Dinosaur Day At Play School!

Eli wakes up early one morning cuddling Dipdus, his snuggly dinosaur.  For Eli, nothing is better than dinosaurs.  Big dinosaurs, small dinosaurs, dinosaurs with necks made long and dinosaurs with tails made strong, horns or feathers, scales or plates, for Eli all dinosaurs are great!

Eli throws back his covers and yawns, stretching his arms out wide.  He is ready.  Taking a big deep breath he growls “T-Rex!” He pulls Dipdus out of bed by his tail and makes loud roaring noises, stomping his feet as he finds his way into the kitchen.  It sounds like this, ROAR - STOMP - STOMP!

Eli wrinkles his nose at the box of cinnamon teddies on the table, “Dino O’s!”  he squeals, pointing towards the box of cereal in excitement.

Eli really loves Dino O’s, he thinks Dipdus would like some too,  “Dino O’s for Dipdus!” He says and drops a messy pile of cereal on the table for his hungry Diplodocus.  

Eli is choosing a T-shirt to wear as Mama helps him to dress. “Today is a special day, it’s dinosaur day at play school!” she says.

Eli is super excited and he stomps his dinosaur feet again, “Can I bring Dipdus into play school?” he asks.

“Diplodocus can’t go to play school Eli, he could get lost!” Mama says.

Eli doesn’t want to leave Dipdus at home.  “I want him!  Dipdus will be sad!” Eli says, burying his face into Dipdus.  

Mama kneels down so Eli can see her face while she talks, “Diplodocus will feel sad without you?  Hmm, Diplodocus doesn’t want to stay home and he can’t go to play school.  What will we do?”.

Trying really hard Eli comes up with a plan, “How about Dipdus come on the bike?”.

Mama smiles at Eli and talks through his plan to make sure she understands, “Your saying Diplodocus will ride with you to play school and say goodbye, when it’s home time he will come pick you up?  That’s a great idea Eli, you fixed the problem!”.

Eli is going fast on his bike, Dipdus thinks he is going even faster!  Up ahead Eli sees Hudson his best friend, Eli rings his bell loudly. 

“It’s dino day at play school!” He shouts,  “Eli and Dipdus coming through!”.  Hudson moves aside and giggles at Dipdus riding up front in the basket.  “Your dinos’ want to ride my bike?” Eli asks hopefully.  

“They sure do!” Hudson sets his Tyrannosaurus rex and Triceratops in the trailer.  “Dinosaur stampede!” he shouts.  

Eli thinks this sounds really fun and he joins in shouting as he rides into the play school yard.  “Dinosaur stampede! Dinosaur stampede!”.

The two friends are greeted by their teacher Ms. Morrice, she is dressed from top to toe in dinosaurs!  “Good morning, I see you’ve brought some special friends, can you introduce me? I’ve heard you need to be really careful with dinosaurs, especially if they’re hungry ones!”.

Hudson shows Ms. Morrice his dinosaurs and then places them into a box outside the play school door.  

Eli remembers he needs to say goodbye to Dipdus, it makes him feel sad.  He shares his worries with Ms. Morrice, “Mama says Dipdus can’t come in”.

“That’s right Eli, we can’t bring toys into play school.  What will you do with Diplodocus?”.

“I will give him a big squeeze and he will ride home with Mama, then he will pick me up.”.  Knowing he will have Dipdus back after play school makes saying goodbye a little easier.  Dipdus gets the biggest of squeezes and Eli tucks him back into the basket.

Dinosaur day is a very busy day.  In circle time Ms. Morrice reads a story about a baby stegosaur who is learning to play with his friends but his roar scares the other dinosaur babies away, Eli likes the story so much he wants to chase his friends away too! 

Ms. Morrice helps him to he dress up a in a green and brown Tyrannosaurus rex costume and he chases his friends through the yard!  Laughing excitedly the children all run away, except Hudson who turns back around and chases Eli back!

Eli finds the sensory box.  Inside is sand, shiny glass pebbles, smooth wooden twigs and paint brushes.  Eli really wants to explore, he picks up a paint  brush and swipes it forwards and backwards, left and right until he uncovers something buried inside the sand.  What could it be?  He digs some more and with one hard pull a giant Diplodocus comes loose!

Eli is very surprised! “A Dipdus! I found a Dipdus!

Finding a Diplodocus in the sand reminds Eli of Dipdus, he runs inside play school where Ms. Morrice is hugging children good bye.  Closer to the door Eli can see Mama has arrived to take him home, in her arms is his giant, snuggly Dipdus.  Eli is so happy he jumps up and down with his arms outstretched ready for a big squeeze from Mama and Dipdus.

“Oh, here is a Diplodocus and he’s come to take you home! I hope you enjoyed dinosaur day at play school?” Ms. Morrice whispers in his ear, “Next week will be digger day!”.