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17 Dinosaur Books for Kids

17 Dinosaur Books for Kids

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Most young children are fascinated by dinosaurs! Make any tot school or preschool at home unit study more fun with these dinosaur books for kids. There are recommendations for board books, picture books, books for new readers, and even reference books for older kids.

No matter how old your dinosaur-lover, these books are sure to please!

(Reminder: Rolling Prairie Readers uses affiliate links at no additional cost to you. You can see our full disclosure policy here.)

17 Best Dinosaur Books for Kids

Dinosaur Board Books

Dinosaur Dance! by Sandra Boynton

Dinosaur Opposites by Paul Henrietta Stickland

Follow the Trail: Baby Dinosaurs

How Do Dinosaurs Play with Their Friends? (series by Jane Yolen and Mark Teague)

Dinosaur Picture Books

Digging Up Dinosaurs by Aliki

Dinosaur Bones by Bob Barner

Dinosaur Tracks by Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld

My Visit to the Dinosaurs by Aliki

Have even more dinosaur fun with your preschooler! Check out our Dinosaur Family Activity Guide, now available in The Play School Club.

Here at Rolling Prairie Readers, we are passionate about helping young children learn through play! We know that Pinterest can be overwhelming for busy moms, which is why we’ve created our themed digital Family Activity Guides for kids ages 2-6.

With just one click of the button, you can access our seasonal guides, each with 40 hands-on learning ideas, recommended books for your next library trip and a master list of materials (most items are already in your house!).

Dinosaur Books for New Readers

The BIG Dinosaur Dig by Esther Ripley

Dinosaur Babies by Lucille Recht Penner

Dinosaur Detectives by Peter Chrisp

Meet the Dinosaurs (DK Readers)

We Both Read About Dinosaurs by Sindy McKay

Dinosaur Reference Books

DK Eyewitness Books: Dinosaur

DK First Dinosaur Encyclopedia

Magic Tree House Research Guide: Dinosaurs

Dinosaur Discoveries by Gail Gibbons

Did I list any of your favorite books for dinosaur lovers? Leave a comment below!

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17 Best Dinosaur Books for Kids

preschool learning activities
10 Simple Learning Activities: Straw Pieces

10 Simple Learning Activities: Straw Pieces

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Do you need fancy curriculum or complicated activities for your preschool at home? Short answer: NO! Simple learning activities can be just as effective for young children, and they can save you TIME and MONEY.

In our homeschool, we like to reuse our favorite materials for a variety of learning objectives. One bag of colorful rainbow straw pieces have lasted for more than five years, and we’re still coming up with new ways to play!

See even more activities for tactile learners — 100 ideas!

simple learning activities

If you are doing tot school or homeschool preschool, be sure to add straw pieces to your list of materials! (Safety note: make sure that the pieces are a reasonable length to prevent choking, and be sure to supervise your child’s play at all times.)

Here are 10 simple learning activities that can be done with straws:

  • Sort the straw pieces by color.

Give your child a muffin tin or ‘chip and dip’ container from the dollar store to make sorting easier. Add in tongs or chopsticks for added fine motor practice.

  • Add a funnel and jar.

Practice counting the pieces as you drop them in.

  • Order the straw pieces by size.

Use vocabulary like “tallest” and “smallest” to learn more about measurement. You can also use sequencing words like first, next, then, and last.

  • Lace the pieces onto a shoelace or piece of yarn.

Wear your necklaces proudly!

  • Reuse an old Parmesan cheese container for simple learning fun on the go.

Your child can work on hand-eye coordination while enjoying the unique sounds of their new instrument.

  • Practice patterns with the straw pieces.

Start with AB patterning, like red yellow red yellow, and then make more complex patterns as your child is able.

  • Build letters and words with the pieces.

Practice lowercase and uppercase, spell out your child’s name, or just have fun making random words!

  • Use the pieces with playdough!

Make faces with them or use your imagination to pretend the straws are birthday candles or something else.

  • Measure objects with the straws.

How many pieces equal the length of a ruler?

  • Count a certain number of pieces.

Add in a pair of dice or use UNO cards to work on number recognition while you play.

See all of these activities on our YouTube channel:

You can also see more of our Activity of the Week videos in our FREE Resource Library.

As you can see from these simple learning activities using straw pieces, it’s so easy to bring learning into everyday play!

Can you think of more hands-on learning ideas using straws?

12 Jungle Books for Kids

12 Jungle Books for Kids

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If you are putting together a jungle or rain forest unit study for your children, a stack of bright colorful picture books is always a great place to start! Since most of our kids are unlikely to experience a tropical rain forest during their childhood, these jungle books for kids are just what you need.

A quick note:

You’ll notice that most of these books are about rain forests. Since all jungles are forests, this is a great conversation to have with your kids who can understand. “Jungle” is a casual term, while “rainforest” is the more scientific one.

Jungle and Rain Forest Books for Kids

12 Jungle Books for Kids

(Reminder: Rolling Prairie Readers uses affiliate links at no additional cost to you. You can see our full disclosure policy here.)

Start with a broad non-fiction book that introduces different aspects of the tropical habitat.

Our library had Tropical Climates by Cath Senker.

Other good non-fiction books are:

We Both Read About the Rain Forest by Heather Johnanasen and Sindy McKay

Rain Forests: A Magic Tree House Research Guide by Will and Mary Pope Osborne

In the Rain Forest by Catherine Nichols

Up a Rainforest Tree by Carole Telford and Rod Tehodorou

Predators in the Rain Forest by Saviour Pirotta

Our kids also enjoy reading fiction jungle books! Here are some of our favorites:

Over in the Jungle: A Rainforest Rhyme by Marianne Berkes

“Slowly,  Slowly,  Slowly,” Said the Sloth by Eric Carle.

The Great Kapok Tree: A Tale of the Amazon Rain Forest by Lynne Cherry

We’re Roaming the Rainforest by Laurie Krebs

 

Secrets of the Rainforest: A Shine a Light Book

By the way, have you heard of cloud forests? I picked up this book at the library, all about the Monteverde Cloud Forest in Costa Rica:

The Forest in the Clouds by Sneed B. Collard III

And one “eh” book:

Most lists of recommended jungle books for kids include Rumble in the Jungle by Giles Andreae. And while it is a completely cute book, I just can’t get over the fact that (gasp!) it’s not even about jungle animals. In case you want to check it out for yourself, click here:

If you have a favorite jungle book, I would love for you to leave it in the comments! And if you’re looking for any jungle-related learning activities, be sure to check our latest family activity guide, now available in The Play School Club.

Jungle Habitat Activities for Toddlers and Preschoolers

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12 Fun Jungle Books for Kids