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| Photo from Adobe Stock |
"DINOSAURS"
AS PART OF
THE MONTESSORI CURRICULUM
"Dinosaurs" as a topic in the Montessori Curriculum have always been one of the all-time favorites with my groups, including my current Montessori music classrooms today! Every dinosaur song and movement activity is always a big hit.
This song comes from one of my first introductions to dinosaurs (in the 1970's) when my own children played this album everyday! ~ "My Name Is Stegosaurus" from Juice Music (original song is from the Album, "Our Dinosaur Friends".1974)
So when I recently discovered that my little 3-yr old grandchild has become enamored with dinosaurs, I stepped right up to the plate and began gathering "Dinosaur Activities" to enhance his cognitive development and have lots of fun, too.
In the Montessori curriculum, dinosaurs are important components of the Lower Elementary "Timeline of Life." In the Montessori Preschool classroom, I have always brought dinosaurs in with the study of Reptiles. (However, nowadays, there are debates about whether dinosaurs should be considered Reptiles or Birds. Actually, dinosaurs have their own "branch" called "Dinosauria.")
HANDS-ON EXPERIENCES
Here are some fun songs to go along with digging for "dinosaur bones: ~ "Them Bones" (Caspar Babypants) ~"Shake Them Bones" (Kidboomers) ~"Fossils" (Carnival of Animals by Camille Saint-Saens
AUTHENTIC TOY MODELS
The book, "Stomp, Dinosaur, Stomp" has been a big favorite for us. So, after reading it day after day, I decided to create a fun Montessori-style Activity based on the dinosaur "actions" from the rhymes in the book. ( I created 3 levels of reading for these "command cards.")
I discovered some really interesting music suitable for background music for impromptu performances: ~ "Ancient Dinosaur/ Prehistoric Times" from Amazon. And, this recording from Laurie Berkner "We Are The Dinosaurs" is always a great choice for a dinosaur "parade."
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| Photo from Adobe Stock
Maria Montessori discovered that children learn through "hands-on experiences." In the Montessori pedagogy, we offer children concrete experiences before we go into more abstract activities. Here is one quote I found at the AMS site, in which Montessori describes to educators what our task is:
"And so we discovered that education is not something which the teacher does, but that it is a natural process which develops spontaneously in the human being. It is not acquired by listening to words, but in virtue of experiences in which the child acts on his environment. The teacher’s task is not to talk, but to prepare and arrange a series of motives for cultural activity in a special environment made for the child."From The Absorbent Mind by Maria Montessori |
If it is possible to begin your dinosaur studies with a field trip to a local museum or a "dinosaur park", this will give your young dinosaur enthusiast a somewhat concrete experience with dinosaurs. Most museums have models or actual reconstructions of dinosaur skeletons that can give a child an idea of how large these creatures were.
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| "Dinosaur Park" photo from Adobe Stock |
In "dinosaur parks" children can view authentic models of dinosaurs. There are even dinosaur "playgrounds" where children can climb, swing, and crawl through play structures that are kid-friendly replicas of dinosaurs.
Children's Museums often have "hands-on activities" related to dinosaurs. My grandchild and I recently went to a local children's museum where there were outdoor "sandpits" for children to dig for "dinosaur bones."
Here are some fun songs to go along with digging for "dinosaur bones: ~ "Them Bones" (Caspar Babypants) ~"Shake Them Bones" (Kidboomers) ~"Fossils" (Carnival of Animals by Camille Saint-SaensAUTHENTIC TOY MODELS
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| Photo from Adobe Stock
I first learned the names of many of the most famous dinosaurs when my own children became enamored with dinosaurs way back in the 1970's!
One of the ways my own children and I learned about the dinosaurs was by collecting authentic child-friendly plastic models of dinosaurs. Along with identification books from the library, we discovered the names of the dinosaurs that the models represented.
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| Carnegie Collection of Dinosaur Toys
So, when my youngest grandchild became enamored with dinosaurs, I ordered some authentic models of his favorites: T-Rex, Plesiosaurus, Triceratops, Stegosaurus, Parasaurolophus, and my favorite, Pteranodon.
Some of the best dinosaur models are at Safari Ltd. Here is a wonderful video showing the quality of their toy line. |
TRADITIONAL & BEAUTIFUL
MONTESSORI ACTIVITY PACKS
Next, I went to the TpT site and I purchased some wonderful resources for creating a "unit of study" for my 3-yr old dinosaur enthusiast. We played lots of games with these materials and I even saved some activities to introduce to him as he gets older.
