D is for Dinosaur

We love Dinosaurs!

We love learning about dinosaurs!

We had a lot of fun discovering just how BIG some of them where.

 First, all of the children laid down on their backs with their feet up against the door and I put a piece of tape next to each child's head to show how long he or she was. Then we used a research book to look up the length of Stegasaurus. We measured that distance from the door and then put a mark on the floor. We repeated this for Triceratops, Tyrannosaourus Rex, Eoraptor (he was smaller than any of our class members) and Diplodocus (who wouldn't even fit in our school!).
What a fun way to learn about dinosaurs, math, measurement, and comparisons all at the same time!

We also pretended to be paleontologists and went on a dinosaur dig. Here are directions for this easy yet fun and educational activity:

1) Prepare chicken bones by cleaning them and soaking in a mixture of bleach and water.

2) Bury these in sand. I used moon sand (sold near the play-dough) so I could easily mold it into the shape of a rock.

3) Discuss the process of fossilization and the work of paleontologists explaining how carefully they have to be to not damage the fragile bones.

4)Let each child use a small object (I used the mini pick that came with the moon sand) to carefully breakaway the sand in small sections. Then have them use a paint brush to brush away remaining sand.

5) Push the bones in clay and show how an indentation is made. Discuss how casts are made of the fossils and then filled to make copies of the bones. Then they are pieced together like a giant puzzle.

Aren't Dinosaurs fun?!?