Dinosaurs

Create dino tracks out of construction paper.  Place on the floor a distance that will be slightly farther apart than your child's natural step.  Have your child follow the tracks to the location where you've set up their archeological dig. 

Photo:  www.squidoo.com

Fine Motor Skills:
Have your child dig for "terrible lizard" fossils.  Prepare a basin of sand or clean dirt.  Hide your "fossils" in the basin.  If using sand, wet the sand slightly.  Here are a couple ideas for the "fossils":  (1) purchase a dinosaur skeleton kit such as the one featured in the picture below or (2) spray paint a number of small dog bones white.  Ask your child to pretend that they are a paleontologist and that they will be digging for dinosaur fossils.  Provide children with digging tools such as small toy shovels or spoons, paintbrushes, sticks, etc. 

Photo:  www.amazon.com

Reading Skills:

While your child is digging away, read from the below suggestions:    

Digging Up Dinosaurs by Aliki 

Saturday Night at the Dinosaur Stomp by Carol Diggory Shields

Curious George's Dinosaur Discovery by Margret Rey and H.A. Rey 

National Geographic Little Kids First Big Book of Dinosaurs by Catherine Hughes

Math Skills:
Purchase a set of dinosaur figures such as the one featured in the photo below. Help your child to count the dinosaurs.  Then ask them to put the dinosaurs in order from tallest to shortest, group them by color, and/or sort them using other physical characteristics.

Photo:  www.amazon.com

Science Experiment:
Make your own fossils.  You'll need playdough, two or more paper or styrofoam bowls, objects to make impressions of, nonstick cooking spray, and package of Plaster Of Paris.

Photo:  www.dinoridge.org/tritrail.html

Place playdough in two bowls.  The playdough should only reach half way up the bowls and should be as level and smooth as possible. In one bowl have your child make imprints in the playdough using pennies, leaves, the dinosaurs they used in the above activity, etc. In the other bowl have your child make their handprint. Once your child is satisfied with their imprints spray the playdough with nonstick cooking spray. Follow the instructions on a package of plaster of paris. Pour over the playdough imprints and allow to dry. Once dry tear the bowls away from the plaster and pull off the playdough. If you have trouble getting all of the playdough off, allow to dry for longer and scrape with a toothpick.  With "fossils" in hand, explain how this is very similar to how dinosaur fossils were made.  Explain that we can learn about dinosaurs through fossils.  Source:  www.kidssoup.com/dinosaurs.  

Snack:  
Some dinosaurs were meat eaters (carnivores) while others dined exclusively on plants (herbivores).  Make a herbivore fruit salad for snack.  Cut up apples, oranges, grapes, bananas, strawberries, etc. and mix together.