Creating dinosaur shapes with playdough is the challenge I’m sharing with you this month for Virtual Book Club for Kids. This fun dinosaur game for kids was inspired by the book Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs.
This game is ideal for a toddler activity, preschool activity, and even Kindergarten activity.
Here’s how to play…
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Dinosaur Shapes Game
Materials
Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs by Mo Willems
Directions
1. Read the story Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs. Discuss the story and the characters in the story. Now it’s dinosaur time!
2. Draw a dinosaur onto a piece of Cardstock Paper or construction paper. {Below is a link if you need help} For older kids I would have them draw the dinosaur themselves with some guidance from you. When you draw the dinosaur and the head, neck, body, legs, and tail but do not add any details on the back to allow for the playdough game pieces.
3. Cover the dinosaur with Contact Paper or send it through a Laminator to create a playdough workmat.
4. Get out various colors of Playdough for the shapes. Use a plastic knife and plastic rolling pin like in this playdough tool kit to create the various shapes including circles, triangles, squares, rectangles and diamonds. This is the time to model for them how to do it and encourage them to work on those fine motor skills.
We used a different color for each shape to help us for the next part of this game.
For extra fun, you can try this Hatching Dinosaur Craft or this Dinosaur Ice Excavation Sensory Activity!
5. Now that you have many pieces of a shape cut out add them onto the dinosaur to create the back design for ways a dinosaur can protect themselves. Ask your child to practice lining them up all the way down from the head to the tail one by one using those fine motor and counting skills.
6. Switch it up and do a different shape on the dinosaur.
7. CHALLENGE: For the bigger kids at home challenge them to create a pattern with their shapes on the dinosaur.
My 5 year old came up with square square triangle triangle circle for her first pattern… my mind was blown. I totally thought she’d do the typical AB pattern with square triangle square triangle. My guess is maybe they have been working on patterns recently at preschool, because we haven’t been. She sat and made pattern for quite a long time, I could tell she really enjoyed making the shapes and doing this activity.
After this project, your child may enjoy making a paper plate dinosaur or playing this dinosaur shadow matching activity too!
LOVE MO WILLEMS BOOKS? Check out this post about the Pigeon and the Bus book activities and MORE!
You can sneak in some dinosaur learning with this Dinosaur Counting Mats Free Printable.
You might enjoy these additional Dinosaur Activities plus our Virtual Book Club for Kids Ideas below…
- Watch a Read Aloud Video of Goldlocks and the Three Dinosaurs
- Watch how to Draw a Dinosaur by Art for Kids Hub
- Explore more Dinosaur Math Games
- Create your own DIY Dinosaur T-Shirt
More Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs Activities
- Dinosaur Alphabet Board Game :: Mom Inspired Life
- Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs Sensory Retelling :: Growing Book by Book
- Hot Chocolate and Pudding :: Sugar Spice and Glitter
- Dinosaur Ice Egg Preschool Experiment :: Preschool Powol Packets
- Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs Gross Motor :: 3 Dinosaurs
- LEGO Norwegian Flag :: Mama Miss
- Build a Trap for Dinosaurs :: Inspiration Laboratories
- Dinosaur Letters :: The Pleasantest Thing
- How Many? Questions for Dinosaur Math :: Rainy Day Mum
- Paper Plate Dinosaur Name Craft :: Toddler Approved
This is a cute idea. Clara loves play-dough so this would be perfect for us.
I love that you used play dough for the shapes. Great activity!
What a fun way to learn about shapes!