I’ve got dinosaurs on the brain again, so I thought I’d repost this dinosaur unit from July of 2009. What are some of your favorite dinosaur activities?
Problem Solving Your Play Time
I thought Stacy brought up a good question in regards to the Dinosaurs Invade the Block Area activity. I thought I’d share it with you and get some of your great ideas as well. [Read more…]
Dinosaurs Invade the Block Area
So this one’s pretty obvious, but sometimes we need to be reminded of the obvious. (Like the time the store clerk had to remind me to actually take my bags with me after paying.) You may be thinking, “I just put dinosaurs in the sensory table. Isn’t this pretty much the same thing?” Well, yes and no. You can certainly use the same set of dinosaurs, but you’re going to get a different type of play. In the sensory table, you obviously get sensory play, along with language and dramatic play, but the theme of that dramatic play is likely about flooding or burying. In the block area, the play is constructive and spatial. The language and dramatic play elements are still there, but likely in the sense of the dinosaurs seeking refuge in a home or cave, or being trapped or caged. It may even take on a familial script, or something we couldn’t even imagine yet. The children not only play with the dinosaurs in a different way in the two areas, but they will play with the blocks in a different way than they do without the dinosaurs. So don’t worry about it being redundant. Get those dinosaurs out in your block area too. The children will love it, and you’ll be surprised at how their play changes.
The Best Books for Dinosaur Lovers!
I usually start out my lit list with some classic suggestions for incorporating nursery rhymes, fables, fairy tales, and the like, but I can’t think of any old standards involving dinosaurs. If I’m overlooking something, please let me know. I can’t think of a single one!
Here are some great books I like to use in a dinosaur unit, or to share with a dinosaur aficionado and watch his eyes brighten with delight! It is in no way an exhaustive list, so please comment with your favorites as well! As always, each picture in this list is linked to Amazon if you’re interested in purchasing information, or just more views of the books.
How Big is a Dino? Getting Dinosaurs Down to Size
The enormity of dinosaurs is bewitching for preschoolers. They have a hard time wrapping their minds around just how big these beasts were, and yet it is that fact that drives their fascination! When I talk to children about the sizes of dinosaurs, here are a couple of ways I demonstrate it.
Lumpy Bumpy Dinosaur Scales
As you’re talking to your preschoolers about dinosaurs, it’s great to talk about what they might have looked like. No one was around to see them, so no one knows for sure, but paleontologists have used some clues to help them make some really good guesses. Some “mummified” dinosaur remains show dinosaurs with scales. That would make sense since they are considered reptiles! (The name brontosaurus actually means “thunder lizard”, just a tid-bit kids love to hear.) Here’s a great activity to explore the scaly nature of dinosaur skin while also building creativity and motor skills.
Start this one out with a discussion about dinosaur’s skin. I have used the book Dino Pets, by Lynn Plourde to introduce this idea, since it does a great job of illustrating and comparing the many characteristics of dinosaurs. I’ve also used samples of leather (or imitation leather, it may be easier to come by) for the children to feel the bumpy, scaly texture. Then, using a dinosaur outline as your base, (I found these dinosaur outlines online), have the children rip colored paper into small pieces and glue them on the dinosaur to represent the dinosaur scales. (It may be easiest just to cover the dinosaur with your glue stick before tearing.) Don’t be tempted to cut the paper for them! The tearing action utilizes the pincer grasp and builds fine motor strength and control. These are all skills children need to develop in order to have the physical ability to write. Of course, since we have no way to be sure what colors the dinosaurs were, the children can use their imaginations and implement any colors they like. Challenge their creativity and talk to them about their ideas as they make their own colorful dinosaurs. Where would such a colorful dinosaur live? What is it called? What does it eat?
We are the Dinosaurs
I love Laurie Berkner’smusic! She is one of those artists who really knows music and really knows kids. Her music is fun and I don’t find it patronizing or grating like I do with some other children’s music. If you haven’t found her treasure trove of music yet, you should stop everything and go to iTunes now. Or at least after you finish reading this post!
One of my many favorite Laurie Berkner songs is, “We are the Dinosaurs”. It’s a great song and perfect for the kiddos to dance to. They really just naturally dance to act out the story in the song. It starts at a heavy dinosaur march, and then switches to a lighter, quicker tune as you stop to eat and then again to rest. In addition to being a fun song to sing and to dance to, it is great for exposing the children to a musical change in mood, as the music alternates between staccato and legato. This is a great activity for fostering creativity as well as developing music and movement skills. So now you can dance on over to iTunes and download this song. I guarantee your children will get more than one dollar’s worth of use out of it!
Hot Lava Hop
Though few preschoolers have had any direct experience with hot lava, it is a phrase they seem to use frequently, and they all know hot lava should be avoided at all costs! This is a fun game that capitalizes on that childhood fascination!
I usually tie volcanoes in with my dinosaur unit. As we talk about the changing earth and the theories of extinction, volcanoes make their way in. After our volcano discussion, I get the children up for some movement!
A Trip to the Dinosaur Museum Puts Us All in the Author's Chair
When you’re studying dinosaurs with preschoolers, nothing really takes the place of a trip to a dinosaur museum or another hands-on dinosaur experience. Check in your local area and see what options you may have. Don’t forget to check into nearby universities as some have free exhibits or perhaps a professor (or maybe a grad student) who would meet with your group of little ones and show a few prehistoric specimen.
A Trip to the Dinosaur Museum Puts Us All in the Author’s Chair
When you’re studying dinosaurs with preschoolers, nothing really takes the place of a trip to a dinosaur museum or another hands-on dinosaur experience. Check in your local area and see what options you may have. Don’t forget to check into nearby universities as some have free exhibits or perhaps a professor (or maybe a grad student) who would meet with your group of little ones and show a few prehistoric specimen.
When I took a group of preschoolers to a dinosaur museum lately, I was sure to pack along my camera. I took pictures of the children as they explored, but I also took a lot of pictures of the dinosaurs themselves. After printing the pictures, I put each one on a single page and then combined the pages for a book. I shared the book during large group as we talked about the trip. We had been learning through lots of great dinosaur books. I told the children that they were now the dinosaur experts, that this was their book, and they needed to add the words to go with the pictures.