Dinosaur activities for preschool will enhance an already fun theme! What more could a teacher ask for? Kids love dinosaurs and can’t wait to learn more. These activities will take them on a journey into Paleontology that they will never forget!
Dinosaur Activities for Preschool: Dinosaur Math
Preschoolers love seek and find games! What could be more fun than finding numbers on a stegosaurus! First, this printable comes in different number combinations to make differentiating easy. Second, it’s low-prep. Just print, grab some daubers, and you are ready! My 5-day lesson plan has flashcards to print too! (you can find the All About Dinosaurs 5-day Lesson Plan in my TPT store. It includes just about everything you will see in this post)
Another fun preschool Dinosaur math activity is this lift the flap dinosaur ordinals game. First, clues are read to place the dinosaurs in the correct order. Then, lift the flap and see if you are correct! One of the best things about this activity is that it goes from first, all the way up to sixth! The dinosaurs are adorable, so consequently, the kids eat this activity up like a T-REx!
My kiddos can’t get enough of this dinosaur game! Just hide the adorable T-Rex babies under the colorful eggs. Next, the kids choose a number and see if they find a dinosaur! Another great numeral identification game for this theme! Also, the eggs are numbered 0-20 for easy differentiation!
Counting, numeral identification, and fine motor skills come together in this one fantastic activity! First, read the number on the dinosaur. Next, count out the correct amount of clothespins. Finally, use those ‘pinchy’ fingers to place the clothespins on the dinosaurs back to make a stegosaurus! I have used this center for 12 years now…it’s ALWAYS part of the lesson plan!
Patterning is such an important foundational skill for both math and literacy. With this activity, you may use dinosaur egg printables, or unifix cubes in the colors on the pattern strips for less prep.
Dinosaur Activities for Preschool: Dinosaur Literacy Activities for Preschool
Letter and Sound Dinosaurs bring upper to lowercase letter matching together with letter sounds. For my 3-4’s I use this activity to introduce letter sounds. However, my pre-k 4-5’s are old pros…it’s ALL about the sounds!
Since seek & find activities are such a hit with my kiddos, they love this alphabet printable as much as numbers. Since the activity is low-prep, it is great for me too. Consequently, my class has become experts at discovering both letters AND numbers!
Dinosaur letter cards in both upper and lowercase are great for matching games. In my classroom, we use these cards for making simple CVC and sight words too. Another great idea would be to leave these in the writing center to encourage writing practice.
These printable foldable books can’t be beaten for a quick literacy center that brings in a bit of science. We talk about herbivores and carnivores every day of this theme. These books can fit in any time of the week!
Dinosaur Activities for Preschool: Preschool Dinosaur Science
In addition to the great math and literacy activities, we need some science! Teaching the characteristics of herbivores and carnivores is easy in the dinosaur theme. These herbivore/carnivore puzzles are fantastic to reinforce the concept.
Making ‘fossils’ is my favorite science activity to do with the kids. Not only does it perfectly illustrate what we are learning, but it is good, messy, fun too! All you need is some paper cups, press some play-dough in the bottom. Lay a dino on its side, and smash it into the play-dough leaving an impression. Next, mix some plaster and pour it into the impression. Wait one day or 100 million years…whichever comes first. Then, peel away the paper cup, take off the playdough and scrape away the excess to reveal an AWESOME fossil!
Oh yeah…this is the BEST! Every year my kiddos eat this one up! We make a simple salt dough from 1 cup salt, 1/2 cup flour, and about 3/4 cups water…give or take a bit. Over the years I have learned that using a small paper plate to form the volcano is the key. Also, make sure the kids make a big crater in the middle for the erupting solution. Let the volcanoes dry over a weekend. Then, fill the crater with baking soda, add a drop or two of food color, and let the kids pour vinegar from small cups. It’s magical!
Dinosaur Activities for Preschool: Dinosaur Art Activities
This is one of the best dinosaur activities for preschool! Nothing brings Dinosaurs and Fossils together like creating a dinosaur skeleton from pasta shapes. To start with, I print out 4 dinosaurs that I know the kids love. We glue the printed pages to construction paper to give it strength. Next, set out a tray of pasta, give a brief tutorial on using liquid glue to follow the lines. Lastly, let the kids have fun and create!
This fun craft blends art, fine motor skills, and math to create adorable or fierce dinosaurs. Set out a tray of basic shapes, scissors, markers, and glue. Let the kids experiment with placing shapes on their paper-with a minimal amount of guidance to show them how they can form a dinosaur. Next, show or remind them that they can use the scissors to create claws, jaws, or teeth.
This activity uses cutting skills and coloring. Begin by cutting dino eggs from construction paper. Next, find a dinosaur printable you like for the kids to color. Then, all you do is color the dinosaur and cut the egg straight across to help it hatch! This activity is great for kids who are just learning to cut. I always help cut the dinosaur…the kids can cut the egg.
I love this simple art project! Choose a mix of small and large dinosaurs, some paint, and any color of construction paper you like. The kids can ake their dinosaurs on a walk through the ‘mud’, then all over the paper! I like to follow this up with a dino bath…the kids LOVE it!
Dinosaur Activities for Preschool: Dinosaurs on the Block Table
The block center is one of the most important areas for play-based learning. With this in mind, make your dino block center AMAZING! This set-up is easy! Just put out some big and small dinosaurs with some heavy-duty blocks they can knock down as they tromp around!
Dinosaur Activities for Preschool: Dinosaur Dig Sensory Play
If your kiddos want to experience what tit’s like to be a real paleontologist, the sensory center is where it’s at! With this in mind, I stock my sensory bin with dinosaur skeletons I found at my local party store, sand, scoops for digging, and paintbrushes to brush away the sand and reveal the bones.
Consequently, this is always the busiest center in the classroom!
Dinosaur Activities for Preschool: Dinosaur Books
Keep your bookshelf stocked with a great selection of dinosaur fiction and non-fiction books. As a result, you will see more kids in your library corner than you ever thought possible!
Dinosaur Activities for Preschool: Dinosaur Dramatic Play
I love setting up dramatic play areas where children can let their imaginations run free! With this in mind, I created this Natural History Museum/Dinosaur Dramatic Play Center. The kids love it, and it is full of science, math, literacy, and the freedom to just PLAY! You can find this set in my TPT store. Just add your own props and have FUN! Click here to see more of the set-up!
If you liked these activities and printables, you can find almost all of them in my Dinosaur Lesson Plan in my TPT store!
The Dinosaur Duo Combines the lesson plan AND the dramatic play set at a reduced price to make your Dinosaur theme the BEST it can be!
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I hope you enjoyed these Dinosaur Activities for Preschool!
