Dirt Sensory

I lined a basket with foil and then filled it with dirt, burying small plastic bugs and even a few dinosaurs for "finding". Of course before I thought to take a picture of it, Zeke and I planted some moss we found in the backyard and built a tomb for our Easter centerpiece. Oops.

D is for Dinosaur

Circle Time

I had some great Dino. songs and stories, as well as an awesome collection of Dinosaur books.

Activities
Clothespin Stegosaurus
Play Dough (recipe)
Water Dropper
Stuffed Dinosaurs

Felt Board

Art Study
Two Dancers by Edgar Degas

Snack
Donuts

Arts and Crafts
Painting

Cooking
Dip

Great Dinosaur Books

This is a subject with endless possibilities, there are a TON of dino books out there. But these were our favorites.

How Do Dinosaurs Eat Their Food? by Jane Yolen and Mark Teague
This was the only one of the series that my library had available during our Dino week, and good thing too or else I would have had a very hard time deciding between them, I might have even just cleared them out! We have enjoyed How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight? before and I am seriously considering the whole series for our home collection.


Dinosaur, Dinosaur by Kevin Lewis
This book had a pleasant rhythm and rhyme but the great details in the illustrations are what was memorable for me in the end. My husband and I found ourselves constantly asking each other "Did you notice...?"



Dinosaur! by Peter Sis
Even though Dinosaur! is wordless, and has the most simple of pencil drawings, it is able to take its readers on a romping adventure of the imagination. Very very enjoyable read, and I've added Peter Sis to my "keep an eye out" list.



Dinosaur Roar! by Paul and Henrietta Stickland
Short and swinging verses, coupled with light and bright watercolors of happy-go-lucky dinosaurs. I picked up this board book for Mal but in the end we all enjoyed it.


Time Flies by Eric Rohmann
Another wordless book, but with breathtaking illustrations, all double spread oil paintings. I found myself flipping thru it, long after the boys had gone to bed.

Dropper Activity

Two dishes, some water, and a medicine dropper from the pharmacy. I filled one dish, and left the other empty, and encouraged Zeke to move all the water from one dish to the other. Which he did, numerous times. I left the water plain, nervous about how well Z would be able to control the dropper, but he did great, it was the perfect amount of difficulty for him.

I think with some food dye and a 3rd bowl this could be a really fun color-mixing experiment. Or even a fun art project, dripping food dye or watercolors onto paper. So there you go, 2 household objects and 3 possibilities.

Stegasaurus Laundry Pin Activity

This was a 10 second project to put together to help with fine motor skills and more specifically with finger strength. Little boys, in particular, can have a hard time developing the finger strength necessary for writing, not to mention clear writing. This could be done just as easily with a porcupine as a dinosaur. Honestly, maybe even better? The pins are supposed to represent spikes but they look more like quills.

I cut the dino out of thick construction paper, but in hindsight, cardboard would have been better. Because the construction paper kept bending under the weight of the pins, Zeke could only pin them on if I was holding the dino for him, which was frustrating for him.

Dinosoar Songs and Rhymes

5 Enormous Dinosaurs (can be done as a finger play or on a felt board)
5 enormous dinosaurs letting out a roar
One went away and then there were 4
4 enormous dinosaurs munching on a tree
One went away and then there were 3
3 enormous dinosaurs didn't know what to do
One went away and then there were 2
2 enormous dinosaurs having lots of fun
1 went away and then there were 1
1 enormous dinosaur wants to be a hero
He went away and then there were zero!

Dinosaurs, Dinosaurs (sung to row row row your boat)
Dinosaurs, Dinosaurs, eating fruits and leaves
Take a bite, chew it up, spit out all the seeds

Daisy the Dancing Dinosaur (a rhyming tale)
Daisy the Dino lived on a hill, she loved to dance, she never sat still!
She would whirl and twirl and stomp on the ground, and everything in town would fall right down!
She made all the ground rumble and shake, the people thought that it was an earthquake!
Night came and the town wanted to sleep, but daisy the dino just danced on her feet!
First the tried singing Daisy to sleep, but Daisy just danced to the sound of the beat!
Then they trained sheep to jump over her head, but Daisy just jumped over them instead!
Finally the town went to Daisy and said "Daisy the Dino, you go to bed!"
She closed her eyes and heaved a great sigh, then fell asleep by my oh my!
What a racket! What a roar! Daisy the Dino had started to snore!