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Step 1
Tell them that the Tyrannosaurus Rex's tooth was as big as an entire knife, from end to end. It just sounds better than a spoon or fork. The tyrannosaurus was not the biggest dinosaur, but it had the biggest teeth (60 of them). And it was the largest meat-eater, which definitely counts for something.
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Step 2
Let the kids know that the largest dinosaur egg found was the size of a football. Feel free to exaggerate if needed. But yes, it's true, dinosaurs laid eggs.
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Step 3
Report to children impressed by long time periods that dinosaurs were around for hundreds of millions of years, probably at least 500 million years. That will widen their minds. The tyrannosaurus went extinct 65 million years ago. It lived in what is today North America and Asia. But break the news that dinosaurs were not actually around at the same time as the caveman.
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Step 4
Get ready for the most popular question: "How big was that T-rex after all?" It was 40-feet long. Feel free to compare to houses and school buses if necessary. Height was 15 to 20 feet (4.6 to 6 m)--you can say 3 or 4 daddies standing on each other's shoulders, if that sounds impressive enough. Each weighed 5 to 7 tons.
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Step 5
If the kids wish dinosaurs were alive today, inform them that in fact they are...kind of. Today's birds are descended from yesterday's dinosaurs. That's what the paleontologists say. Reflect with your child on the bird's skeletal structure and how it resembles a dinosaur's. (Plus the first birds had teeth, clawed fingers and bony tails.)
