Start the Day with Dino Breakfast Menu Ideas and the Dinosaur Train All Aboard Game {Review}

As with all families, I am continually on the hunt for ways to keep my children entertained and inspired this summer.

Along with active, outdoor adventures to enjoy the sunshine, there are also days that we like to spend time relaxing indoors away from the heat. And what better way to do that than to start the day with a filling (and fun!) breakfast and an educational and unique board game? Both of which can be found including our good pals from Dinosaur Train!

If you have a young Dinosaur Train fan in your life, they will love kicking off the morning with a special Dino Breakfast! Healthy, easy-to-make menu ideas might include:

• Tyrannosaurus Rex Pancakes – with adult help, children shape the batter into the large, three-toed feet of this ferocious dinosaur.

• Paleontologist Pancakes – make small pancakes, then stack them up five or six high (maybe putting apple sauce or sour cream between them), and hiding “fossils” between the layers. The fossils could be pieces of strawberry, banana slices, chocolate chips or more!

• Stegosaurus Smoothie – a colorful, healthy fruit smoothie made with a blend of yogurt, a frozen banana, and any other fruit you wish. Serve it on a dish with a rim. In the middle of the dish, place a line of triangular fruit pieces – such as pineapple, apples, or cantaloupe. These little fruity triangles will look like the plates on a stegosaurus’ back.

• Triceratops Eggs – scrambled eggs that have "horns" sticking out of them that are made of breadsticks.

Your child can help by writing and design the menu to announce all the tasty food they will be serving and extend the learning by having a discussion about safety in the kitchen. What are some jobs that are good for kids to do? What jobs should be handled by an adult? You can even incorporate the show by watching a clip of the Pteranadon Family enjoying their breakfast on the Dinosaur Train!

After breakfast everyone can gather round to play the Dinosaur Train All Aboard game from Pressman Toy!

After choosing a character (Buddy, Tiny, Shiny, Don, Cory, Tank or Mr. Conductor), players try to move the fastest along the train tracks. With an easy spin of the wheel, players know how many spaces they can move as they follow the path through the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods.

For 2 to 6 players ages 4+, Big Sister E had no problem understanding that the Special Stopwatch spaces help characters move closer to the finish, but that she had to watch out for Dinosaur Crossing spaces that send you backwards instead. The main skill needed for this game is being able to count, so she has had a lot of fun working to be the first player to reach the nest and win!

Even though she doesn't quite play by the rules, Little Sister B has enjoyed playing with the cute pieces of this game as well...

With a retail price of $12, Dinosaur Train All Aboard can be found directly from Pressman Toy or on Amazon (for less) for young fans everywhere.

Pressman Toy has been making toys and games for nearly 100 years, so be sure to keep up with all of their great items on their website as well as on Facebook and Twitter. More information about Dinosaur Train can be found from The Jim Henson Company as well as from PBS KIDS.

(Other than the information and the Dinosaur Train All Aboard game that I was sent from Pressman Toy, I was not provided with anything or enticed to do this review in any way. This review is solely my opinion of this show and game.)