Dinosaur Diorama

The diorama! Can you believe I have been a parent for almost nine years and have not yet done a diorama? Truth be told, I am not all that "into" artistic things, and neither is my first born. My second born, now five, however, is a major artist. She loves, loves, loves to do art. She found this in a book and immediately wanted to create it. This is found in the book Cats Sleep Anywhere published by D.C. Heath and Company. (true...strange title for a book with a dinosaur activity in it?).

Supplies:

• shoe box
• rocks
• twigs or small branches
• bandaid
• paper
• scissors
• pencil
• crayons
• tape
• one straw

Make the Dinosaur:

1. Fold your paper in half.
2. Draw a dinosaur on one half of the paper. Make it so the top of the head and the back are on the fold of the paper.
3. Cut out the dinosaur. Do not cut along the fold where the dinosaur's back and head are.
4. Color the dinosaur with the crayons.
5. Cut the straw into four equal sized pieces.
6. Tape one straw piece to each leg of the dinosaur on the inside of the dinosaur.

Make the Home:

1. Cut one long side of the shoebox off so it is open at the top.
2. Color in the sky, grass, mountains, a sun...you could also make these out of paper and glue them in place.
3. Take your two twig pieces and adhere them to a large rock with the bandaid.
4. Put your dino and rocks in the shoebox. Ta-da!

Play Doh Fine Motor Work

Play doh is a great activity for working many learning areas. You have sensory, art, creativity, colors, and fine motor work. You can easily add in even more.

When I had only one child who played with toys and made messes, I thought play doh was such a huge mess and cinged when that activity came to the forefront. Now it is my favorite! The children sit in one spot and play for an extended period. Sure, little bits of play doh get stuck to the counter and spread on the floor, but the reality is that it is so much easier to clean up than toys spread around the toy area. 

Right now, we are loving using toothpicks with our play doh. You flatten out the play doh, take your toothpick and practice whatever needs to be practiced. You can write letters, write names, do math problems, draw shapes, and draw pictures. We love play doh!