Dinosaurs are fascinating!
We have started our dinosaur studies with “What is a reptile?” Reptiles thrive in hot places. Chances are we might have a reptile living in our backyard. If you find an animal laying in the sun that has a backbone, dry scales, and is cold blooded, then it must be a reptile. This is a wonderful time to discuss amphibians too. We compared both groups, finding similarities and differences too. Most of these animals are oviparous, reptiles look like their parents right from the time they are born, while amphibians don’t!
This was a great opportunity to introduce the word metamorphosis and life cycles. We have objects for each stage and hands on science experiments. For example, we immersed chia seeds in water and allowed them to inflate. This gave us a realistic visual for frog eggs. They were clustered, slimy, and perfectly bubbly to help us imagine we were holding frog eggs! Some of us even ate them.
On our science shelf, we are using realistic dinosaur models for hands on activities that are a perfect introduction to paleontology. We’ve been having lots of fun putting together Montessori-inspired activities using replicas, dinosaur pictures, and puzzle maps! In addition, we have a tray containing dinosaur books, coloring pages, scissors, glue, and a stapler to make into a booklet or help with student’s research.
Around this time of year, our children are a little older and are ready for cooperative games such as memory games, sorting, exchange games, I spy, dice, graphing, etc. These activities could be made into cooperative games where children work together, take turns, and problem solve. It’s also a great opportunity to teach good sportsmanship.
At the end of an activity or game, the children are invited to shake hands with each other and say, “Good game!” It’s helpful for children to learn the social etiquette for games without the emotions involved in winning and losing. Hopefully, that will make it easier for them to remember to show good sportsmanship during an actual competitive game.
