How loud can a dinosaur roar? Just ask the Tod Squad and they will show you! Over the past few weeks the toddlers at RisingOaks Early Learning | SJP have been showing a great interest for Dinosaurs. They especially enjoy acting like these pre-historic animals through their imaginative play, some of the toddlers have brought in stories and plushies to share with their peers as well. Based on their interest the educators decided to offer more experiences that extended on their curiosity for these pre-historic creatures. One activity that the toddlers especially enjoyed was digging for dinosaurs. This sensory activity had them using their fine motor skills and eye hand coordination to search for the dinosaur toys that were hidden underneath grains of cattle corn. “I found a T. rex!” exclaimed Teddy giving out a roar as he held it up in the air for his friends to see. “Me too!” said Brayden excitedly. “How do you know it’s a Tyrannosaures Rex?” asked the educator. “Can you tell by the shape of its body? Does it have claws, and sharp teeth?” asked the educator. “Yeah, sharp teeth!” said Teddy as he touched the dinosaurs mouth. “Some dinosaurs had very sharp teeth to help them eat their food, just like we have our teeth for chewing. Other dinosaurs like this dinosaur had a very long neck so that he could reach up high above to the tall trees so that he could eat the leaves. This dinosaur, called the brontosaurus, only ate leaves and plants. These types of dinosaurs that only ate vegetables are called herbivores. The tyrannosaurus ate lots of meat so he was called a carnivore.
For another dinosaur inspired experience the toddlers were invited to participate in making their own interactive storybook, where they each had a starring role. This creative process had a few steps and the first was to choose from 3 different dinosaur silhouettes. They included a tyrannosaurus Rex, a diplodocus and a triceratops. As the toddlers made their selection, the educators introduced and discussed the dinosaur features, using a book as reference. The triceratops had 3 horns on its head. “1,2,3” counted Isla as the educator pointed out the dinosaur’s horns on the picture. The brontosaurus had a long neck and four very thick strong legs. The tyrannosaurus rex had sharp teeth and nails and two very short arms” shared the educator. The toddlers were then encouraged to paint their dinosaur using paintbrushes with the paint colours brown and green. The last step was to add their picture onto their Dino. “Brayden’s a dinosaur!” said Brayden excitedly pointing at his picture which the educator had just helped him glue onto his silhouette. “Teddy’s a t-rex!” Isla exclaimed. The toddlers looked around the table excitedly at one another as the Dino silhouettes were being finished. Each page was added together to make a classroom storybook titled, “Tod Squad, Tod Squad who do you see?” We then gathered together on the carpet and read and acted out our Dino story. “Dinosaurs had big, big bodies so they when they moved they would make stomping sounds. Stomp, stomp, stomp” said the educator. “Stomp, stomp, stomp” repeated the toddlers as they made big body movements around the classroom. Through engagement of these experiences not only were we learning about dinosaurs but the toddlers were also learning about cooperation, developing critical cognitive, social-emotional, and language skills. They were also exploring new ways in which they could regulate their big emotions through their imaginative play.
