Once Upon a Book ~ Shape by Shape

   

Shape by Shape

by Suse MacDonald

Summary: With each turn of the page, use lots of different shapes to create a fun, friendly dinosaur!

Bible Verse

God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. Genesis 1:25

We enjoyed our dinosaur books for this months Totally Tot theme! We combined some of these Shape by Shape dinosaur activities with our All Aboard the Dino Train activities! Here are some of the things we did!

Pattern Block Dinosaur Creations

To follow along with the shape theme of the book, the boys used pattern blocks to create their own dinosaurs. Here are some of the dinosaurs they came up with!





Dinosaur ABCs

The big boys used our ABC file folder game to match the Dinosaur Train ABC cards. (You could also print the Dinosaur A to Z chart from the PBS Kids Dinosaur Train parent’s site.)


 

Dinosaur Song

We used the "Dinosaurs A to "Z lesson plans to learn and sing {the little boys tried to sing} along to the Dinosaur Train “Dinosaurs A to Z” song many, many times. 

Dinosaur Games

The big boys LOVED playing games from the PBS Kids Dinosaur Train Website and the little boys enjoyed watching and helping!


 

Dinosaur Snack

Dinosaur Chicken Nuggets!!! For a fun twist, the kids had to identify each of their dinosaurs!

Dinosaur Puzzle

The Dinosaur Puzzles from 1+1+1=1 were perfect for the theme of Shape by Shape! The boys cut out all their shapes and glued them together to make their dinosaurs!


 

More Dinosaur Ideas:

~ Dinosaur Train Tot Book from 1+1+1=1
~ Lots of Dinosaur Activities from Confessions of a Homeschooler
~Crafts for Kids Who Are Wild About Dinosaurs It is filled with lots of fun dinosaur crafts!
~ Visit the PBS Kids Dinosaur Train Website for more fun games, activities, and printables.
~ Head over to PBS Teachers for Dinosaur Train lesson plans based on various Dinosaur Train episodes. 

Want to see what's coming next (and books we've done in the past)? Click here to see our Once Upon a Book webpage!

Once Upon a Book ~ How Do Dinosaurs Learn Their Colors?

 How Do Dinosaurs Learn Their Colors

By Jane Yolen and Mark Teague

Summary:  Follow dinosaurs all over the house as they learn their colors through household items.  (And in the process your Tot can learn their colors and the names of various dinosaurs!)

Bible Verse

Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. (Mark 10:14)

I chose this verse this week, because I think it is so important to teach our children correctly and orderly about ALL of God’s creation.  God does have a plan, and I believe that dinosaurs fit into His plan perfectly!  So help your child develop a Christian worldview that includes dinosaurs, so that they aren’t hindered as they learn about the kingdom of God!  For more of my thoughts, head on over to Granola Mom 4 God.

For those of you who have older children, in addition to your Tot, you might also enjoy reading the book, The Great Dinosaur Mystery and the Bible, by Paul S. Taylor.

 
Field Trip
 
Visit your local museum, if possible!



We headed to the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis . . . but I would have loved to have taken the boys to the Creation Museum.

File Folder Games

Head on over to Valerie’s site and download Dinosaur Colors File Folder Game.  It is a PERFECT match to accompany How Do Dinosaurs Learn Their Colors?  Mr. Smiley is only 2 and has been LOVING file folder games. This is a color matching game using a brontosaurus and a stegosaurus.  Children match the colors Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Purple, Pink, Brown, and Gray.



Hands-On Activity




If you are ready for a messy but fun activity, allowing your Tot to have a dinosaur dig can be quite fun!  We used the Dinosaur Dig Kits from Oriental Trading.  The little guy never completely uncovered the dinosaur bones, but he had fun in the process!

Crafts

Tissue Paper Rainbow (since there is a rainbow at the end of the story)

Supplies:

• glue or glue dots
  
• tissue paper
  
• white paper
  
• marker

Directions:  Draw a rainbow with the marker on white paper.  Hand your Tot individual colored square tissue paper at a time. 

It may also be helpful if you put the glue along the rainbow lines, too.  Work your way through the colors!

Want to see what's coming next (and books we've done in the past)? Click here to see our Once Upon a Book webpage!

 

Once Upon a Book ~ All Aboard the Dinotrain

All Aboard the Dinotrain
by Deb Lund

Summary: Follow along as the dinosaurs experience a roller coaster of a train ride!

Bible Verse 

God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. Genesis 1:25

Dino Color Matching

The little boys matched up the Dinosaur Train color cards.
 

Then we used just the color cards and matched up our dinosaurs with the appropriate color.

  
Dino Sorting

The little boys used the dinosaur size cards to sort dinosaurs by size.



Dino ABCs

The big boys used our ABC file folder game to match the Dinosaur Train ABC cards. I printed two copies of the same cards so that the little boys used the same cards to play mini games of memory. (You could also print the Dinosaur A to Z chart from the PBS Kids Dinosaur Train parent’s site and make them into matching cards.)

Dino Song

We used the "Dinosaurs A to "Z lesson plans to learn and sing {the little boys tried to sing} along to the Dinosaur Train “Dinosaurs A to Z” song many, many times.

Dino Games

The big boys LOVED playing games from the PBS Kids Dinosaur Train Website and the little boys enjoyed watching and helping!



Dino Snack

Dinosaur Chicken Nuggets!!! For a fun twist, the kids had to identify each of their dinosaurs!

Dino Craft

For a fun craft, you can make dinosaurs from the book, Crafts for Kids Who Are Wild About Dinosaurs.

More Dino Ideas

~ Dinosaur Train Tot Book from 1+1+1=1
~ Visit the PBS Kids Dinosaur Train Website for more fun games, activities, and printables.
~ Head over to PBS Teachers for Dinosaur Train lesson plans based on various Dinosaur Train episodes.

Want to see what's coming next (and books we've done in the past)? Click here to see our Once Upon a Book webpage!

Crafty Corner ~ Dinosaurs!

Dinosaur Fossil Hunt by Confessions of a Homeschooler

 

Letter D for Dinosaur by Homeschool Creations

 

Dinosaur Eggs by Along the Way

 

Dinosaur Art by Deep Space Sparkle

 

Dinosaur Lapbook by 1+1+1=1

 

DDinosaur Feet by Along The Way

 

Handprint Dino craft by No Time for Flashcards

 

Dinosaur Color Match by Tired Need Sleep

 

Dinosaur Nest by Ramblings of a Crazy Woman

 

Dino Craft by Mama Jenn

 

Letter d for dinosaur by Confessions of a Homeschooler

More Dinosaur Crafts:

Free Kids Crafts

All Kids Network

 

Do you have a tot-friendly craft on your blog? Read here first and then email me (EricaAtTotallyTots@gmail (dot) com) so I can add it here! If you feature crafts on your blog often, be sure to let me know in the email so I can add you to the "search" list for future posts!

 

Mommy Made Printables ~ Dinosaurs

 

Our theme here on Totally Tots for the month of October will be dinosaurs.  In preparation for the month ahead, here are a few printable items with a dinosaur theme!  Stay tuned for more dinosaur ideas coming in October!

1+1+1=1 has a Dinosaur Tot Pack, which was based partly off of the show, Dinosaur Train.

Confessions of a Homeschooler has an entire Letter of the Week unit, D is for Dinosaur…

File Folder Fun has a few adorable Dinosaur file folder games…

Here’s a few more…

• Dinosaurs from Making Learning Fun
• Dinosaurs from DLTK
• Dinosaur Train from PBS Kids

Do you have any dinosaur printables YOU have created {and share}? If so, leave a link to your blog post in the comments below!