Storytime: We Roar for Dinosaurs!

Welcome to prehi-storytime, everyone!

I like to do this storytime in a dinosaur costume. (Make sure it's not too scary looking!)  
I ended up purchasing this costume:


We sing and sign our Hello Friends song I learned from the fine ladies at Jbrary. 

Some of my storytime conversation openers: "Who likes dinosaurs?  Does anyone know the names of any dinosaurs?"

Our first book is Dinosaur Stomp by Paul Stickland. It's simple, it rhymes, it's a pop-up book- what's not to love?  I like to ask the kids afterwards if they would dance with a dinosaur.

Then we sing 'Willoughby Wallaby' by Raffi, replacing 'elephant' with 'dinosaur' and replacing the children's names with the children in your group. (This works best with a small group sitting in a circle.) While singing, use a large dinosaur puppet (or stuffed animal) and make it walk around the room, letting it lean on the children when you sing the second phrase, eg. "a dinosaur sat on Christine." 

Willoughby wallaby wee
A dinosaur sat on me
Willoughby wallaby woo
A dinosaur sat on you
Willoughbly Wallaby Wistine
An elephant sat on Christine
Willoughby Wallaby Wanya
An elephant sat on Tanya

Next up: Groovy Joe: Ice Cream and Dinosaurs by Eric Litwin

Besides being a fantastic book on its own, there is a fabulous recording of Eric Litwin reading and singing the story on Scholastic's website. I play the recording through a speaker, turning the pages and helping emphasize statements like "it's awesome to share"! The kids really enjoy this one. 

Time for a simple song: 

Ten Big Dinosaurs 

Sing to the tune of “10 Little Indians” 

1 big, 2 big, 3 big dinosaurs 

4 big, 5 big, 6 big dinosaurs 

7 big, 8 big, 9 big dinosaurs 

10 big dinosaurs! ROAR

Then we read an oldie but a goodie: Shape by Shape by Suse Macdonald.

Another good option is Dinosaur vs. the library by Bob Shea- if you can handle all the roaring!

If we have extra time, the Dino Pokey is always a good idea! 

You put your claws in, 

You take your claws out, 

You put your claws in, 

And you scratch 'em all about. 

You do the dino pokey, and you turn yourself around. 

That's what it's all about!

Finally, our craft for this storytime is one of my personal favorites- we made fossils!

We always invite parents in the room to assist with the craft. First you will need to explain the concept of fossils. It is best to show large pictures or pass around fossil replicas if you have them. 

I like to use Crayola Airdry Terra Cotta clay. The reddish color makes it look a little more realistic.

We prepare a ball of clay for each child and set out toy dinosaurs, feathers, shells, rocks, and plastic plants at each table- anything you can think of that would make a fossil-like imprint. Let each child go wild stamping their ball of clay after they flatten it out to be roughly rock-shaped. I recommend having the ball on a plate or something that way they can just carry it away with them and not have to peel the finished fossil off the table.