Part One: Make your "Mud"
Part Two: Make Footprints
Part Three: Let Them "Fossilize"
*Another fun thing you can do is poke a hole at the top of the fossil and turn it into a necklace or chain later on. Some of my kids did this.
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Doesn't that look like FUN?! Let me assure you...it was! And, we learned a lot about the process of fossil formation too. Learning in preschool should be fun and hands-on :) Part One: Make your "Mud"This whole group project started off by reading a book that had some information about dinosaur fossil footprints. We decided that just like our Earth, we needed some dirt and sediments. The kids took turns adding salt and flour to make the base of a Salt-Dough recipe. This was the dirt and sediments you might find outside around a river, lake, marsh, or ocean :) Next we discussed that the footprints really only show up when the land is mushy or muddy. They decided that we should add water (for our rain, lakes, rivers, oceans). Now we had mud! Part Two: Make FootprintsThis was the fun part! I put out a bunch of our large dinosaurs. The kids got a chunk of our "mud" and they got to make pieces for their dinosaurs to walk in. The footprints turned out pretty clear, which was great. Part Three: Let Them "Fossilize"Just like real fossils had to stay undisturbed for a very long time to turn into hard rock, our salt-dough needed to harden. I baked it for an hour or two so they were sturdy enough to make it home with the kids...but we discussed that they could find a safe place for them at home, and watch them as they dried and got hard! *Another fun thing you can do is poke a hole at the top of the fossil and turn it into a necklace or chain later on. Some of my kids did this. As you can see, this simple activity has a TON of educational possibilities. If you take the time to discuss the process of this type of fossil it can become a fun, hands-on, way for the kids to see it happen!
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It is Dinosaur Week at my preschool and the kids are having a GREAT time exploring and studying these amazing creatures. We like to study Dinosaurs in October normally, but it got pushed to November this Fall. I thought I would share some of the things we have out this week (both store bought and teacher created). I hope you find something you could try with your wee ones! Enjoy :) I'll also add that for the week we tried to learn about 3 new dinosaur facts each day :) What I noticed: During the following activities and projects the kids were able to work on our facts through play! They could work on dinosaur names, talk about their traits...or use our project ideas in their play. Woo-hoo! Fun Group Projects1. Make Your Own Dinosaur SoapThis was a fantastic project. And it is kind of like an awesome Amber fossil :) You could even color it to be the color of Amber. I have done it for the past three years and will continue to do it during my yearly Dinosaur Study. You can read about how we do it at my preschool in THIS post from earlier this week. 2. Make Dinosaur Footprint FossilsThis is engaging for kids and really helps them learn about the fossil process in a hands-on, age-appropriate way. You can read my entire post about how we discuss and make fossils HERE. 3. Predicting: A Dinosaur Surprise!Because we are studying Dinosaurs, which leads to a lot of science-related discussions I thought it was appropriate to talk about "predicting" with the preschoolers. I got some "Dinosaur" Magic Grow Capsules from Micheal's. The kids predicted what would happen if we put them in warm water. Fun! 4. Dino World Fossil KitsI had never tried Fossil Kits with the preschoolers, but braved them this year...and was glad I did! I was a little worried it would be too hard, or that they could stab their fingers, but we discussed safety first :) The tools were plastic and perfectly sized for their hands. We had brown construction paper out as our "dig sites". We decided it would be fun to be Paleontologists for the day, and the kids really got into it. Over and over I heard, "We are just like the real scientists!". This was the most focused I had seen the kids...EVER. It was quiet, except for excitement and sharing when they found a bone. Most of my kids wanted to take the time to do this themselves. My three year old needed some assistance though. The one downside was that the eggs didn't always have all their bones :( We may have lost them, or missed them...but we decided that real scientists can't always find all the bones either...so it was OKAY! **Heads up-these were messy but well worth it! Engaging Centers or Work Stations5. Books, Books, Books!In my opinion, there can never be enough books available for kids :) We transition to our circle time with book time because it is calming and fun for the kids. Our library is open during choice time and our center/stations time. Here are a few of the kids favorites this week: 1. Oh Say Can You Say Di-No-Saur? by Bonnie Worth 2. Dinosaur Bones by Bob Barner 3. ABC Dinosaurs from American Museum of Natural History (this was an awesome book with new pictures based on the new findings about dinosaurs) 4. The Mine-0-Saur by Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen 5. First Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Life by Usborne AND, for something more comical (if your kids like that sort of thing): 6. Golilocks and The Three Dinosaurs by Mo Willems 6. Dinosaur PuzzlesDinosaur puzzles are everywhere and my kids will make them over and over again. Melissa and Doug has a great Dinosaur puzzle- Jumbo pieces and great images :) Such a great brain work-out! Our Center/Work Station time has space for two kids to work at a puzzle. But, during choice time I see much larger groups of kids working together happily! 7. Invitation to Play: Dinos and DoughThis was the most popular center all week long. The kids loved creating landscapes and areas for the dinosaurs to live. I got some really nice mini dinosaurs in a tube at Micheals, added in some play trees and rocks (I set them out organized in an old Melissa and Doug wooden box) and then set out two tubs of play-dough! One great thing was that the kids began making footprints and "fossils" after our fossil project, so it was a way to further that learning too. 8. Invitation to Play: Dinos and BlocksI put out our wooden Montessori city blocks and two bins of dinosaurs and let the kids explore and play! I saw all kinds of cooperative and solo stories and set-ups. This was popular all week long. 9. Big Dinosaurs With Wooden BlocksMost preschools have large wooden building blocks. We always have them out at my school. We also always have a basket of large plastic dinosaurs available for choice time. I paired these two together to make a large Invitation to Play in our circle room for Center/ Work Station time. 10. Dinosaur StencilsI added these to my art center and the kids could use them if they wanted to. Many of my preschoolers used the stencils (which gets them using their "helper hand"), and then colored and cut them out. A great addition to the art center for the week! 11. Color-Your-Own Dinosaur StickersThese were fun! I found them at Learning Palace and they were worth the extra dollars. Most kids love stickers, but DINOSAUR stickers THEY get to design!? Awesome and fun!
**Plus, if you give them colored pencils it is a great workout for their growing fingers! I have made Dinosaur Soap with my preschoolers every year for the past three years. This is a great activity, and the kids get to enjoy their soap at home for weeks to come! You could, of course, make soap with a variety of things "inside". I choose to do this activity during Dinosaur week because it relates to the discussion about dinosaur fossils/amber fossils in a unique way. We make rock and clay dinosaur footprint fossils...but the soap really does look like an amber fossil. Pretty cool! A Science Discussion Another reason I enjoy this project is the chance to discuss liquids and solids. We start out with a large solid brick of soap. We cut it into smaller (but still solid) pieces. As we add them to a large bowl we can see the solid keeps it shape. BUT, as it heats up and melts it starts to take the shape of our glass bowl, and later the shape of our silicone cups! As it cools it turns back into a solid. This is a great discussion to have early in the year if you plan to study solids and liquids later on (we do in the Spring!). Making The SoapWe just use our silicone baking cups. The kids pick out a dinosaur and a cup and get it all ready. We work to cut up and melt the large brick of soap, and then I pour it in. Filler ActivityI got these "color your own" stickers from Learning Palace. While the soap cooled (it doesn't take long) the kids got to color two Dinosaurs! The Funnest Part!They LOVE taking the soap out of the cups. It just pops right out of the silicone, with no mess.
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