Your kids will love helping baby dinosaurs hatch from these colorful baking soda dinosaur eggs! This is the best baking soda and vinegar experiment yet!
Dinosaur Summer Camp will take your kids on an adventure back in time to when dinosaurs roamed the Earth! Lots of dino science activities!
The first week of our DIY Summer Camp is Dinosaur Week! Check out the fun & easy crafts and activities we did with our plastic dinosaur toys.
This adorable dinosaur diorama is fun for everyone to make. Kids will enjoy applying the stickers and creating their own homemade toy.
Entertain kids this summer with a collection of dinosaur printables that includes fun puzzles and activity sheets.
Did you know that you can make your own dinosaur dig excavation activity? All you need is two household ingredients and a few sunny days. It couldn't be easier! So if you are looking for a simple dinosaur activity to do during a dinosaur theme or just for fun with the kids, this dino dig excavation is perfect for you!
I'm so VERY excited to present my very first guest blogger on MiniMatisse. I met Mark Rode a couple months back at a training and we share our social media information with each other. I have been so impressed with Mark's Instagram that I asked if he would write a blog post about this amazing project. Mark is an Elementary Art Teacher at Oxbow Creek Elementary in Champlin Minnesota. He explains that his inspiration came from another teacher in West Australia, Ann Farrell. I'm a fan of her work as well! Please be sure to check out her blog, Use Your Coloured Pencils. Mark maintains an amazing Instagram account, @oxbow_creek_elementary_art. He is also active on Twitter, follow him @oxbowart. Here is what Mark had to say about this captivating project. I taught this project to my first graders to kick off their unit on form. It took two 60 minute classes, but next year I may stretch it to three, as it was difficult for some to finish on time. There are so many great books on dinosaurs too, and having time on the third day for reflection would be ideal. Nevertheless, I felt like this project was a great way to begin working in three dimensions, as it let students figure out how to make something stand up and occupy real space with familiar materials and subject matter (who doesn’t like dinosaurs?). After teaching this lesson, I had multiple students bring in other versions to share that they had made at home, as well as some other paper sculptures, which I felt was a good sign. When I was a kid, I was obsessed with dinosaurs. I even wanted to be a paleontologist when I grew up! There is still a big part of me that gets excited about them, so it was really fun to share this excitement with the kids. Of course, in every first-grade class, there are always a few dinosaur experts who love to share their unique knowledge on this subject as well, so I introduced the project by displaying pictures of a variety of dinosaurs and facilitated a lively discussion. We talked about different characteristics that we noticed, as well as compared and contrasted the different types. I then told them that they would be making a dinosaur sculpture, and demonstrated how to begin. I told them that they were going to get two pieces of tagboard, one wide and one narrower. They would also get a sharpie marker and a stencil for the body shape and legs (these were made from brown tag. I usually don’t use stencils, but I made an exception with this step, as the success of the final work was heavily contingent on getting these shapes right…). I told the students to trace the body shape on the large sheet of tagboard, right in the middle. After that, they added the other features (neck, head, tail, horns, designs, texture, etc.). I then told them to trace the leg stencil on the smaller sheet. Depending on the type of dinosaur, they would either do this once or twice (an Allosaurus walks on two legs vs. a Brachiosaurus that walks on four). After adding details, I told them they had to cut out the dinosaur and the legs. They then had to flip the body over and add details on the other side (it is important that they cut out first before flipping). Finally, they added color on all sides with a marker. I told them that scientists don’t know for certain what color the dinosaurs were, so it was really up to them to color their dinosaur how they thought it would have looked. This, I believe, gave them more creative agency, and I think, in the end, they looked more interesting because of it. On day two, we reviewed the steps. I then said that I would give them a piece of matboard for the base and that they had to draw the setting for their dinosaur (bird’s eye view). They also had to make a few slits (one on the top of each leg and one or two on the bottom of the dinosaur). I then showed how to make it stand by carefully connecting the slits together. In order for it to be sturdy, it does require some wiggling and finessing. When they got to this point, I told them that it was really important for them to try to get it to stand up. This was challenging for many, but it was good for them to work through it and problem solve. I also stressed the importance of helping each other out. Once they got the legs on, I added hot glue to the bottom of the feet and glued the dino to the base. Most students were able to get it to stand, but there were a few that needed some assistance from me. At the end of the class, we all had our dinosaurs on one table and it was such a pleasure to see them all together! This project was predominantly product based, but also gave a lot of room for creative decision-making. The goal was to have the dinosaur three-dimensional. The main concept was form, although we also talked a lot about shapes, lines, and textures. Here are some of the project samples that Mark was so generous to share with us. For more images of this project and so many other amazing projects, please be sure to follow Mark on Instagram @Oxbow_creek_elementary_art.
