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Dinosaur theme for toddlers: a week of activities

A dinosaur theme lesson plan for toddlers: what a day looks like, then the week's circle time (two or three minutes, on laps), books, craft, song, snack, letter and outside time, each with what changes at this age.

Plan this week for toddlersThe whole dinosaur week

A day of the dinosaur theme with toddlers

  1. Arrival and free play on the floor.
  2. Sing “Hickory Dickory Dock” with actions; repeat it while you change and feed.
  3. Hold and pass something real for the week (dinosaur), and say its name.
  4. Snack: a toddler-safe version of ants on a log (check the recipe's lines for under-4s).
  5. Outside: a short walk looking for egg.
  6. Read Mop Can Hop on laps, pointing and naming.
  7. Nap, then the song once more at pick-up.

Dinosaur circle time

  1. Hello song: sing hello to each child by name.
  2. Look out of the window together: sun, rain or clouds?
  3. Show the theme: hold up something real and name it.
  4. Sing: Hickory Dickory Dock.
  5. Read: Big Egg (read aloud).

Infants and toddlers: two or three minutes, on laps.

Dinosaur theme books

  • Big Egg (read aloud, level 4): A very big egg, for the hatching talk.
  • Mop Can Hop (level 3, free on peabody.kids): Hopping and stomping in the mud, like a dinosaur.
  • Jump, Jump, Jump! (level 2, free on peabody.kids): Big jumps for big feet.
  • Look at the Big Pig (read aloud, level 4): Big and little, the dinosaur question in a pattern book.

Infants and toddlers: one book, read every day; point and name.

Dinosaur craft: Dinosaur footprints

You need (4): large paper, a sponge cut in a three-toe shape (grown-up), washable paint, wipes.

  1. Dip the sponge in paint.
  2. Stomp the footprints across the paper.
  3. Count how many steps your dinosaur took.

With a grown-up. No heat, nothing hot.

Infants and toddlers: let them touch and hold the materials while you make it; nothing small enough to swallow.

Dinosaur song: Hickory Dickory Dock

The words

Hickory, dickory, dock, The mouse ran up the clock. The clock struck one, The mouse ran down, Hickory, dickory, dock.

Traditional; public domain. From Top 52 nursery rhymes with lyrics.

Dinosaur snack

Ants on a Log from the Peabody Kitchen: picture steps, allergy swaps and safety lines on the recipe.

Swap: Peanut butter → sunflower seed butter.

Letter D activities

DdD is for dinosaur. Print the two pages (a trace page and a color page).

Infants and toddlers: skip the trace page; show the picture page and say the word.

Outside activity: Dinosaur dig

Bury big blocks or toy bones in the sandbox; dig them up with spoons like scientists.

Dinosaur theme for 2 year oldsDinosaur theme for 3 and 4 year oldsDinosaur theme, all ages

Checked 2026-10-30