose! Ages 4 and up; MSRP $9.99

DINOSAUR TRAIN DINOSAUR COLLECTIBLE 3-PACKS FROM LEARNING CURVE: Perfect for hours of imaginative dinosaur play, these 3-packs feature three detailed DINOSAUR TRAIN character figures and a special collector card. The 3-pack figures can be enjoyed separately or can fit inside train cars (sold separately) for more role play fun. The 3-packs are currently available in the following sets: Mrs. Pteranodon, Shiny & Derek; Mr. Pteranodon, Don & Velma; Boris, Annie & Pete; Dolores, Ollie & Oren. Ages 3 and up; MSRP $7.99

DINOSAUR TRAIN ALL ABOARD GAME FROM PRESSMAN TOY CORP: Join Buddy and his friends on the DINOSAUR TRAIN! Choose a character – Buddy, Tiny, Shiny, Don, Cory, Tank or Mr. Conductor – and try to move the fastest along the tracks. Speed through the three dinosaur eras: Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous along the beautiful scenery. Special Stopwatch spaces will help you get closer to the nest, while Dinosaur Crossing spaces will send you back. The first player to reach the nest area in the center of the board wins. For 2 to 6 players; Ages 4 and up; MSRP $12.00

The Giveaway

The Jim Henson Company has generously offered to give one of my lucky readers a back-to-school prize pack including all the Dinosaur Train themed products featured in this post!  That's a $52.95 value!

Required Entry:  Visit Dinosaur Train website, and leave a comment telling me your or your child's favorite game or activity on the site. (Please leave a valid email address in your comment or make sure one is visible in your blogger profile).

Extra Entries (optional): please make sure you do the required entry first! Please leave a separate comment for each extra entry, i.e. 1 comment=1 entry.

• Enter the Dinosaur Train DVD giveaway (1 extra entry)
• Vote for me here daily (1 extra entry per day)
• Vote for me here daily (1 extra entry per day) Different than above!
• Follow my blog publicly (1 extra entry)
• Subscribe to my feed via email and leave your email address (1 extra entry)
• Follow Me on Twitter AND tweet the following message (1 extra entry per day) Yes! You may tweet once daily to increase your chances:

RT @luckytoddler #BackToSchool #giveaway! Win a Dinosaur Train Prize Pack! A $53 value! http://bit.ly/dtgrkm #PBSKids #DinosaurTrain
Please leave the link to your tweet in your comment.

• Join Crowtap via this link and leave your registered name (1 extra entry)
• Sign up at EZWin via this link and leave me your username on the site (3 extra entries)
• Print this Morton Salt coupon and leave the email your used (1 extra entry)
• "Like" me on Facebook and leave your name (1 extra entry)
• Follow me on Networked Blogs and leave your name (1 extra entry)
• Add me as your friend on Facebook and leave your name (1 extra entry)
• Make a purchase at eShakti using discount code "icefairy123" (10 extra entries)
• Grab my button and tell me where to find it (1 extra entry)
• Add icefairy's Treasure Chest to your blogroll and leave the link (1 extra entry)
• Blog about this giveaway and link back to Dinosaur Train and Me. Then leave the link in your comment (1 extra entry for mentioning this giveaway on your blog; 3 extra entries for a separate blog post).

Giveaway ends at 11:59 pm Central Time on 9/1/10

Open to US Residents Only

Winners will be chosen using random.org and will have 72 hours to respond before a new winner is chosen.

Thanks for entering and good luck!

Disclosure: I did not receive any form of compensation for writing this post and the sponsor will be solely responsible for shipping the prize directly to the winner.