Preschool Dinosaur Activities

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Do you have a preschooler who loves dinosaurs? Learning about dinosaurs is an exciting theme for your preschool classroom. There are so many fantastic preschool dinosaur activities to do together! 

I’ve got lots of fun preschool dinosaur crafts, dino playdough mats, sensory bin ideas, book suggestions, and even dinosaur activity printables. Plus, an easy recipe for making edible dinosaur fossils that will take your preschool snack time to the next level. I’ve put together lots of ideas, printables, and resources for a preschool dino theme.

How much fun can you have with preschool dinosaur activities this year? Keep reading to find out!

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Preschool Dinosaur Crafts & Printable Activities

Crafts are lots of fun for preschoolers, but they also have lots of awesome learning benefits. You can use dinosaur crafts in your preschool classroom to teach developmental skills like literacy and self-esteem. Plus, these preschool dinosaur crafts and printable activities are a great way to spend quality time with your kids in the classroom and at home.

I’ve put together some printable dinosaur activities you can download and use to create a prehistoric bulletin board for your preschool dinosaur theme this year. Your preschoolers can build fine motor skills like cutting, pasting, and finger strength as they make their very own dinosaurs and more. Check out what’s included in my preschool dinosaur crafts set:

• T-Rex
• Triceratops
• Pterodactyl
• Stegosaurus
• Brontosaurus 
• Paleontologist (boy & girl)
• Volcano

These crafts will match up well with dinosaur songs, fingerplays, and dinosaur storybooks. Keep reading to discover lots of fun multimedia resources you can use with your preschool dinosaur activities for all kinds of learning fun.

Dinosaur Printables and Activities

Looking for hands on dinosaur printables and activities for your preschoolers to learn with? You’ve come to the right place. I’ve come up with 15 of the best preschool dinosaur activities for kids (and a free dino theme activity too!) Keep reading to check them all out.

Fine motor fun just got a whole lot better with these fun and free dinosaur playdough mats. Your little dino lover will enjoy rolling their Playdough pieces into dinosaur shapes and then writing each dinosaurs name as they practice their best penmanship.

Need some extra counting practice? This dinosaur theme bundle has all of your math standards covered! Your students will love identifying the number on each card and counting the eggs as they place them in the dinosaur nest.

Syllables are another fun activity your little ones need to master to set a solid reading foundation. In this fun dino stomp activity, your students will identify the picture on each card and press down on that many pieces of playdough to identify how many syllables are in each word.

Dinosaur name craft for kids

Preschoolers love building crafts, especially when they can include their name. This dinosaur name craft is an easy printable to help introduce how to spell your name to toddlers and preschoolers.

If you’ve enjoyed these printable dinosaur activities, be sure to check out all 15 dinosaur themed activities in my shop today!

Exploring Dinosaurs with Sensory Play

Have you tried sensory bins with your preschoolers yet? Sensory play is perfect for preschoolers because it encourages children to use all 5 senses and learn through play. Sensory bins are a hands-on experience that can engage even the shyest children. 

Check out these fun dinosaur sensory play ideas for more learning fun with your preschoolers:

Digging for Dinosaurs

Sand, small plastic shovels, paint brushes, and dinosaur puzzle pieces are all you need to turn your preschoolers into junior paleontologists. Bury dinosaur puzzle pieces in the sand and let your preschoolers excavate them with paintbrushes and small plastic shovels. 

Dinosaur Jungle Sensory Bin

Use leaves, dirt, sticks, and Safari Ltd.’s Dino Toob to create a jungle sensory bin that’s filled with dinosaurs and natural elements for your preschoolers to explore. The different textures, scents, and sights will keep them invested and learning with this fun hands-on preschool dinosaur activity. 

Fizzy Volcano Sensory Play

This is one of my favorite dinosaur sensory bins to do with preschoolers because it’s a great way to introduce them to chemical reactions. Create a baking soda volcano together and let your preschoolers indulge in adding extra baking soda and vinegar. Ask questions and encourage your preschoolers to talk about their observations along the way. 

Add the Dino Toob dinosaurs for even more fun sensory play. The textures, sights, fizzing sounds, and even the scents in this preschool dinosaur activity will create a learning experience they’ll remember and love!

Dinosaur Movement Activities for Preschoolers

Another fun way to learn about dinosaurs with your preschoolers is by incorporating dinosaur movement activities into your lessons. Engaging in movement activities can help your preschoolers develop gross motor skills like balance and coordination while encouraging them to be active and healthy. Plus, studies show that movement helps light up neural pathways and encourages kinesthetic memory in your kids too.

There are all kinds of fun ways to incorporate movement activities in your preschool dinosaur theme. Check out some fun dinosaur yoga routines with a Cosmic Kids Yoga Adventure. 

Dinosaur Yoga

With Cosmic Kids, your preschoolers can go on an adventure with “Tiny the T-Rex” and learn how to do 20 different yoga poses and practice important skills like relaxed breathing and mindfulness.

Move Like a Dinosaur

Use a beach ball or large blank cube to create a dinosaur movement activity your preschoolers will love! Write a different dinosaur movement on each side of the cube or each section of the beach ball.

