dinosaur dig
We like to have plenty of imaginative and sensory play areas for the children and this week we combined the two.
By tipping buckets of sand into last weeks water play, we created a dinosaur swamp using some mini dinosaur skeletons and a few large rocks.
The children had a very messy but delightful time burying and digging up the dinos.
They said it was a bit like being a pirate finding hidden treasure.
Water and sand went everywhere and we realised that placing the tub next to the board displaying our treasure maps …
wasn’t a smart idea!! … splish, splosh, splash!
This naturally led onto a discussion about archeology and fossils, so the next step was for the children to create their own fossils.
They used a variety of objects …
like shells, bones, coral and plastic dinosaurs.
They pressed them into clay …
leaving nice deep imprints …
then we mixed up the plaster and scooped it on top.
By the end of the session the plaster was dry enough to be taken off.
Uncovering the fossils was very exciting!
and ta-raa their very own ‘fossils’ to take home!
In the words of our friend Aiden to his Mum at the end of kinder today …
“Hey look what we found today … dinosaur fossils”
Tags: clay, digging, dinosaurs, fossils, plaster, sand, skeletons, water
Fantastic! This looks like so much fun! Where did you get your dinosaur skeletons—they look very sturdy.
I have to say, I am so impressed every time I visit. Thanks for all you share!
Thank you for your kind comment Ayn! We bought the dino’s from a discount store. A dozen dinosaurs for $20 and the children were so excited as they’d never seen this type before. And you’re right they are extremely sturdy.
Hi I was going to ask the same question as Ayn – I’ve never seen the dinosaur skeletons before and they look like fun! Thanks for your great blog I check back regularly
Lou
I am inspired every time I visit your site and plan on being a regular visitor!
The effort you put in to ensuring experiences are aesthetically appealing is amazing…it highlights your commitment and respect for the children in your centre, and as a like minded professional is heartwarming to see!
Keep up the fantastic work.
I am in Sydney and am going in search of these dinosaurs immediately!!
Have a great week.
This is incredible! Our plastic dino skeletons, I think, aren’t sturdy enough for this. I’m going shopping too!
Thanks.
That looks like so much fun. I will have to remember that when we do dinosaurs. We also have the dinosaur skeletons which I purchased last year from a discount shop at a reasonable price. The kids loved them. Keep up the fantastic work.
I did something similar with my class recently. We used a dinosaur theme for our outdoor program and the kids loved it! The language that came out of the dinosaur dig was fantastic! However we used old cow bones and buried them in the sandpit! It was great.
We’ve used chicken bones before Camilla but never thought of using cow bones. Thanks we’ll remember this for next time.
I don’t know if you guys had dollar stores, but I’ve found these dinos at a local dollar store (six dinos for a dollar!) This a fantastic idea….can’t wait for dino week to come at our school next!
::: Beth we bought ours at a discount store out in the country but haven’t seen them anywhere in town
We did this with our Kinder & Year one class during developmental play. They loved it!!!