Welcome to another week of Playful Preschool where a group of preschool bloggers share fun, hands-on ways to teach preschool concepts. Today’s preschool lesson plan is dinosaurs and our dinosaur gross motor skills activities are adapted from the book The Littlest Dinosaur’s Big Adventure by Michael Foreman. Let’s walk.
Can You Move Like A Dinosaur? Dinosaur Gross Motor Activities
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In the story, the littlest dinosaur becomes fascinated with all he sees and eventually gets lost. We decided that it would be fun to move the way he does and imagine what it would look like if J were the littlest dinosaur.
Even More Dinosaur Books to Read
National Geographic Little Kids First Big Book of Dinosaurs (National Geographic Little Kids First Big Books)Dinosaur A-Z: For kids who really love dinosaurs!
Discovery Kids Dinosaurs Rumble Sound Book (Discovery 10 Button)
Oh Say Can You Say Di-no-saur?: All About Dinosaurs (Cat in the Hat’s Learning Library)
How Do Dinosaurs Say Happy Birthday?
Have You Seen My Dinosaur? (Beginner Books(R))
Dinosaur Dance!
The Dinosaur Who Lived in My Backyard (Picture Puffins)
DINOSAUR GROSS MOTOR ACTIVITIES Scenario #1 Dangling Toes in the River
In the beginning of the story, the Littlest Dinosaur was sitting by the river with his feet dangling in the water.
DINOSAUR GROSS MOTOR ACTIVITIES Scenario #2 Carefully Stepping on a Lily Pad
To do this activity, I found a lily pad template, copied, and then placed them on the floor for J to walk carefully from one lily pad to the next. I then re read the scenario and she did the actions.
DINOSAUR GROSS MOTOR ACTIVITIES Scenario #3 Flying over a Forest
Close to the end of the story, the Littlest Dinosaur is flown back to his family by a Pterodactyl. J decided to imitate the Pterodactyl.
DINOSAUR GROSS MOTOR ACTIVITIES Extra Scenarios
How Does a Dinosaur Eat?
For this we gave J a bowl of lettuce to be a plant eating (herbivore) dinosaur and told her she could not use her hands to eat.
How Does a Dinosaur Run?
J had to go on all fours and run like a four legged dinosaur would.
How Does a Dinosaur Dance?
We got silly for this activity. J decided that she wanted to dance like a dinosaur.
Don’t forget to grab your FREE Dinosaur Printable Worksheets!
Additional Dinosaur Activities for Preschool by the #PLAYfulPreschool Education Team:
Dinosaur Math Play by The Educators’ Spin On It
Dinosaur Dig for Fossil Puzzles by Mom Inspired Life
Dinosaur Theme for Preschool: Hatching DINO Eggs – Early Math & Science.by The Preschool Toolbox
Dinosaur Activities: Beginning Sound Fossil Matching by Growing Book by Book
Classification and Sorting of Dinosaurs by Rainy Day Mum
Can You Be A Dinosaur? by Learning 2 Walk
Dinosaur Sensory Play by Still Playing School
Dino-Gourd Dinosaur Egg Hunt by Capri + 3
Dinosaur Hatching by Tiny Tots Adventures
Dinosaur Hunting with Paint by Powerful Mothering
Hands-on Play-based Dinosaur Activities by Raising Lifelong Learners
Dinosaur Habitat Sensory Play With Slime by Little Bins for Little Hands
Backyard Dinosaur Dig by The Kennedy Adventures
What great movement ideas. These would make great transitions too… AKA Fly like a Pterodactyl to the dinner table!
I never thought of that Amanda!
She is adorable! What a creative way to get moving!
My boys love STOMPING like a dinosaur! We’ll have to try dancing next!
It looks like your daughter had a blast trying out all the dinosaur movements. Our children would want to jump right into this scene and play along. In answer to your question, I imagine you could add the mass of the dinosaur into the movement activity and play around with the differences between large and small dinosaur movements (or dinosaurs vs. mice etc).
That’s brilliant Theresa.
My son would LOVE this. Great way to move and learn!
Right now we’re sleeping like a dinosaur. Can you swim like a dinosaur? I like this and will use this quite a bit for getting the girls to do things such as brushing their teeth like dinos.
Fantastic movement activity – reminds me a little of a book my eldest had as a baby which was “Say Hello to the dinosaurs” where various dinosaurs moved differently, one stomped, one roared, another swished their tail and one blew bubbles was a fantastic book and would work so well with this activity.
My little one would love all these movements. Thanks for sharing!
These are great gross motor suggestions! MOVING and learning….doesn’t get much better than that!
It’s always good to get kids moving and making it fun is even better. Thanks for linking to #familyfrugallinky