Here are some ideas to get you started:

• Stand tall like a brachiosaurus
• Swing your tail like an ankylosaurus
• Fly like a pterodactyl
• Charge like a Triceratops
• Roar like a T-rex
• Stretch like an Apatosaurus
• Hatch like a baby dinosaur
• Move like your favorite dinosaur

Prehistoric Picture Books

When everyone is tired from moving like dinosaurs and yoga adventures, have a rest while you enjoy a dinosaur themed storybook. Reading books aloud to your preschoolers is the very best way to encourage them to fall in love with books and reading at an early age. 

Your preschoolers will expand their vocabulary, build reading comprehension skills, learn a lot about dinosaurs, and even get a few giggles from these adorable dinosaur books for preschoolers:

• Dinosaurs Before Dark a Magic Treehouse Book by Mary Pope Osborne – a chapter book you can read from each day for an ongoing classroom adventure.
• Oh Say Can You Say Di-No-Saur by Bonnie Worth – a silly early reader in the Dr. Seuss style that’s filled with all kinds of interesting dinosaur facts too.
• We Don’t Eat our Classmates by Ryan T. Higgins – a beautiful picture book with a dinosaur theme that helps preschoolers build social emotional skills too.

• Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs by Mo Willems – a fun new take on the classic tale that will give your preschoolers the giggles and teach sequencing too.
• Saturday Night at the Dinosaur Stomp by Carol Diggory Shields – an exciting read aloud that’s perfect for preschoolers who have the wiggles.

Want to add even more fun to your dinosaur books for preschoolers? Include the printable preschool dinosaur activities to bring your stories to life with interactive paper dinosaur crafts.

Alexa Skills to Explore

Have you tried using Amazon’s Alexa in your preschool classroom yet? If not, I definitely encourage you to give some of these exciting Alexa Skills a try. Check out our favorite dinosaur related skills to entertain your preschoolers and teach them all about dinosaurs too:

My Pet Dinosaur

This awesome Alexa skill will introduce a virtual class pet to your preschool dino theme. This preschool dinosaur activity lets your kids take care of their very own pet dinosaur. Kids can feed him, take him on walks, teach him tricks, and even go on interactive adventures with their dinosaur buddy. 

Dinosaur Trivia

Get ready for a dinosaur trivia game that will teach your preschoolers all kinds of cool dinosaur facts and test their knowledge of dinosaurs too. This preschool dinosaur activity is filled with learning opportunities your kids will love!

Jurassic World

Go on an interactive adventure with a read aloud story that’s all about saving the dinosaurs on Isla Nublar from an impending volcanic eruption. It’s a fun new twist on story time that will save your voice and engage your preschoolers in a fun dinosaur activity too.

Daily Dinosaur

Spend a few minutes each day learning about a new dinosaur with this cool Alexa skill. Then, teach your lesson and plan your preschool dinosaur activities to match whatever cool creature you’re learning about that day. With a new dinosaur each day, your preschoolers will be super excited to discover a new animal each day with Alexa.

Dinosaur Fossil Cookies

Did you know snack time can be a learning experience too? Themed preschool snacks are an exciting way to reinforce the lessons you’re learning in your preschool classroom. Check out this dinosaur fossil cookie recipe for a simple and delicious treat your kids can help make.

So how do you make dinosaur fossils? First, you’ll need sugar cookies. You can use your favorite recipe or buy sugar cookie dough from the refrigerated section at your local grocery store. Then, use small plastic dinosaurs to create dinosaur “fossils” and footprints on your cookies. 

Preschoolers will have lots of fun walking their dinosaur toys across these cookies to make some tasty dinosaur fossil cookies for snack time. Don’t forget the milk.

Want to learn more about real dinosaur fossils? Read Fossils for Kids: A Junior Scientist’s Guide to Dinosaur Bones, Ancient Animals, and Prehistoric Life on Earth by Ashley Hall to your preschoolers, try the dinosaur fossil sensory bin mentioned above, or explore unearthing real dinosaur fossils with a Mega Fossil Dig Kit from National Geographic Kids.

I hope you’re as excited about all these preschool dinosaur activities and printable dinosaur pages as I am. There are so many fun ways to learn about dinosaurs while engaging your preschool students in activities that will spark their curiosity and unleash their imagination. Plus, it’s a theme that’s easy to do at home with your kids or in a classroom filled with early learners.

What activities and resources will you include in your preschool dinosaur theme? Share your ideas in the comment section. I can’t wait to read them and try a few with my own preschoolers too.

Free Playdough Mats for Preschoolers

I know your little ones will love the dinosaur Playdough mats I talked about earlier. It’s an easy and fun dino theme activity for kids to do.

Would you like more free Playdough mats for preschoolers? If so, check these out by clicking the links below!

FROM LEFT TO RIGHT

Dinosaur Playdough Mats // The Primary Parade

Playdough Pattern Mats // Literacy with the Littles

Letters Activities Playdough Mats // Alleah Maree

Ice Cream Playdough Mats // Fairy Poppins