Montessori-inspired cards featuring terms such as dinosaur, plesiosaur, pterosaur, Pangaea, and Mesozoic Era.
Cute Dinosaur Worksheets for practicing alphabet letters, math, and literacy with free Dinosaur Printables and activities for a dinosaur theme!
Looking for fun Dinosaur Preschool Theme Activities? You will love this set of Preschool Dinosaur Centers and No-Prep Worksheets.
How to make Dinosaur Feet from Cardboard or with this free Dinosaur Feet Printable. Make these Dinosaur feet as simple or difficult as you like.
Dig into this outrageously fun, EDIBLE activity where preschoolers will explore textures as they play & learn about fossils & archeologists.
The Summer Olympics are back again! It is hard to believe that it has been 4 years since the last one. My girls and I are looking forward to them. There are so many different sports to watch. It is
A lapbook is a fantastic way to learn about a subject and our free homeschool lapbooking ideas cover dinosaurs, space and rainforests.
Here is everything you need to plan and excute a super fun Spy Camp for your kids at home, with a group, or at a homeschool co-op!
The "I Spy Dinosaurs" printable game is a fun and engaging way for children to learn about different types of dinosaurs while counting and practicing their writing skills. Simply download and print!
My Dinosaur Unit is finally out! It took me a while and I tried all of these activities out with my students. It was a big hit an...
Make cool DIY dinosaur fossils from salt dough and dinosaur toys! This dinosaur kids craft is great for toddlers, preschoolers, and school aged kids.
Enjoy our huge dinosaur coloring pages collection, with the greatest dinosaurs like Tyrannosaurus Rex, Velociraptor, Triceratops, Stegasaurus, Parasaurolophus, Plesiosaurus, and more!
The Hilarious TREX game is here! Dinosaur party games that will take your dinosaur birthday party games to another level of FUN!
This Erupting Dinosaur Extinction Slime could not be more fun! It foams and erupts changes colors and ends up as slime at the end! Kids LOVE this!
Raawr! I'm a Dinosaur! I hope you (and your kids) will have lots of fun playing with these printable dinosaur masks! I've made Triceratops and T-rex (well it can be used as a raptor too!).
These free dinosaur do a dot printables are a no-prep and fun activity for toddlers and preschoolers who love dinosaurs.
Create an adorable DIY hatching baby dinosaur craft using popsicle sticks and a few other simple materials. Perfect for dinosaur-lovers of all ages, this craft is an easy, fun activity for kids and adults alike. Are you looking for a fun and creative craft project to do with your kids? Look no further! This DIY […]
Try this cool hatching dinosaur eggs science activity for preschoolers with a fizzy baking soda and vinegar reaction. What could be more fun!
We have lots of worksheets for your dinosaur unit.Check out our collection of dinosaurs worksheets below and click on any of the images to view and print out your copy.Dinosaur Birthday Color th
Unleashing kids' inner explorers is easy with this maze! Download and print it out so that kids can embark on an exciting voyage of discovery as they navigate the path among these fun mazes.
We are seriously in love with this dinosaur craft. Simple and gorgeous and adds just the right amount of whimsy to a window. Your dinosaur fan will love it too!
A dinosaur theme is a sure fire way to capture little one’s interest and curiosity. Just talking about dinosaurs with toddlers is so much fun! Our week was filled with names to learn, questions to answer and hands on activities to try. Here were our plans for Dinosaur Week: And here are the details of […]
