D is for Dinosaurs (Toddler and Preschool)

As part of our Dinosaur Unit, I am bringing you lots of Dinosaur fun for 6 weeks! There are free dinosaur printables, dinosaur crafts, dinosaur activities, dinosaur resources, and more! So read on to see all the D is for Dinosaur alphabet fun for Toddler and Preschool kids

Dinosaurs for Kids - this is such a fun, hands on dinosaur unit for preschool, kindergarten, and 1st grade that includes kids activities like pasta dinosaur, free printables, digging for dinosaurs, measuring with dino feet and more

D is for Dinosaur Letter Craft for Preschoolers

We made a letter “D” Dinosaur out of craft foam. We have been making one of these for every letter and are putting them on our chicka chicka boom boom tree.

Digging for Dinosaurs Sensory Bin

The kids had a great time in our Dinosaur Excavation Bin! I used moon sand as the main substance, but you could easily use a DIY Cloud Dough like Growing a Jeweled Rose makes.

I buried the same dinosaur skeletons we’ve been using, used them to make fossilized impressions, and to let the kids excavate. The kids had goggles, hammer/pick, and a brush to brush the dinosaur out. This was a BLAST and kept the kids thoroughly engaged for hours!

Fingerprint Dino Craft

Tinker Bell (28 months) made a Brachiosaurus using her fingerprint. She dipped her finger in our green ink pad and went along the pencil lines I had lightly drawn for her. She thought it was great fun and was so proud of the picture she made!

Measuring with Dino Feet

Dinosaurs Teach about Measurement for Preschoolers

We read How Big was a Dinosaur by Anna Milbourne that does a great job of helping Preschoolers visualize how big dinosaurs were with the help of a cute little penguin named Pipkin. At the back there is a pull out poster (seen below) that show different dinosaurs next to things kids recognize today like people, trees, bus, etc.

Dinosaur Feet Activity for Kids

Then we made our own Dinosaur feet to stomp around in. I cut T-rex feet (left) and Stegasaurus (right) feet out of cardboard from a box we had on hand. Then the kids painted the feet. I cut slits in the feet to stick ribbon through to tie the kids feet to the dinosaur feet and tada! We had so much fun trying to walk around in the HUGE dinosaur feet and then measured distances around our house in Dino feet.

Note: I first saw this super clever idea at Hey Mommy, Chocolate Milk.

Dinosaur Fossil Snack for Kids

How to Make Dinosaur Cookies

As part of our Dinosaur Unit we made these simple and fun Dinosaur Fossil Cookies. You can use cookies in a log, sugar cookies, or the peanut butter recipe we used. Mix 1 egg, 1 cup peanut butter, and 1 cup sugar. Drop on cookie sheet. Use a glass to flatten the top. Press a dinosaur into the cookie to leave the fossil behind. Bake cookies at 375 for 8-10 minutes. Allow to cool slightly before removing. We also made Dinosaur Track Cookies too!

How to make dinosaur fossil cookies for kids

Flannel Dinosaur Play

We used our dinosaur flannel set to act out stories together.

Pasta Dinosaur Skeleton Craft for Homeschool Kids

Next up Minnie (Preschool) made dinosaur skeletons using pasta. We used the Dino Fact Cards (free with elementary pack), dinosaur skeletons, liquid glue, and pasta (spaghetti, rotini, large shell, small shell, and elbow). I think they came out so cute!