Dinosaur Themed Centers Activities

 

Today I’m excited to share hands-on math and literacy centers, activity ideas, and some science FUN perfect for preschool and pre-k aged kiddos. Add these activities to your DINO plans and have fun watching your littles play and learn!

 

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I want to get started by sharing our FAVORITE dinosaur-themed books! Tap on any of the links to check them out for yourself. How do Dinosaurs Count to Ten has been a favorite since both my girls were itty-bitty!

Dinosaur Roar! by Henrietta Stickland

 

STEGOSAURUS CHOMP is a great game for working on subitizing and counting skills. Roll the die, identify the number, and add “leaves” to the mat. Looking to tie-in some fine motor fun? Just add Play-Doh!

 

DINO SHAPES! How cute are these 2D shape puzzles? I am loving the fossil prints and little green dino shapes. This activity is great for practicing shape recognition and even includes a follow up tracing sheet for practicing formation.

Got a little one who’s ready to practice nonstandard measurement? Pull out this MEASURING DINOSAURS center for some fun hands-on practice. Invite your littles to use small objects, like snap cubes, to measure the height of each dino. If your little isn’t ready for actually measuring end to end, just use the cards and have them order by size.

REMEMBER there is always a way to differentiate to meet your little where they are and to keep things fun while learning.

COUNTING DINO EGGS is the perfect center style activity to work on number recognition and ten frame counting. I used dried pinto beans as counters and they made for perfect tiny dino eggs! The set includes numbers 1-10 and 11-20.

DINOSAUR PATTERN STRIPS are fun, easy to prep, and great for encouraging littles to identify and extend patterns. Remember each time your little creates a pattern, have them tell you it out loud to make sure it is correct. The set includes a follow-up sheet where your little can draw their own pattern.

You know I had to add in some DINOSAUR COLOR SORTING cards! There are so many fun ways to use these cards. Set them out with a colorful sensory bin and invite your littles to sort by color. Pick just a few, stick them on the wall BEHIND contact paper, then have your little add DINO TAILS! Get creative and let me know how you use yours!

Ready for some graphing fun? RAINBOW DINOSAUR ROLL AND GRAPH is an activity that focuses on color recognition and graphing. Roll the included dinosaur die, identify the color, then color a circle in that column. Which dino color will win?

One more math activity I’d like to share today is this simple SHAPE DINOSAUR craft!  This one is SO FUN and easy to set up. Cut a few basic shapes out of construction paper – I love using Astrobrights. Set the paper out with scissors, glue, and markers and nvite your littles to create a shape dino! It’s always fun seeing what they come up with!


LITERACY ACTIVITIES

I was so excited when I came across these sweet little DINO letters that I knew I had to make a DINO UPPERCASE AND LOWERCASE MATCHING activity with them. For this one simply prep and create your letter puzzles then set them out for your littles to match. I suggest only setting out 5-7 at a time. Setting out all 26 at once can be overwhelming.

Now this DINO NAME CRAFT is the CUTEST! I mean, come on! Your kiddos will get in some scissor skills practice while cutting out the craft pieces and then they will practice ordering the letters in their name as they add dino teeth! If you’re in the classroom these look great hung on the wall and if at home they are the perfect fridge kid craft!

 

 

One of my go-to activities for preschoolers are letter mats! You all know that exposure and repetition is key so whenever I can add in some letter exposure I will. I like to add magnetic letters to their sensnory bin and pair it with a mat like this! Littles learn so much by just exploring. This DINO ALPHABET MATCH MAT is perfect for that!

 

 

This VOLCANO WRITING activity is so FUN and sure to keep your kiddos engaged! Yes, you can totally use these cards with a basic salt writing tray, but if you’re looking to switch things up I suggest this volcano in a bag writing activity. Cut a simple volcano base out of brown paper and tape it to the outside of a Ziploc bag. Then, add orange and red paint to the bottom of the bag. *Don’t forget to tightly secure the top – I’d use tape. Give your child the bag and ask them to “ERUPT” the volcano by pushing the paint up the base through the top. Once they are done being amazed you’ll have yourself a fun little sensory writing bag and can pull out the volcano letter and number cards.

 

Are your littles into EMERGENT READERS? Both my girls LOVE these little books and are so proud of themselves as they browse through and read each page. Stack, staple, and cut for easy prep then use all week long for some dinosaur reading fun.

MORE FUN ACTIVITIES

 

 

 

In this set I also included some basic DINOSAUR PUPPET STICKS that are great for adding into sensory bins, pairing with your favorite dino story, or just using for dramatic play.

So, what do you think? I know we are thrilled to pull out these activities and dive in! If you want to check out this resource you can find it in my shop here. And if you’re not ready for dinos yet, but want to save these ideas, be sure to PIN the image below.

Happy DINO week!