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| TpT Pack from Welcome to Mommyhood |
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| TpT Pack from Trillium Montessori |
MY "Exploring Dinosaurs" COLLECTION
(Featuring Music & The Arts in Montessori)
LANGUAGE ARTS, DRAMATIC ARTS, FINE ARTS, MUSIC & MOVEMENT, AND FINE ARTS
1. Parts of the Dinosaur Puzzle
and
Montessori-style 3-Part Cards
(Pre-reading)
Dinosaur Puzzle from Artemex Etsy Shop &
When I began my search for some classic Montessori "Parts of the Dinosaur" Activities, I ran into some snags. I wanted a puzzle and then 3-Part Cards to go along.
I was able to find only one puzzle that features the actual parts of the T-Rex. My grandchild likes this puzzle, but it is a bit of a challenge as the parts are not so easy to connect.
Next, I decided to create our own Montessori-style 3-Part Cards and this Activity is part of my "Exploring Dinosaurs" TpT Activity Pack. (seen in the picture above)
2. Montessori-style Command Cards
for
Movement Activities
(Large Motor & Language)
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| Book available from Amazon |
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| One Activity from "Dinosaurs with The Arts" from Magical Movement Company TpT Shop |
This Book and my Command Cards are very fun for acting out the motions. We also made the rhyme in the book into a musical story by adding rhythm instruments for the motions and using the stick puppets (see activity below) to tell the story. (Ex: drum for "stomp", tambourine for "swoop. etc.)
3. Exploring "Dinosaur Skeletons"
Matching Dinosaur Models to their Skeletons
(Practical Life, Sensorial, &
Pre-reading)
My grandchild loves exploring kinetic sand in his sensory bin. We found some purple (his favorite color) kinetic sand and some plastic miniature dinosaur skeletons on Amazon, and voila! we had a fun "dinosaur dig" right in our own back yard.
We added a few "digging tools" and enhanced the authenticity of this archeological activity. Lots of skills development!
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| Kinetic Sand and miniature "Dinosaur Skeletons" |
Later, our little one enjoyed matching the skeletons to dinosaur miniatures.
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| Matching Dinosaur miniatures with their "Skeletons"
This inspired me to create a Montessori-style matching cards activity for my "Exploring Dinosaurs" TpT Activity Packet.
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| One Activity from "Dinosaur Activities with The Arts" at Magical Movement Company TpT Shop |
4. Creating Dinosaur Stick Puppets
or
Hanging Ornaments
(Arts & Crafts, Fine Motor Practice)
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| Dinosaur "Puppets & Ornaments" from Dinosaurs with The Arts at Magical Movement Company TpT Shop |
Next, I decided to make some stick puppets out of the adorable dinosaur graphics that I purchased at Creative Market.
I pre-cut the dinosaurs and then Jules taped them to craft sticks. Later, he wanted to paint some of the outlined templates and then hang them on the tree!
5. Performing Musical Stories about Dinosaurs
(Music & Drama)
During my days as a Montessori classroom teacher, we always enjoyed singing various dinosaur songs (see suggestions below) and then acting out the motions in the songs.
We even created impromptu "shows" that we developed into full-fledged productions that we performed for families and other classrooms.
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| Photo from Adobe Stock
In my "Exploring Dinosaurs" Activity Pack, I have included a Dinosaur Story that you can develop with your group of dinosaur-loving musicians. My grandchild, Jules, loved "performing" this story over and over. He played the Glockenspiel for the rain drops and the fun part for him was when I put the dinosaur models in their "cave" when the rain storm came!
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I discovered some really interesting music suitable for background music for impromptu performances: ~ "Ancient Dinosaur/ Prehistoric Times" from Amazon. And, this recording from Laurie Berkner "We Are The Dinosaurs" is always a great choice for a dinosaur "parade."
6. Exploring Fine Art Historical Pictures of Dinosaurs
(Fine Arts)
I've included in my "Exploring Dinosaurs" TpT Activity Pack, a set of twenty "Dinosaur Art" Pictures from traditional oil paintings created by National Geographic artists to ancient renditions in prehistoric caves & temples, to fun pop art and even beautiful street art and beach sand art!
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| Art by Charles Knight from Public Domain
My little one, Jules, was fascinated with these Art pieces and we had lots of fun exploring them. We even chose one to display in a frame.
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Thank you again for visiting my blog today. I hope you have gotten lots of ideas for your dinosaur-loving kids! If you would like to provide even more dinosaur activities for your group, I invite you to check out my Teachers Pay Teachers (TpT) "Exploring Dinosaurs" Activity Pack.
"EXPLORING DINOSAURS WITH MUSIC & THE ARTS"
P.S. Have you seen my newest free resources at Magical Movement Company's "Subscribers Freebie Collection"?
