The Nature Preschool at Irvine went back in time to the Prehistoric Ages! The children came in with dinosaur puzzles, stories, games and loads of excitement! The classrooms were transformed with prehistoric activities ready and waiting to be explored. Some of our favorite activities included:
-Paper Maché Dinosaur Eggs – using newspaper and balloons or pine cones
-Fossil Ice Excavation – using mallets, salt, and golf tees to dig out fragments of shell and bone
-Prehistoric Sensory Bins – filled with tools, soil, sand, dinosaurs, rocks, and shells
-Nature Journaling – observing fossils, rocks and dinosaurs, then recreating what we saw in our nature journals
-Turning the loft into a cave where the children could make cave paintings and drawings on the walls!
– Our second visit with Mr. Danny! He brought two new puppet friends to help the children brainstorm about their emotions and how to solve problems with one another!
-
- Paper Maché Dinosaur Eggs
-
- Fossil Sensory Bin
-
- Bath Beads Sensory Play
-
- Do you hear something in that shell?
-
- Excavating Fossils From Ice Using Mallets and Golf Tees
-
- The Hawks are excited to excavate some prehistoric findings from these ice buckets!
-
- ABC Bingo Dotting Activity
-
- ABC Bingo
-
- Tracing and Creative Writing With Mrs. Peggy!
-
- Dinosaur Small World Play
-
- The children observed fossils, bones, and rocks and recreated what they saw in their nature journals.
-
- Drawing his family!
-
- Two friends work together to complete a prehistoric puzzle!
-
- Painting A Tyrannosaurs Rex
-
- Mr. Danny comes in for a very special puppet show!
-
- Mr. Danny comes in with two friends that help us think about how to solve problems with one another!
-
- This show brought lots of laughs!
-
- We come in for a closer conversation. He has a great suggestion of how to solve this problem!
During discussions we asked questions like, “What was some of the first life on Earth?” and “How do we know about that life now?” The children got to act as paleontologists, scientist who study fossils! Outside our favorite activities included:
-Taking backpacks to the wetland trail and using a variety of tools to explore and search for fossils
-Finding dinosaur bones in the meadow and rearranging them into a dinosaur skeleton
-Using brushes and magnifying glasses to uncover and observe dinosaur bones in the Woodland Garden and the outdoor classroom
-Finding giant frozen dinosaur eggs on the trails and building nests for them in the meadow
-Taking toy dinosaurs out on the trails to inspire some prehistoric play outside
-Taking care of real eggs eggs for the day and building them safe nests outside
-
- A group of our preschool paleontologists hard at work!
-
- The children partnered as paleontologists and took turns carrying the backpack full of tools to our excavation site!
-
- Journals, Rulers, Pencils, Shovels, Rakes, Spray Bottles, and Brushes – All the tools necessary for our little paleontologists!
-
- A paleontologist using his tools to discover some fossils!
-
- Watch out! Here comes a dinosaur!
-
- She is making some marks while measuring this branch!
-
- Finding a dinosaur jaw was one of our most exciting discoveries!
-
- We rearranged these bones so they would be ready to be put on display at the museum!
-
- Brushing off a bone found at our site!
-
- We were excited to find this wiggly worm with the warm rain!
-
- How long is this dinosaur? Using a measuring tape!
-
- Friends just hanging out!
-
- What does it feel like?
-
- Feeding his dinosaur!
-
- Inspecting this fungus covered log a bit closer!
-
- Building a dinosaur nest in the outdoor classroom using branches and stones!
-
- Relaxing in the branches of this fallen tree!
-
- We see you!
-
- These paleontologist are climbing up high for a better view!
-
- How long is it?
-
- Getting ready to measure!
-
- Friends imagining together!
-
- Brushing off this spine bone!
-
- We found some fossils in the sand area of our outdoor classroom!
-
- We brought some dinosaurs outside to inspire some prehistoric play!
-
- Small World Dinosaur Play in an Outdoor Shelter
-
- Playing with a dinosaur while listening to a story outside!
-
- Stories Outside
-
- Friends Smiling Together
-
- Eye
-
- Spy
-
- With My
-
- Little Eye
-
- A dinosaur bone!
-
- Where did this bone come from?
-
- Closely inspecting the fossil they just discovered!
-
- Jaw Bone
-
- Magnifying glasses are the perfect tool to inspire closer observation!
-
- Smile!
-
- Using spray bottles to clean off the bones they just dug up!
-
- Little ladies smiling in the outdoor classroom!
-
- Measuring a stick with a ruler!
-
- Balancing a bottle on her head!
-
- They really enjoyed the spray bottles!
-
- Together, these friends explore the forest further.
-
- We came across this snake!
-
- What did you just dig up?
-
- Ready to Measure!
-
- Walking on the wetlands trail!
-
- Friends holding hands on the hike!
-
- Smiling after her big find!
-
- Two friends holding hands while bringing back some of their findings in a recycled container!
-
- Big Smiles!
-
- She got out this ruler to measure this little sticker bush branch!
-
- She is hard at work!
-
- The Nuthatches hiking the wetland trail!
-
- These paleontologists have all their tools packed and are off to our excavation site!
-
- Reading a book with Miss Meghan!
-
- These paleontologist are inspecting their findings very closely!
-
- Dinosaur Bones in the Woodland Garden!
-
- These fallen milkweed branches were made into strong walls for this nest!
-
- Boys sitting on their eggs!
-
- Building a Dinosaur Nest
-
- These momma and poppa dinosaurs wanted to sit on their eggs to keep them safe form predators!
-
- Explaining how to build the best nest for your dinosaur egg!
-
- Egg Sitting
-
- Do those icy eggs feel cold?
-
- Dinah the dinosaur needed our help to find her lost eggs and build them a nest in the meadow where they will stay safe!
-
- Let’s build them a nest!
-
- Taking care of a dinosaur egg for the day!
-
- Sorting Findings
-
- What part of the dinosaur does this bone come from?
-
- A paleontologist collecting dinosaur bones in the ourdoor classroom!
