Welcome to week two of our Adventures in Preschool Learning: Dinosaurs series! This week, we’re diving into hands-on science with the preschool team at St. James Academy.
Last week, we read “If the Dinosaurs Came Back” and created artwork depicting what would happen if dinosaurs roamed the Earth today. But what did the earth look like long ago when the dinosaurs roamed?
The American Museum of Natural History website is a great place to start exploring dinosaurs — and their habitats — with your preschooler. Talk to them about what the Earth looked like when dinosaurs roamed and then look at different dinosaurs with them. Were the dinosaurs herbivores or carnivores? What adaptations helped them protect themselves?
Pull out whatever dinosaur books you have lying around the house and ask your child to look at the pictures. What do they notice about the environment that the dinosaurs live in?
Now it’s time to build a dinosaur habitat! Don’t worry — you have these materials lying around the house.
Activity: Build a Dinosaur Habitat!
Materials
Plastic Dinosaurs
Play Dough
Popsicle Sticks
Stones
Colored Pasta Noodles
Sticks
Instructions
If you don’t have a child-size collection of sticks and rocks on hand (and we know many of you do!), head outside to collect natural elements to build a dinosaur habitat.
Assemble the materials on the table. Ask your child to select a dinosaur and build a habitat (or home) for the dinosaur using playdough to anchor the objects.
When they’re finished, ask them to tell you about their habitat. Be sure to ask open-ended questions — you’re sure to get a good story!
No Comment