
Here were our plans for our Dinosaur theme:

And here are the details for each activity:
Our first story was Brontorina by James Howe. Before reading, we practiced answering questions and making predictions.
I asked one more follow up question: “What kind of dance?”
Madelynn: “Plies.”
Obviously she was in a one word answer mood, but I love that being one on one with her allows me to ask lots of follow up questions to challenge her to think more about the books we are reading.
Over the past few weeks we have worked a lot on retelling the beginning middle and end of a story, so I thought it would be a good time to move on to sequencing the events in a longer story. I chose Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs by Mo Williems because I knew the story line would be familiar and a bit easier for her to sequence from beginning to end.
We started of course by reading the story. After reading I gave Madelynn 7 pictures from the story with simple sentences underneath. We read through them all together and then I prompted her to find what happened first, second, third, etc. She then glued them to her page in the correct order to retell the story.
After reading Stomp Dinosaur Stomp By Margaret Mayo, I printed out action cards from the story. Madelynn chose a card then had to act out each dinosaur action.
Tracking Print:
Dinosaur Sand Tray:
For our journal this week Madelynn chose to draw and label a dinosaur habitat. She drew a volcano, flower, some dirt and a dinosaur. I encouraged her to label each item so she wrote V for volcano and D for dinosaur.
Dino Egg Count and Color:
Dinosaur Spots Counting Book:
Dinosaur Egg Grab & Count:
This game was really easy to prep and fun to play. I printed numbered dino eggs, then folded them up and hid them in easter eggs. Madelynn chose an egg, identified the number, then counted out the correct number of dinosaur manipulatives.
Dinosaur Number Mats:
Salt dough is one of the only homemade play dough recipes I actually make because it’s super fast, easy and I always have the ingredients on hand. To make our salt dough I combine 4 cups flour and 1 cup salt in a bowl. Then I slowly add 1 1/2 cups of water. I start by mixing in a bowl with a spoon, then begin to hand knead the dough as it begins to form.
After the dough is ready I rolled small pieces out for Madelynn to use for fossil printing. She chose to make some side prints, and some dinosaur tracks as well. After she was finished we baked them in the oven at 325 degrees for about an hour until they were completely hard and dry throughout. (You may need to adjust the time depending on the thickness of your dough). After they cooled we made fossil rubbings by laying paper on top of each fossil and rubbing a crayon back and forth across the page.
I knew I wanted to find a way for Madelynn to play and learn about being a paleontologist for this theme. However, I bought a dino dig kit from the target dollar section before and it was so hard for Madelynn to chip away at, that I basically ended up having to break apart the entire thing for her since she was getting so frustrated. I mean it was even pretty hard for me to break up, so I’m not sure who those things are really made for.
I decided I would make my own softer version of these dino eggs by making a baking soda version. I poured a few cups of baking soda in a large bowl, then added water very slowly so that the baking soda was JUST wet enough to mold without getting mushy. (The drier you can keep it the better, because it will dry out faster later) I added a few drops of food coloring to the mix before adding the dinosaurs.
Next, I molded a small amount in my hand then pressed a dino skeleton into it and added more baking soda on top. I formed it into an egg shape then set it on a tray to dry. I made a bunch of them then let them dry overnight. Madelynn used a hammer and screwdriver as a chisel to break up each egg and it was SOOO much easier than the store bought version.
You could also add in a few eye droppers with vinegar for more fun. Since the eggs are made of baking soda they will fizz and bubble as they break apart.
For this craft we made a bit of a mixed media collage. First, Madelynn painted cardboard semi circles with tempera paint for dinosaur bodies. We let those dry for a bit, then she glued each one onto a piece of cardstock. Then, Madelynn used colored pasta shapes to create long necks, tails, legs, spikes, and more.
In this bin: chocolate “oobleck,” rocks, TOOB dinosaurs, and rocks.
Want all of this week’s printables and plans? You can grab them here:
Then check out all of our Preschool themes here:

Apples, All About Me, My Body, Healthy Habits
December:
January:
Winter, Penguins, Five Senses, Polar Bears
February:
Fairy Tales 1, Fairy Tales 2, Valentines, Space
March:
Plants, Insects, St. Patrick’s Day, Easter
April:
Frogs, Butterflies, Earth Day, Rainforest
May:
FREE Printable Shape Roads!
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