Let’s paint and shave a Dinosaur through fun sensory play for preschoolers and kindergartners to promote motor control and hand-eye coordination while expressing creativity. [Video Tutorial and Free Dinosaur Template are included.]
Paint and Shave Dinosaur sensory play-craft will promote many essential developmental skills while fostering creativity in your child. Besides working in a coordinated manner, following a multi-step process, and building motor skills, a child is learning color mixing in a fun and creative way. Most importantly, they explore their creativity while engaging in sensory play!
Dive into the prehistoric world of sensory play
Dive into the prehistoric world with this Dinosaur Paint and Shave Sensory Craft, a perfect way to engage kids of all ages in fun dinosaur activities! This sensory play activity is a great way to combine art and sensory experiences, creating an immersive dinosaur world for your little paleontologists. Using paint brushes, shaving cream, and dinosaur printable or dinosaur toys and figurines, children can explore different textures and sensory materials, making it one of the best ways to stimulate their imaginations and sensory input.
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Shave Dinosaur Sensory Play
Materials & Supplies
Here is the list of supplies you will need to make a Shave Dinosaur sensory play-craft:
- a printable (download below)
- cardboard
- shaving foam
- food coloring
- a paintbrush
Instructions
First, print the Dino Watercolor Paint_Shave Craft pdf on a heavy card-stock.
Then, cut out the dinosaur.
Next, glue the dinosaur cut-out on cardboard. (I am using a frozen pizza insert.)
After that, tape the entire surface. Make sure to overlap the tape’s edges a little to prevent the color from leaking into the paper/cardboard.
Next, squirt shaving foam into an ice tray or whatever you decide to use.
Lastly, add a drop of the yellow, blue, and green coloring to the shaving foam and mix well.
Video Tutorial
Offer a child to “paint” the dinosaur with shaving foam, matching the colors on a printable. Then, once a child paints the entire dinosaur, offer a cardboard piece or an expired credit card to “shave” the dinosaur ~ to remove all the shaving foam.
Skills At Play
Hand-Eye Coordination
When the brain and hands work together in a coordinated manner. With this craft, a child learns to coordinate the information received through the eyes to control, guide, and direct the hands in the accomplishment of a given task.
Fine Motor Control
When children exercise small hand muscles by transferring, smearing, tonging, pinching, wiping, threading, etc., they develop the strength, dexterity, and control needed to manipulate many everyday items such as a pencil, spoon, button, scissors, zippers, and more.
Creative Expression through Crafting
Children are innately very curious and imaginative, so providing a thoughtful, stimulating, prepared environment with lots of opportunities for artistic exploration will naturally spur creativity and self-expression.
Learning Color-Mixing
With this craft, a child is also learning color mixing. For example, blue + yellow pigment yields the color green.
Where Crafts Meet Sensory Play
Sensory activities like this are much fun and offer numerous benefits of sensory play, including the development of fine motor skills and tactile experiences. Dino Paint and Shave is an excellent sensory play idea for young children and older kids alike, providing a hands-on way to practice fine motor skills. This themed sensory bin can be set up on a sensory table or as part of a classroom teacher’s sensory bin ideas. While messy play is encouraged, ensure adult supervision to keep the fun safe and enjoyable. For those little dinosaur lovers, this activity offers a themed sensory bin filled with sensory tools and materials, making it a great sensory activity to keep even the busiest toddler entertained. The benefits of this craft extend beyond just fun, contributing to the children’s sense of touch and imaginative play.
21 Reasons Why Crafting is Important for Kids
Crafts Promote …
1. Crafts help the body and brain to integrate tactile information in a creative way.
2. Children learn how colors work, especially color mixing.
3. Craft help develop spatial awareness.
4. Through crafting, a child learns to coordinate the information received through the eyes to control, guide, and direct the hands in the accomplishment of a given task. (Hand-eye coordination.)
5. Crafts promote color recognition.
6. Crafts help develop fine motor control. When children exercise small muscles of the hand by painting, transferring, smearing, printing, wiping, threading, etc., they develop the strength, dexterity, and control needed to manipulate many everyday items such as a pencil, spoon, button, scissors, zippers, and more.
7. Sensory crafts promote dexterity.
8. Crafting boosts creativity.
9. It promotes self-esteem.
10. Crafts allow for self-expression.
11. Various crafts promote decision-making skills.
12. Craft activities foster an ability to follow a multi-step process.
13. Crafts teach flexibility.
14. When crafting, children learn to improve their concentration.
15. Crafts promote uniqueness! Children learn to be unique in their creative expression.
16. Children learn to embrace imperfections with joy. It is about the process.
17. Crafts foster bonds with a creative partner (parent/sibling/friend).
18. Crafting can benefit the brain, especially for those suffering from ADD or anxiety
19. Rhythm of crafting can help you achieve a relaxed state similar to meditation.
20. Crafting can be calming, comforting, and contemplative.
21. Crafting can bring a sense of peace and happiness.
Which one of the above you did not think of?
Have you tried Shave Dinosaur Sensory Play? Leave a comment if you did!
For More Sensory Play:
See here Panda Small World Lentils Play Tray.
For Sensory Bins and Play Tray:
See here Frog LifeCycle Sensory Bin.
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