More Dinosaur Fun and Cookies!

We are still having a blast learning about dinosaurs.  This is what I love about our Fifty States Project - we had no plan to study dinosaurs, other than reading about the T. Rex skeleton (Sue) that was found in South Dakota, but once we read about Sue we wanted to learn more.

I could not resist making the baby Brontosaurus cookies from Almost Unschoolers.  She is far more talented than I am when it comes to hand crafting cookies; the legs on mine are a bit weird, but I got the cookies to stand up and that made my day.  I also used the Almost Unschoolers sugar cookie recipe and I am thrilled with it.  The dough was easy (super easy) to work with and the cookies taste great!   I made the dough last night, but didn't make the cookies until this morning (I refrigerated the dough, of course) and everything went well.  I can't wait for C to come home from school and see this cookie.  I made one for C and one for R, and I used the rest of the dough to make dinosaur cookies with a cookie cutter.  I am really happy with the results! 

Last week, we watched a Reading Rainbow (I LOVE Reading Rainbow!) DVD featuring the book Digging Up Dinosaurs by Aliki.  In this video, LeVar Burton buries a time capsule and relates the activity to what we find when we look at dinosaurs from the past.  He also visits the Dinosaur National Monument where dinosaur fossils are dug.  The book that is featured in the video explains how scientists uncover, preserve, and study fossils.

C and R enjoyed eating Perdue dinosaur chicken nuggets while watching the video!  They thought this was just wonderful! 

After the video, we read Dinosaur Bones by Aliki.  This book is from the Let's Read and Find Out Science series and it explains how we learn about dinosaurs from their bones.

We also read The Magic School Bus In the Time of the Dinosaurs by Joanna Cole.  R is not really interested in The Magic School Bus books yet, but C really likes them.  In this one, Ms. Frizzle takes the class back in time to the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous periods where they are able to observe dinosaurs, plant life, and more.

I borrowed Eyewitness Books Dinosaur by David Norman and Angela Milner from the library, and I have left this book out for C to look through whenever he wants.  R has not had any interest in this one.

In addition to the books and video, C has really enjoyed playing Digging for Dinosaurs on his Leapster.  This game was a gift for Valentine's Day and lately he has really become interested in it.  The games feature dinosaur facts, digging for fossils to see how each dinosaur was unique, and building dinosaur skeletons.  (By the way, C and R both have Leapsters and really enjoy them.  I worried that they would grow tired of them quickly, but that has not been the case in our house.)

Finally, I set up a 100 piece glow in the dark dinosaur puzzle for us to work on together.  There is nothing scientifically accurate about this puzzle, but I thought it would be fun.

I have to mention that R bought this puzzle for her brother with money she had left from a gift card she received for her birthday; I thought that was very sweet of her!

C will be participating in a week long dinosaur camp (run by the Audubon Society) this summer where he will learn about dinosaurs, participate in archeological digs, and learn about fossils.  We also have plans to visit the Boston Museum of Science to see their current dinosaur exhibit! 

All of this learning and fun began with our South Dakota state study!