Dinosaur Art Project + the Perfect Book
Dinosaur art projects are extra fun if matched up with a book. This one comes from the classic “If the Dinosaurs Came Back”.
Some very wise kinder teachers taught me years ago that the best way to start a new lesson was to begin by reading aloud from a book. It helps to focus their attention, calm them down, and get their imagination started too.
In a pinch, almost any book with somewhat of a matching theme will do, but the ideal match does comes along once in a while. This project, which is based on “If the Dinosaurs Came Back” is just about perfect in every way. The content is appropriate for kinders, and the look is easy to imitate. Students draw directly with a big thick marker on paper (skip the pencil lines for more spontaneity) and then make a simple dinosaur collage with brightly colored paper.
If you want to know how I handled the logistics of this project with up to 8 large kinder classes a week, it was like this:
- Preprint lots of the Dino Template on red, green, yellow and blue card stock paper
- Let students pick their own preprinted paper
- Students draw a city scene directly on their drawing paper with a big thick marker
- Afterwards, they cut their “dinos” from their paper, assemble and glue down with a glue stick.
If you have access to large 12″ x 18″ paper, it’s fun to mix things up by making really wide sheets for everyone. Instead of the standard 9″ x 12″, try cutting it into thirds so they can draw lots of buildings on a 6″ x 18″ sheet. The extra width encourages them fill it up and not draw just one or two buildings and stop.
MATERIALS
- “If the Dinosaurs Came Back” by Bernard Most
- Large drawing paper, 12″ x 18″ cut down to 6″ x 18″
- OR standard drawing paper 9″ x 12″
- Card stock paper, bright colors
- Dino PDF template (click to open)
- Scissors
- Glue stick
- Black Sharpie marker, chisel tip
DIRECTIONS
Time needed: 45 minutes.
How to make a dinosaur art project
- Read the book “If the Dinosaurs Came Back” by Bernard Most
- Students draw a simple cityscape with a black marker.
- They choose a preprinted paper and cut out the shapes.
- The shapes are assembled and glued down on their city.
- Optional: Older students can round out shapes and add details.
Hi, I do have this one that has a lot of very simple projects.
https://artprojectsforkids.org/product/extra-long-journal-projects/
Otherwise, just view by grade and look for “kinder” to see if that helps.
I love this project! Do you have any more art projects with related books suitable for pre-k or kinders? Im babysitting for my grandsons this week and they love “arting” and books. Thanks!