dinosaurs

How to Make Dragon Feet

As the weather gets cooler, it is good to have a variety of indoor active play activities on hand to keep kids moving, exercising, and working on their gross motor skills. On miserable days when it is too wet or snowy to go outside, we often watch and participate along with Bo and Desidore Dragon from the Kids' CBC show Bo on the Go. Today, we made our own Desi Dragon (or dinosaur) feet out of empty cereal boxes and craft foam.

 

 

Here's what you need to make your own set of dragon or dinosaur feet:

  • two empty cereal, cracker, or cookie boxes (we used Baby Mum-Mum boxes)
  • green paint
  • 2 large sheets of green craft foam
  • cream coloured craft foam (optional)
  • glue
  • scissors


1. Glue the open end of each box closed.  Paint bottom and all sides of each box green:

 

 

2. Apply a second coat of paint, if necessary:

 

 

3. Turn boxes over.  Use scissors or a craft knife (an adult's job) to cut an oval opening large enough to fit a child's foot into in the top of each box:

 

 

4. Draw a dinosaur or dragon shaped footprint large enough to completely cover each box on a sheet of green craft foam.  Cut out:

 

 

5. If desired, cut out toe nail shapes from cream craft foam and glue onto the top of each dragon toe (Desi Dragon doesn't actually have visible toe nails, but we liked the look they gave our feet):

 

 

6. Glue a foam foot onto the top of each box, covering the opening.  Use scissors or a craft knife (an adult's job) to cut an "X" into the top of each foam dinosoar foot so that your child can slip his or her foot into it:

 

 

Here is what the feet look like from the side:

 

 

 

Slip on your feet, and you'll be ready to exercise right along with Desi and Bo as you watch "Bo on the Go".  Here are a few activities to try with your feet:

  • turn on dinosauar music ("We are the Dinosaurs" by Laurie Berkner is a favourite here) and stomp around the house like dinosaurs
  • count how many "dinosaur feet" it takes to cross the room.  Compare this with the number of your regular footprints fit across the room
  • try turning around, walking backwards, and jumping up and down with your dragon feet on.  The feet make all of these gross motor activities an extra (fun!) challenge
  • make extra sets of feet and have a dragon race with your friends
  • create dinosaur feet in different sizes, and see whether it is easier or more difficult to walk in larger feet
Posted by momstown Teach on 10/21/2012 - 21:09
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How do Dinosaurs Eat Cookies? Book Review

Scholastic Canada has provided momstown with a great title to tie into the Five Senses theme - our sense of smell and taste are tantalized in How Do Dinosaurs Eat Cookies?

 

With scratch and sniff as well as cookie recipes, this is a great book to delight all cookie lovers and readers.

 

how do dinos eat cookies

 

The book takes us through how dinosaurs might make, eat, and bake cookies... it might look different than you'd expect from a dinosaur! Kids will love the question-and-answer format.

 

how do dinos eat cookies

On each page, readers can scratch and sniff different cookie smells, like cinnamon, chocolate chips, and lemon!

how do dinos eat cookies

 

 

The last page spread has two recipes: Cinnama-Saurus Rex cinnamon cookies and Fossilized Lemon Tracks. With some dinosaur cookie cutters, you can make some yummy treats with your little reader!

 

Image credit

Posted by Teacher Mom on 02/13/2012 - 20:34
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How to make a Dinosaur puppet

This awesome dinosaur puppet craft was made by my momstown kid at 11pm on a Friday night. What on Earth? (you might ask). Well, my son and spent a night at a museum this weekend. A whole night!

Our local museum, the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, has sleepover events and we went to the Dinosaurs one! So full credit to the great staff ROMKids for setting up this great late-night craft.

 

shadow puppet dino

 

What you need:

  • Cardstock
  • Scissors
  • Brass fasteners (brads)
  • Glue
  • Hole punch
  • Feathers
  • Tape
  • Wooden Sticks (either skewer-type or popsicle)

 

shadow puppet dinoCut out a body, head, and tail out of cardstock. Any colours will do. Punch a hole in the connecting areas and fasten the head and tail on with the brass fasteners.

 

Decorate the dinosaur any way you wish - markers, feathers, stickers would work too!

 

shadow puppet dinoTape the sticks to the back side of the dino - one on the head, and one on the tail. When you move the sticks up and down, the dino moves too!

 

 

 

 

Put on a puppet show with a group of friends or at a playgroup!

Posted by Teacher Mom on 11/06/2011 - 22:01
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Erupting Volcanoes

Check out this science playgroup that momstown Guelph has started! Introducing kids to science is a great way to teach them about concepts, their surroundings and how things work.

 

volcano craft for kids

momstown Guelph demonstrated the reaction between baking soda & vinegar with their super fun volcanoes. Be prepared to amaze your kids with the bubbles and fuzz – just like a real volcano! Have a child really into dinosaurs? This would be a excellent project to do together with a dino theme!

To make your own Volcano you need:

• Tray
• Small empty food jar (baby food jar)
• Brown play dough (homemade)
• Baking soda
• Vinegar
• Red food colouring
• Spoon/scoop
• Measuring cup

Instructions:
1.Place jar on tray
2.Surround the jar with play dough.
3.Form the dough to look like a mountain (make sure to keep a the top open)
4.Put a 4 drop of red food coloring in the jar
5.Add 2 tablespoons of baking soda to the jar.
6.Finally, add some vinegar to it to make it erupt!

Posted by momstown mama on 02/04/2011 - 00:23
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