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LITTLE LESSON 03 · PRESCHOOL · TK · EARLY K
Build a Dinosaur Nobody Has Ever Seen
Allow extra drying time for paint or glue. Children can pause and return.
Elements of Art focus: Shape. Turn and arrange flat shapes to invent a dinosaur. Meet the seven art ideas →
Let’s wonder!
“What if the next dinosaur discovery came from your imagination?”
Our little purpose: Turn and arrange shapes to invent a dinosaur.
Gather a little magic
Paper, crayons, glue, and paper shapes torn or cut with grown-up help.
For your grown-up: A grown-up can help with scissors. This is an invented dinosaur; it does not have to match a real species.
Make it yours
Wonder together · 2–3 min Try & make · 12–20 min Share & tidy · 3–6 min
- Explore a few shapes. Turn them around and try different arrangements.
- Build an invented dinosaur from your shapes. Choose its body, feet, head, and surprising features.
- Think about its world. How could one feature help it move, eat, or stay comfortable?
- Give your new species a name. Tell someone what makes it different.
“I’ll show you how I did mine. Yours doesn’t have to look like mine.”
Look what you discovered
Ask: “What did you choose? What changed? What would you try next?”
Notice: The child changes a shape’s orientation or placement to express an idea.
Listen, watch, or accept pointing and home-language responses. Notice the process, not resemblance to an example.
Every idea belongs
A little support: Provide large pre-cut shapes and a glue-free arrangement first.
A little more: Ask the child to explain what one invented feature might do.
No supplies today? The child can make choices, predict, and direct a grown-up.
The learning underneath
California Preschool/TK Learning Foundations · Visual Arts: 1.9, 1.5. Kindergarten bridge · California Arts Standards: K.VA:Cr1.1.
These are planning connections selected for this activity, not a claim of mastery or state endorsement. The kindergarten code is an extension, not a preschool requirement. Read the code key and official California sources →
PLAY THIS ART ADVENTURE · 03
A Dinosaur Nobody Knows
Turn and arrange flat shapes to invent a dinosaur.
Art ideas: Shape. One playful connection to this project.
Find this resource again: mrrichiecreates.com/lessons/invent-a-dinosaur