Roar, Roar it's a Dinosaur!

At Little Learners, we LOVE a themed class and this term I decided to do a Dinosaur Play theme for Ziggy, one of The Mark Makers, week. There is something special about dinosaurs, their size, their unique names and there is a slight mystery about them. All in all, they are a perfect theme for a messy play activity! Here are a few of the activities I planned for that week.

Cornflour Gloop for Dinosaur Play!

I’m not quite sure if this has a proper name but I call it cooked gloop! To make it you simply…

Put water in a pan, add food colouring (I chose green) and bring this to the boil.
Then add one pack of cornflour and reduce the heat.
Keep stirring and then watch as it suddenly turns into a gloopy consistency.
Let it cool, pop it into a container and in the fridge.
Leave it in the fridge overnight. By the morning it had turned into a green jelly type texture which was perfect for my dinosaur swamp tray.
If you’re looking for a great Tuff Tray for home use, check out our inflatable tuff tray in our shop – it’s only £2.99!! Shop HERE!

Peas and Early Counting

Peas are always a popular resource to use in class. You can squash them, roll them and if you are peckish then eat them! For this tray I added bamboo chutes to encourage the children to experiment with objects that roll. I also added numbered dinosaur play eggs with numbers for the older children to start counting and ordering.

Dinosaur Play Pea Messy Play Tray — Siblings learning together

Pasta as a Fine Motor Activity

At Little Learners we love using pasta and this is fab for a fine motor activity. I cut up green tissue paper, added dinosaurs, pasta, bowls and tweezers. The younger children enjoyed finding the hidden dinosaurs whereas the older children used the tweezers to pick up the pasta. Great for strengthening those little fingers!