The Dinos Have It!

We had so much fun at Co-op today! We are doing a unit on Dinosaurs, so this week and next we are learning about them and the following week, we will go to Dinosaur Ridge and see real Dino footprints! We have the distinction of living near the edge of an old sea bed that was pushed up during the flood. So all the cool footprints that were preserved for thousands of years, have been gradually exposed by erosion, and now you can see them!

Anyway, today we were talking about six dinosaurs, Velociraptor, Apatosaraus, Seismosaurus, Iguanodon, Ankylosaurus, and of course, our old friend: T-Rex. The coolest thing was when we laid out the length of the dinos (anywhere from 6 feet to 150 feet long!), and then the height. I found a website that suggested taking balloons and string and measuring a length of string the height of the dino. Tie the balloons to the end, and let them go (after you stake it to the ground ;-))! If the wind isn't blowing, which sadly, it was, then the balloons will float up to the height of the dinos head. The kids were so amazed, especially when they saw the "Seismosaurus" looking at them over the top of the house!! That monster was 84 feet tall!

Somehow, with six moms here, we did not get even one picture, so you are going to have to imagine it yourself (or head to Safeway and buy some dollar balloons and try it yourself!). Just a tip, if you do the "big ones" make sure you get 4-5 balloons to get up to the real height. And don't worry about getting it exact, who can tell when you are at 45 feet, or even 23 feet, like a T-rex! Besides, it's a good way to introduce estimation!

After lunch, the moms were sitting at the table, mixing up sand, tapioca flour and water in dixie cups so that we could sink plastic dinos in them. Once they harden, the kids will get to be "palentologists" when they dig to find out what is hidden in the 'rock'. The kids came in, and wondered what we were doing. We shooed them all out, so they would not see the 'surprise', and then the backyard was abuzz with "The Mommies are making a mess!!!"

Hopefully, I will get pics from next weeks activities!