Storybook Week 8: How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight?

How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight?, one of a series of marvelous, fantastic, wonderful books starring dinosaurs, was written by Jane Yolen and illustrated by Mark Teague.

customer image from Amazon.com

1. Read Aloud

Language Arts

Read the story to your child and/or watch the storybook video.

2. Tuck in Dinosaurs

Story Interest/Pretend Play

Make a cozy box, container, or doll bed into a bed for some toy dinosaurs. Use dinosaurs you already have at home or print and cut out pictures of dinosaurs. Don't forget pillows, blankets, and teddy bears! Let your child soothe dinosaurs who are stomping, roaring, or crying. Show your child how to read a story and give hugs and kisses and tell the dinosaurs good night.

3. Dinosaur Roar!

Outdoor Activity/Dramatizing

This is a good opportunity to teach outdoor voice versus indoor voice. Tell your child dinosaurs are allowed to whisper inside the house. Practice whispering. Then say that they are allowed to roar when they are outside!

Go outside and practice roaring at the top of your lungs. Try a Velociraptor roar, then a Tyrannosaurus roar, then a Brachiosaurus roar. Do they sound different?

4. No Jumping on the Bed

Gross Motor Activity/Dramatizing

Lay a rug or mat out on the floor. Put pillows at the head. Pretend to be naughty dinosaurs jumping on the bed. Jump up and down on the mat. (If you are putting the rug or mat on a smooth floor, be sure it won't slide and cause accidents.)

When you are done being naughty dinosaurs, lay down and pretend to sleep. Older children might like to snore or learn to pretend-snore.

5. Teddy Bear Toss

Gross Motor Activity

Take a laundry or other type of basket and place it somewhere in front of a couch that your children can sit on. This game is fun with more than one person, if possible. Place a pile of teddy bears (and other stuffed animals, if you like) next to your children. Have them take turns tossing a bear into the basket. Encourage them to get the bears as close to the basket as possible, if not inside it.

Caution: If you are in the middle of teaching a baby or young toddler not to throw things in the house, you may want to adapt this activity. Place the pile of bears on the floor next to the basket and announce that it's clean-up time! The bears all want to go inside! Then take turns placing bears nicely into the basket. When you're finished, the basket can be dumped out and you can start again.

This activity is great for babies who can sit up and throw (or drop) things. It is also great for toddlers, preschoolers, and young siblings playing together.

Additional Ideas:

I just found this post on a Dinosaur Theme Week at one of my favorite blogs, Children's Learning Activities. Dig in to these ideas!

Also see my post highlighting the Dinosaur Popsicle-Stick Puzzle activity from Crafts~N~Things for Children for a great activity that is easy to do.