Are you ready for a roaring good time?
Step into the prehistoric world of dinosaurs with these fun dinosaur preschool activities & crafts!
Preschoolers are captivated by these magnificent creatures, and these activities are designed to engage their imaginations, enhance their motor skills, and foster their love for learning.
From excavation adventures to arts and crafts, there’s something here for every little dinosaur enthusiast.
So, gather your young paleontologists and get ready to embark on a thrilling journey back in time with these exciting dinosaur-themed craft & movement activities!
Let’s dive in and unleash the dinosaur fun!
Dino Excavation Sensory Bin:
Set up a sensory bin filled with sand or rice and bury small dinosaur toys within it. Equip the preschoolers with child-friendly tools like brushes, spoons, and shovels. Encourage them to dig, scoop, and explore the bin, uncovering the hidden dinosaurs. As they excavate, they’ll develop their fine motor skills, sensory awareness, and imaginative play abilities.
Dinosaur Stomp Painting:
Prepare large sheets of paper or butcher paper on the floor or outdoors. Place different colors of washable paint in shallow trays. Have the children put on dinosaur foot-shaped cutouts or wear oversized socks on their feet. Let them stomp, march, and walk through the paint, creating unique dinosaur footprints and patterns on the paper. This activity promotes gross motor skills, creativity, and color recognition.
Related: 20 Tree Activities for Preschoolers
Dino Name Tracing:
Write the names of various dinosaurs on individual pieces of paper or index cards. Provide preschoolers with crayons, markers, or colored pencils. Encourage them to trace the dinosaur names, practicing their letter recognition and fine motor skills. You can even incorporate a phonics element by saying the name of each dinosaur aloud and having the children identify the beginning sound.
Dinosaur Sensory Playdough:
Make a batch of green playdough and add small plastic dinosaur figures or dinosaur-shaped cookie cutters. Invite the preschoolers to mold, shape, and create their own dinosaur sculptures using the play dough and dino accessories. This hands-on activity enhances sensory exploration, fine motor skills, and imaginative play.
Related: 20 Preschool Activities for Grandparents Day
Dino Egg Toss:
Inflate a few green balloons to represent dinosaur eggs. Divide the preschoolers into pairs and have them stand facing each other at a distance. Provide them with the inflated balloons and instruct them to toss the “dino eggs” back and forth, trying to keep them in the air. This activity promotes hand-eye coordination, teamwork, and gross motor skills. To add an educational element, you can ask the children to name a dinosaur each time they catch an egg.
Dinosaur Shadow Puppet Show:
Create dinosaur-themed shadow puppets using black cardstock or construction paper. Attach the puppets to wooden craft sticks or straws. Dim the lights in a room and use a flashlight to cast shadows on a plain white sheet or wall. Encourage the preschoolers to put on a puppet show, using the dinosaur shadows to tell stories and explore their creativity.
Dino Skeleton Puzzle:
Print out or draw a dinosaur skeleton outline on a large piece of paper. Cut out the skeleton into several puzzle pieces. Mix up the pieces and let the children assemble the dinosaur skeleton by matching the shapes and connecting the pieces. This activity promotes problem-solving skills, spatial awareness, and cognitive development.
Dinosaur Habitat Diorama:
Provide shoeboxes, art supplies, and toy dinosaurs. Instruct the preschoolers to create their own dinosaur habitats inside the shoe boxes. They can use materials like construction paper, craft foam, cotton balls, and natural elements like rocks or twigs to create a realistic environment. Encourage them to think about the dinosaurs’ needs, such as food, water, and shelter, while designing their dioramas.
Dinosaur Dance Party:
Create a playlist of lively dinosaur-themed songs and invite the children to have a dance party. Encourage them to move like different dinosaurs, such as stomping like a T-Rex, soaring like a Pterodactyl, or swaying like a Brachiosaurus. This activity promotes gross motor skills, coordination, and imaginative play.
Dinosaur Storytime:
Gather a collection of dinosaur-themed books suitable for preschoolers. Choose both fiction and non-fiction books about dinosaurs. Sit in a cozy circle and take turns reading the books aloud. Encourage the children to engage with the stories by asking questions, making predictions, and sharing their thoughts and observations about the dinosaurs.
Dinosaur Counting:
Create dinosaur-themed counting cards by drawing or printing out pictures of dinosaurs and numbering them from 1 to 10. Place the cards in random order and have the preschoolers count the dinosaurs on each card and match them with the corresponding numeral. This activity reinforces counting skills, number recognition, and one-to-one correspondence.
Dino Snack Time:
Prepare a dinosaur-themed snack by cutting fruits or vegetables into dinosaur shapes using cookie cutters. Offer options like dinosaur-shaped watermelon slices, cucumber dinosaurs, or even dinosaur-shaped sandwiches. Encourage the preschoolers to identify the different shapes and colors of the snacks while enjoying a healthy and fun treat.
Dinosaur Memory Game:
Create a memory game by printing or drawing pictures of various dinosaurs, making two of each kind. Shuffle the cards and lay them face down. The children take turns flipping two cards over to find matching pairs of dinosaurs. This game enhances memory skills, visual discrimination, and concentration.
Dino Yoga:
Introduce simple dinosaur-themed yoga poses to preschoolers. Encourage them to imitate the movements and shapes of different dinosaurs, such as a T-Rex with its arms raised high or a Stegosaurus with its arms stretched wide like the plates on its back. This activity promotes flexibility, balance, and body awareness.
Dinosaur Puzzles:
Provide age-appropriate dinosaur puzzles for the preschoolers to solve. Choose puzzles with varying difficulty levels, such as floor puzzles with larger pieces or jigsaw puzzles with more pieces for older children. As they assemble the puzzles, they enhance their problem-solving skills, hand-eye coordination, and spatial reasoning.
Dinosaur Egg Sensory Exploration:
Fill a large container with dried beans or rice and hide plastic dinosaur eggs. Provide small shovels, spoons, or scoops for the preschoolers to dig and search for the eggs. As they uncover the eggs, they can discuss the different colors and sizes, promoting sensory exploration, fine motor skills, and descriptive language.
Dino Tracks Alphabet Game:
Create large dinosaur footprints with letters of the alphabet written on them. Scatter the footprints around the play area. Ask the preschoolers to identify the letters as they walk or hop from impression to impression. You can also call out a letter, and the children have to find and stand on the corresponding print. This activity reinforces letter recognition, gross motor skills, and letter-sound association.
Dinosaur Costume Parade:
Encourage the preschoolers to dress up as their favorite dinosaurs using costumes, masks, or even homemade dinosaur accessories like tails and claws. Organize a parade where they can showcase their dinosaur personas, stomp around, and roar like dinosaurs. This activity promotes creativity, imaginative play, and self-expression.
Dino Sorting Sensory Bin:
Create a sensory bin filled with a mix of different objects like toy dinosaurs, rocks, leaves, shells, and sticks. Provide sorting trays or baskets labeled with categories such as size, color, or object type. Challenge the preschoolers to sort the items based on the given criteria. This activity enhances classification skills, visual discrimination, and critical thinking.
Dinosaur Science Experiment:
Conduct a simple dinosaur-themed science experiment by creating “volcanic eruptions.” Place a small plastic dinosaur in a cup or jar filled with baking soda. Pour vinegar into the container, and watch as the vinegar reacts with the baking soda, causing a fizzy eruption. The preschoolers can observe and discuss the reaction, learning about chemical reactions and cause-and-effect relationships.
