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A Crafty Way To Make Dinosaur Handprint Pictures
- Gabrielle Fischer Posted On May 5, 2017
A fun way to teach your kids about dinosaurs is by getting down and dirty: do a dino crafts project involving finger paints. Using the colorful goo and their hands and feet—and just a little help from a grown-up with a marker—they’re able to create a T-Rex and Stegosaurus in minutes.
Here’s what you’ll need:
- Paper
- Finger paints
- Marker
Here’s what to do:
Step 1: Prep the hand and foot “stamps”
Set a piece of paper in front of your child and have them apply a single color of paint to their tiny dino-shaped hands or feet.
Step 2: Make the dinosaur body
Have them “stamp” their painted parts onto the paper to form a dino body. A foot makes a great T-Rex and a hand makes a Stegosaurus.
Step 3: Detail your dinos
Using your marker, draw a tail, feet, and faces on each dinosaur. Kids might enjoy adorning their dinos with spikes, horns, or other accessories.
Step 4: Fill in the blanks
Use more finger paint to “flesh out” your dinosaurs. Feel free to experiment with colors.
Step 5: Complete the dino scene
This is where the kids can get really creative. They can color the background with grass, water, or more dinosaurs.How did your dino's come out? Hopefully dinomite!
Learning is Where We play:
DIY Thankful Craft!
Decorate the frame:
First, cut the colored construction paper into small strips. Have your child draw small leaf shapes on the first strip of paper.
Prepare the hanging items:
Next, use the remainder of construction paper to draw four large leaves to a page. Have your child cut the big leaves out.
Wishing everyone a happy and fulfilling Thanksgiving!
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Teachers' Lounge: Back To School Prep
Add COLOR in the classroom.
What better way to kick off a new school year than a colorful room and a rainbow theme! This Birthday Pocket Chart is the perfect and fun addition to any classroom!
Decorate your Door.
A simple WELCOME sign in a rainbow of colors is a fun and inviting way to enter a classroom.
Decorate with their names.
You and your kids will be getting to know each other, so it’s important to include your students’ names as a part of the classroom decor! Make them into signs and they will feel welcome seeing their name on the wall, or on the door.
Keep it simple.
Don’t put too much on your walls. It’s best to keep it simple, and not overwhelm the kids in the first weeks. Let the children help you decorate your walls with their own projects as the days go on. An “About Me” art project from each student is an example of great wall decor.
Set up an art table.
Organize your art supply area by color! Keep a separate jar or container for red, orange, yellow etc.
Set up a sensory table.
Pom Poms or dyed rainbow rice and scoops are fun and colorful. This simple sensory activity is great to start off the school year!
Create a reading corner.
A fun reading corner with a rainbow of colors (Pillows, bookshelves, etc.) will be an inviting spot for the kids to cuddle up with a good book!
Happy Learning!
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Celebrate Astronomy Day with Kids
Each year Astronomy Day is celebrated worldwide. The stars have fascinated humanity for literally centuries, and even to this day captures the imagination of kids of all ages. Celebrate this event with them this year and don't worry if you don't own any expensive telescopes. These DIY activities use real life discoveries to inspire your little astronomers!
Track the Phases of the Moon
Bone sticks from across Europe and Africa dating back as long ago as 35,000 BCE that tracked the moon’s phases. Use a simple number line with your kids to track the phases of the moon over the course of a month, from full moon and back again. Do it for several months and see what patterns they begin to observe.
Depict a Celestial Phenomenon
A celestial phenomenon is a astrological event that involves one or more objects. The earliest example depicted was discovered in Germany in 1999. The Nebra Sky Disc dates back to 2000 BC and it depicted a star cluster, phases of the moon and the rising sun.
Use a black paper plate, or even just black paper, and encourage your children to depict their own star formations. If they can’t stay up to observe them at night, project some indoors with this Shining Stars Projector.
Astronomy to Keep Time
The Chinese astronomers kept detailed observations beginning about 600 BC, for the primary purpose of timekeeping. Their records allowed them to predict eclipses, and include the first record of events such as supernovas and comets.
On the other side of the world, the Mayans developed their own astronomical tables for predicting the phases of the moon, eclipses, and the appearance of the other planets. They used these and the cycles of the Sun, the Moon, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Mars and constellations to establish the Mayan calendar.
All of the above astronomy was without a telescope, and you can still observe these astronomical events with your kids today. Check out this astronomy calendar and pick a full moon, eclipse, planetary event, or meteor shower to observe as a family.
Try this simple astronomy experiment to help kids as young as preschoolers understand what makes night.
Just because ancient astronomers did all of this without a telescope doesn't mean your little ones have to! All of the above activities can be done with the naked eye but if you feel like shooting for the stars check out Learning Resources Big View Telescope. How will you celebrate Astronomy Day?
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