Thoughts for Thursday: For your Dinosaur Obsessed Toddler and Preschooler

This post as been a long time coming but I've finally rounded up some of our favorite dinosaur toys, books, and movies.  Every time I share something dinosaur related that my kids love or use on instastories I get so many of you asking me where we got everything and how I found it so I've finally put it all in a post for you.

If your kid is dinosaur obsessed like my two are you will slowly find that dinosaur toys and books aren't quite as popular as all things trucks, cars, and trains for little boys.  So I've had to get resourceful and do some researching to find out and online digging to find the best toys, games, and movies for my boys.

1. Learning Resources Jumbo Dinosaurs- I like to call #1 and #2 on this list the dinosaur starter pack. If you have a kid who is newly into dinosaurs I highly suggest both of these. These toys give you the perfect starter pack with five jumbo, and they are jumbo, but perfect for little hands dinosaurs.  These five are probably the most commonly known dinosaurs so it's good to start here.  

2. Usborne Big Book of Dinosaurs-  I bought this book on a whim when I was invited to a Facebook Usborne party online last spring and I'm so happy I did because it is still hands down one of our favorite books.  The illustrations are the perfect mix of cartoon-y but realistic for toddlers the history and details of the dinosaurs is exactly what your toddler wants to know about while still educating you as a parent (since the names are so hard to pronounce!) 

3. My Big Dinosaur Book- this is another favorite around our house. I always kept this one in the play room so we could look at dinosaur pictures through out the day with Miller when he was younger and he could start to name and identify them.  

4. ABC Dinosaurs- when we were working on Miller learning the ABCs this book was great because he had no interest in learning them if dinosaurs weren't involved.  This book is written by authors from the American Museum of Natural History, they have an ABC book for dinosaurs, space, animals, oceans, insects 

5. Terra Dinosaurs- this brand of dinosaur is at my local Target.  At this point I'm pretty sure we own all of them but my boys love these! These are much more lifelike in their coloring and features and they're a little bit heavier and sturdier than some of the other ones we have.    

6. Boley Educational Dinosaur 12 Pack- this is the biggest bang for your buck!  If I've learned anything over the past 2 years, dinosaurs toys are expensive.  If you're looking to get your little one a lot of dinosaurs for a good price I highly suggest this pack. They're not the highest quality but are lightweight and perfect for little hands.  They survived lots of dinosaur battles at my house just fine.  

7.My First Match It Dinosaur Friends - if you're looking for a quiet activity my boys love these match games.  We have the one for  cars and trucks too.  They're perfect for two and three year olds and while I feel like Miller is out growing this game he still seems to love it.  

8. How Do Dinosaurs Play with Their Friends?- this is another book series that we absolutely adore! They have a how to dinosaurs count to ten, go to sleep, go to school, say I'm mad and tons more. These have been great over the past couple of months with Miller and helping him express his feeling better when he's mad or sad or trying something new. 

9. Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs- this is hands down our favorite dinosaur movie.  The plus side is there is lots of adult humor too so you won't get bored if you watch.  

10. Land Before Time DVDs- I didn't know this until Miller got into dinosaurs but there are like 14 Land Before time DVDs and my boys love them! I haven't shown them the first one yet (too sad) but the ones that were made in the last 10 years are so are great.  Our favorites include Great Day of the Flyers, Journey of the Brave, and Wisdom of Friends.  

11. Dinosaur Rescue- Again another book series we love because this one combines dinosaurs with cars, trucks, fire engines, diggers, etc.  So if you have two boys and one loves dinosaurs and one loves trucks you're good to go!  

12. Schleich T-Rex and Other Dinosaurs-  If you're looking for really nice well made high quality dinosaurs then this brand is a must.  The dinosaurs are expensive but they are big, well made, and very realistic looking.  My boys have a few of these and they hold up so well to the rough and tough boy play.  

It was hard to narrow it down but I would say these are our top dinosaur favorites!  If you have any questions feel free to ask me or if you have any new dinosaur books, toys, or movies that your kids like I would love to hear about them! 

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