Archive for the ‘Dinosaurs’ Category
Kids Craft Favorite- Dinosaurs!
- Gather your materials. You will need three large pieces of white paper, a marker, a googly eye, a paint roller , sponge or large brush, green paint, scissors and glue.
- Start by tracing your child’s hand, I only trace it once, then cut and trace that one original. Getting one good tracing takes luck with a 2 year old so I don’t push it.
- On the other paper draw a dinosaur, as you can see from mine no talent is required. As long as your child knows it’s not an alligator you are good, no need for perfection!
- Start painting both papers. We used the roller, and our hands. Let dry.
- Cut dinosaur and the hands out.
- Glue the dinosaur on the remaining piece of paper.
- Glue on the eye.
- Glue the cut out hands on to the back of the dinosaur.
* if you are using thin paper they may roll, simply roll them back the other direction and they will stay pretty straight.
Let dry.
“Tadpole REX “ by Kurt Cyrus is one of those books that I wonder why I’ve never read before. It’s so good! It could be used in a dinosaur unit to talk about how large the dinosaurs was , it’s illustrations show the size difference between a frog and a dinosaur beautifully from the frogs perspective, it could be used to teach about the frog life cycle as well. What I loved though was the rhyme and rhythm the book had, it was almost musical and in a book about frogs and dinosaurs that is awesome!
“I Am an Ankylosaurus” by Karen Wallace tels the story of an ankylosaurus and how she lays her eggs, protects them with her armour and tail, eats leaves and fights off a tyranosaurus rex. It’s not a bad book and dinosaur lovers will still like it, my son did but I was sorta left with the question “So what?” I didn’t care about this dinosaur , there was nothing that made me feel like I should. Like I said my 2 year old liked it but didn’t ask to read it again.
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We Dig Dinosaurs !
Clothes Pin
Stegosaurus !
Now that my son is older ( ripe old age of 2) I ask him what he wants to do for art. Consider this your warning for many dinosaurs, things with wheels, and other stereotypical little boy things. It doesn’t seem to matter how many flowers we point out on our walks he finds the diggers and motorcycles zooming past a thousand times more interesting. This craft was thought up spur of the moment but turned out wonderfully, the clothes pins add a dynamic activity to the static paper dinosaur.
Start by drawing a simple dino shape on the cut open cereal box with your marker.
If you are sneaking in a color mixing lesson like I am put 2 colors of paint on a plate
and let your child discover the magic of blending the two colors.
Paint the dinosaur. We used a dish scrubber but any paint brush will do. Let dry.
Using the same dish you mixed the colors in roll your clothes pins in the paint to color them. Try not to get too much on them , or they will be stuck together and won’t open.
Glue the eye on the dry dino.
Cut the dino out.
Add your clothes pins
Books !
” Dinosaurs, Dinosaurs” by Byron Barton has always been a favorite of mine for introducing dinosaurs to young kids. It’s very basic, very bright and has the fundamental facts about dinosaurs without loading toddlers down with too many facts to sort through. The illustrations are bright, fun and descriptive on their own and will keep even the most fidgety 3 year old entertained.
“Oh My Oh My Oh Dinsosaurs!” by Sandra Boynton is a cute little book about opposites with dinosaurs as it’s characters. This is a good book for little people who love dinosaurs but aren’t really ready to dive into facts about dinosaurs yet. The melodic rhyming text and adorable pictures appeals to younger toddlers, and on the page where the dinosaurs are called bad for painting on their friends made both me and my son laugh .
Dino-mite !
- Gather your materials. You will need some heavy paper ( I am using card stock but construction paper will work) , some markers, scissors, glue and a white piece of paper. I also used a full piece of construction paper to use as a backing for the finished masterpiece!
- Have your child draw the dinosaurs habitat using the markers on the white paper.
- While they do that , draw out the shapes that will make up the dinosaur on the back of the heavy paper. I used a semi circle for the body, triangles for the spikes, a circle for the head, rectangle legs and square feet.
- Cut the shapes out.
- When the habitat is drawn, grab the glue
and start adding the shapes. 
Start with the semi circle and remember to label the shapes for your child or have them tell you what they are. - For the spikes I added some glue in the shape of a triangle and that guided my son , without me telling him.
He was very proud of himself when he figured it out! - Add the feet !
- Add the circle head and an eye and a mouth ! I just used marker but a googly eye would look cute too!
- Let dry.
“Dinosaur Roar!” by Henrietta and is a board book that I’ve read often enough , I don’t need to look at the book. The premise is simple, using 2 different dinosaurs every page illustrates a pair of opposites. Toddlers and young preschoolers adore this book and I can’t blame them, it’s adorable and a great tool for teaching !
“How Do Dinosaurs Get Well Soon” by Jane Yolen is another favorite. I like the whole series and think this book is a great one to read before doctor appointments especially if you have a child like mine who is never happy to go! I love the details in Mark Teague’s illustrations and never tire of reading this book, even when my son grabs it again and again.
