Dinosaurs

Welcome to Blue Bird Day’s Weekly Lesson Plans. This week we’re working on the theme Dinosaurs! Read below for more themed lesson plans and activities.

Floortime Play Activity: Dino Play

Materials:

Pretend Dinosaurs

Skill Check

The goal of this activity is to promote imagination and engagement with your child.

Growing My Skills

To expand play skills, give the dinosaurs different roles within play and make a 3-4 step story with the dinosaurs!

Video tape you guys playing and play it back with your child to recall and reflect on your play.

Relaxation Time Activity: Dinosaur Book Marathon

Make a fort or wrap up in some blankets on the couch and spend time reading books about dinosaurs.

Materials:

As many dinosaur books you can find! If you do not own any some great resources online are vooks.com, epic books, and YouTube read aloud.

Skill Check

The goal of this activity is for your child to engage in quiet time play, promoting relaxation while also increasing literacy skills.

Growing My Skills

Work on literacy skills during story time! Ask your child questions during the book, have them turn the pages, and see if they can make any connections from the days crafts/activities they worked on!

Creative Time Activity: Paper Plate Dino Craft

Materials:

Paper plates.

Paint or markers.

Glue stick or stapler.

Skill Check

The goal of this activity is to help your child follow directions and build their creative and fine motor skills.

Growing My Skills

1. Begin by painting the front side of a paper plate with acrylic or tempera paint. Let the paint dry completely.

2. Once the paint is completely dry on your painted paper plate, turn it upside down to draw the dinosaur template on the bottom of the paper plate with a black marker.

3. Use scissors to cut out the different pieces of the template.

4. Use a stapler or glue stick to attach the different pieces of the dinosaur together. As an alternative, you could also attach the pieces together with metal bands so that your dinosaurs arms, lets and tail are movable.

Movement Time Activity: Dinosaur Egg Transfer

Materials:

A container such as a bowl, box, basket, or bucket.

Several balls or egg-like items.

Blankets, pillows, couch cushions crash pad to be placed on floor.

Skill Check

The goal of this week is transfer the dinosaur eggs across the lava without falling or dropping them!

Growing My Skills

Create “lava” on the floor by placing pillows, blankets, couch cushions to make the surface bumpy and uneven.

Place the dinosaur eggs (balls or any other egg-like items) on one side of the lava and a dinosaur (can use any stuffed animal with your imagination!) on the other side of the lava.

Put an egg into your container/basket, hold the container with both hands, then walk across the bumpy hot lava trying to keep your balance.

Mealtime Activity: Dirt, Worms and Dinosaur Desert

Materials:

Chocolate pudding.

Crushed Oreos.

Dried fruit (ex: raisins, pineapple, apricot).

Nuts.

Candies or candy rocks (optional)

Toy dinosaurs (optional).

Kitchen utensils: mixing bowls, spoons, refrigerator, cups for serving.

Recipe found here.

Skill Check

The goal of this activity is to provide a dinosaur themed dessert, offer an opportunity to try a new kind of dried fruit and expand variety!

Growing My Skills

Wash hands, prepare pudding mixture and refrigerate.

Prepare the dirt “layers” by scooping 2 inches of pudding into serving container, cover with crushed Oreos or other ingredients, cover with another layer of pudding, cover with more ingredients and top with pudding and Oreos.

Dig for the new ingredients and see if your child will sample them!

Language Time Activity: How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight by Jane Yolen

Materials:

“How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight” book or audio.

Functional activity items around home (e.g., pajamas, toothbrush).

Enjoy this fun, silly, and pragmatic language driven book with your child in order to target expressive and receptive language skills! After, reenact the book, pretending to be dinosaurs, utilizing appropriate pragmatic language to complete activities of daily living (e.g., getting ready for bed, brushing teeth, getting dressed, etc.). Take turns being the dinosaur, and identify whether the language was “thumbs up” and pragmatically appropriate, or “thumbs down” and needs some work.

Skill Check

The goal of this activity is to work on your child’s pragmatic language skills while completing activities of daily living, such as use of appropriate requesting, terminating, and commenting.

Growing My Skills

Work on receptive language skills by following 1-2 step directions, based on your child’s language level (e.g., put toothpaste in drawer and then turn off the light).

Expand this pragmatic language skill building and incorporate siblings or other family members.

Challenge your child’s expressive language skills and have them use language to explain why one of the “dinosaurs'” exchanges was not appropriate.