Storytime: Dinosaurs

Age: 2-5 years
Time: 30 minutes plus craft time

1) These Are My Glasses - Laurie Berkner
My current opening song that we sing acappella every week. I start by asking them to show me their glasses and their book so that they remember the signs. We sing it through twice, then I'll ask them to quietly put their "books" in their lap.

These are my glasses (make the letter o with each hand)
And this is my book (hands together)
I put on my glasses (put "glasses" over eyes)
And open up the book (open book hands)
Now I read read read (hold book up in front of face like reading)
And I look look look (put glasses over eyes and look around room)
I put down my glasses and… (lower glasses)
WHOOP! Close up the book. (clap as if closing a book quickly)


2) Dinosaurs, Dinosaurs – Byron Barton

A good, short, bright book to introduce lots of kinds of dinosaurs to the kids.


3) Song – We are the Dinosaurs - Laurie Berkner
My kids LOVE this song. They ask for it every week. Of course we had to sing it this week. :)


4) All Aboard the Dinotrain – Deb Lund

Some fun rhymes and great artwork. I did paperclip a couple pages together since it got a little long and the kids didn't care so much about the intricacies of the train so much as the dinosaurs themselves.


5) Shape Monster feltboard

This is a great activity to let ALL the kids be involved in the rhyme. It can easily work for small groups (we've done it with only 3-5 kids, each with a different shape), or for a bigger group like we had today (25, using multiples of each shape). My monster is just a piece of brown felt cut to the basic shape above, with a pair of googly eyes.


6) Dinosaur Roar – Paul Stickland

I paperclipped a few of these pages too, mostly because I had the kids stand up and act it out and I couldn't think of actions for some of the words. :)


7) Song – Shake Your Sillies Out - the Wiggles
My kids seemed to be extra wiggly tonight!


8) How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight? – Jane Yolen

I love the dinosaur books by Yolen -- they're so silly, have great rhymes, and the kids love them too. This one was especially fun for my Monday evening crew, as they would all soon head home and get ready for bed themselves...


Fingerprint stegosaurus
This craft was taken from the CLSP manual. I copied the picture onto cardstock, set out some crayons for them to color the stegosaurus first, then came around with little individual cups of green fingerpaint. And wet wipes...