Dino Dig in the Kitchen

Who knows what it feels like to have "Dino Crazy Kids" and live nowhere near an excavation site...?

Never fear, the Kitchen is here?

We made a mini excavation site right in the kitchen with a large plastic container that we filled with rice (but I think grits would have worked better... they look more like sand)  then I buried toy dinosaurs in the rice and gave the kids paint brushes and told them to discover the dinosaurs in the "dirt" ...

... they had a blast, I had to clean up a mess... but the looks on their faces was so worth it :oD

Discovery + Exploration  + Education = FUN

Tip:
This activity is also fun if you replace the toy dinosaurs with different sized uncooked pasta and after the kids dig up the "pasta dinosaur bones" they can create a "pasta dinosaur" on a piece of construction paper.

Making Dino Poop!

I was in the toy store and saw "Dinosaur Train Poop Kit" and thought, "Are they really selling poop to kids?" No! They are selling an awesome exploration and scientific experience. So you know we went home and made it.

Using this homemade Play Dough recipe:

• 2 cups of flour
• 1 cup of salt
• 2 cups of water
• 1/2 cup of oil
• 4 teaspoons of cream of tartar
• Green, Blue Yellow, and Red food coloring

Mix all the ingredients in a large saucepan mixing until almost smooth, and add the food coloring until you get the color you want, I favored the green... and keep in mind that it will get darker when it is cooked.

Then cook it on the stove over medium heat, and stirring it the whole time, it will start to thicken, and you just keep stirring. Remove when it looks like play dough and allow to cool. Store in an air tight container.

We found some dinosaur skeleton toys at the Dollar Store, two in a pack! Then we wrapped them in the  play dough... plastic leaves would also work well if your dinosaur is a herbivore. 

He has been hands deep in dinosaur poop all afternoon! :oD