Digging for Dinosaurs

I have been wanting to do a dinosaur activity with the kids for quite some time. I have been mulling it over in my head thinking about all the things that we could do, but have just never gotten my act together. Until today - that is. It all began last night while the children slept. Someone was inspired to whip up a double batch of salt dough, making three rough egg shapes with little dinosaurs tucked inside. I baked them on low heat for three hours and then left them in the oven over night. They needed a bit more cooking time but later that morning they were done - enough. When they were cool I brought them to the making table to show the kids and asked if anyone would like to paint a dinosaur egg. Needless to say there was no shortage of volunteers. And here is what they came up with. I am no expert on prehistoric eggs but I think they look pretty good.

While the kids had a snack I read them the book Archaeologists Dig for Clues and we talked about what sort of things you might find in the ground and how archaeologists (and paleontologists for that matter) might divide up the ground into a grid shape to keep track of where they make their discoveries. I took the kids outside where I had set up a grid in what was supposed to be an herb garden (it's in the pipes, so don't despair) but for today was the designated dig site for prehistoric creatures. Tucked below the earth was a nest of eggs (eggs that looked suspiciously similar to the ones they had painted earlier) and no less than six assorted dinosaurs hidden at different locations throughout the grid that the children had to dig for. We kept a chart going so that we could see what we found where and when all the dinosaurs were collected we went on a treasure hunt in the upper garden (I use the term loosely) where I had placed a few additional dinosaurs (all the dinosaurs I purchased were from the markets for something like 50 cents each for larger ones and a dollar for a bag of smaller ones). We used the map that Ruhi had drawn up of the yard identifying key features such as rocks, trees, the swing set and cubby house and I marked the location of each hidden dinosaur with an x on the map and the kids had to find them. When they had collected them all, wouldn't you know it it was time for the eggs to hatch. With a little help from some enthusiastic fingers the children found three more dinosaurs and then spent the rest of the afternoon playing with the small herd they had discovered right in their own backyard.

They played beautifully for hours, the only mishap was when one dinosaur disappeared only to be discovered attempting to devour a ladybug antenna and eye. His folly might have gone unnoticed had not the items become lodged in his throat on the way down. He is supposed to be a vegetarian, a plant eater, a herbivore. So, I ask you, what is with the scarfing of lady bug eyeballs? Hmmmmm? Perhaps I should just ask Anisa.