Do you have any dinosaur fans in your classroom? I know I do! This duo of Dinosaur Sensory Bottles with a corresponding Dino Letter Hunt bring a bit of rawr-some fun to your literacy rich classroom.
Dinosaur Sensory Bottle
Learning about dinosaurs is a topic that never gets boring with kids.
With each new wave of interest, you can explore different aspects of paleontology, and as a bonus – you can get lots of use out of your dinosaur materials! (Unlike some other topics that tend to be one-and-done for each group.)
However, learning dinosaur names can sometimes be a bit too advanced for emerging readers, so we thought we’d give a dino-spin to a classic letter identification printable and pair it with some sensory bottles for a hands-on learning experience.
We also added a science dimension by showing dinosaurs and dinosaur eggs in two separate sensory bottles to facilitate exploration of mammals versus oviparous animals (or simply a discussion of the differences between mammals versus reptiles).
Dinosaur Letter Printable
These Dinosaur Letter printables can be printed off for each individual student to come back to over and over again, trying to find new letters in the sensory bottle each time, or you can laminate a single sheet and keep it with the sensory bottles at a language center.
Each of these methods has its benefits – the first is an activity kids can return to and feel a sense of completion with, while the second is reusable and can allow children to take on different challenges each time, like:
- how many vowels can you find?
- can you find all the letters to your name?
- can you find more letters than the last time you used this sensory bottle?
Be sure to grab the free printable at the bottom of this post!
How to Make a Dinosaur Sensory Bottle
First gather your materials:
- two clear plastic water bottles (we used bottles that waterbeads or floral gravel had come in to ensure that the opening was wide enough to add the dinosaur figurines)
- 26+ mini eggs
- handful dinosaur figurines
- craft sand
- Permanent marker
- Glue, optional to seal lids
To make these sensory bottles, first write out the letters of the alphabet onto your eggs (one letter per egg). You can write the lower case on one side and upper case on one side, if desired.
Working in layers, add a few eggs, then a bit of sand, and repeat, in one bottle, and then add dinosaurs and sand in the second bottle.
I mention craft sand because while I loved how the dinosaur figurines worked in the play sand, it wasn’t ideal for the bottle with the eggs.
Secure the lid with glue, if desired.
Grab Your Free Copy
Ready for some dinosaur alphabet learning fun? Grab your copy of the dinosaur sensory bottle alphabet printables by clicking the large, yellow download button at the very bottom of this post!
If you have dinosaur lovers among you, you will definitely want to check out this amazing list of free dinosaur printables and activities from some of my favorite kid’s activities bloggers!
LEFT TO RIGHT:
Free Printable Dinosaur Emergent Reader // Fun A Day!
Hatching Dinosaur Eggs Initial Sound Match // Modern Preschool
Dinosaur Rhyme Time // Sweet Sounds of Kindergarten
EDITABLE Dinosaur Sight Word Game // Playdough to Plato
Salt Crystal Dinosaur Science Experiment // Schooling a Monkey
Editable Sight Word Dinosaur Game // The Kindergarten Connection
Dinosaur CVCe Puzzles // Pages of Grace
Editable Dinosaur Pick and Color Printable // A Dab of Glue Will Do
10 Little Dinosaurs Song // Stay at Home Educator
Dinosaur Counting Puzzles // Pocket of Preschool
Dinosaur Addition // Recipe for Teaching
Dinosaur Measurement Activities // Fairy Poppins
Dinosaur Clip Cards: Matching Numbers 1-12 // Liz’s Early Learning Spot
Dinosaur Board Game Counting Activity // Fun Learning for Kids
Dinosaur Sensory Bottle With Alphabet Printables // Letters of Literacy
Dinosaur Addition Cards // The STEM Laboratory
Dinosaur Counting Play Dough Mats // Fantastic Fun and Learning
Dinosaur Memory Game // Teach Me Mommy
Bossy R Dinosaur Sort // Sara J Creations
Dinosaur Word Family Center Freebie // The Primary Post
Then, be sure you request your invitation to let us help you plan all year long inside the Print and Play Club!
With instant access to hundreds of printables by topic and skill (no more scouring the internet!), every TKC resource, a digital games vault, “Super” Sunday Surprises, and much more – your planning time just got easier.
Request your invitation below for more info!
- CVC Word Building Fall Sensory Bin - September 16, 2021
- Fall Play Dough Kit - September 8, 2021
- Apple Alphabet Sensory Bin - August 19, 2021
Beginning Sounds Cupcake Match
Hi 🙂 I’m wondering the purpose of separating the dinos and the eggs? Is it good to keep them separate just because of space? Suggestions on how to use the bottle with just the dinos in it?
Thank you!!!
Hi there! In this case, they were in separate bottles to discuss oviparous animals vs. mammals – so it gave that added science dimension and focus. You could definitely combine them though, and do fewer letters at a time for space. Hope that helps, and I hope your kiddos love the activity!