Here’s a fun, Sensory Activity for children to play that also helps develops Fine motor control and hand strength…and a love of dinosaurs!
Dinosaur fossil hunting Sensory Play.. #sensorydinohunt
In terms of science…no it’s not very true to life, but for younger children it’s a great introduction to ‘ fossil’ hunting.
What do you need?
- Tray
- Cous cous/sand/ kinetic sand -we used to different sizes of cous cous for effect!
- Toy dinosaurs (or pretend fossils!)
- Paint brush
What do they do?
Have fun burying the dinosaurs in cous cous then discovering them by carefully brushing away the cous cous…then bury them again!!
What can children learn from this activity and how can they benefit?
- Fine motor skills- holding and manipulating the paintbrush can help children develop the tiny muscles in their hands and fingers that are required for learning to write. This could also be used an activity to improve pencil grip.
- Patience and attention to detail- children can practise both these skills, taking their time to find the dinosaur fossils.
- Numeracy- children can describe the shapes they are discovering.
- Sensory play benefits- many children find sensory play therapeutic and relaxing.
Like this? We’d love you to share via social media! Even better share your own #sensorydinohunt pictures!
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Categories: sensory, special educational needs, Tuff tray, Uncategorized
The SEN Resources Blog 
A great post with some great advice! Thanks, Sim x #PoCoLo
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Thank you, really appreciate your comment
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A fun and easy activity for toddlers. Thanks for sharing!
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Thank you, great fun!
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Looks like a lot of fun today and anything to do with dinosaurs is always a hit. Found you via Wandering Wednesdays linky
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Thanks Kate! It really was, would recommend the activity (minus the vacuuming of cous cous afterwards!)
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This is a fun activity for toddlers to develop not only sensory skills but the necessary motor skills as well.#Blogcrush
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Thank you for the comment, really pleased you liked the activity
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I love this idea and will definitely share with my nursery colleague at school. Thanks for sharing on #ablogginggoodtime
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Thank you, really pleased you like it- hope your colleague enjoys it- is love to hear how they get on 😊
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That is a great idea and looks like a lot of fun. Love how they use the brush to move away the sand which takes a lot of concentration.
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Thank you! The brushing was the best bit! Pleased you liked it! Thanks for the comment
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Love this idea! My girls would love this! Thanks for joining #ThatFridayLinky
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So pleased you like it, thanks for the comment
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Such a great idea, my boys would love this! #blogcrushlinky
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Thank you, I’ve also got ‘how to Make a dinosaur egg’ and ‘Construction site porridge oats’ that I bet they’d love too- have a look 😊
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Will definitely look at the egg one…my youngest also loves kinder eggs! Thanks xx
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Your welcome. Thank you 😊
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Here’s the link to the Dinosaur Egg activity https://senresourcesblog.com/2017/07/30/how-to-make-a-dinosaur-egg/
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This is a fab idea, my girls would love this! Thanks so much for sharing with #Blogstravaganza xx
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Thank you! So pleased you like it, thanks for the comment
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What a great idea, and so easy! Could I get away with dino cars do you think?!! #BlogCrush
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Hahah why not?! Thanks for the comment…love to see photos of your Dino car cous cous adventures!
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I love anything creative like this – especially when it comes to fine motor skills and little ones. I chose your post from the #blogcrush linky ❤
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Thanks so much, pleased you liked it!
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What a lovely idea, I think my son would absolutely love this! I’d been thinking about doing something similar in his sand tray once the summer was here, but this means we could do it now, which is far better! Thanks for joining us again at #SharingtheBlogLove
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Your welcome, so pleased you liked it. The cous cous is also great on sensitive skin if sand irritates little hands too! We reviewed some kinetic sand a while back, need to try it with that too- imagine that would be fun! Thanks so much for the comment, would love to hear how you get on trying the activity with your son 😊
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A fab post with loads of fab advice and tips Thank you for linking to #Thatfridaylinky please come back next week
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Thank you! Will do!
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Having seen a little one enthuse over a certain dinosaur programme I think she would love doing this. #fortheloveofBLOG
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Please let me know if you do it and she likes it 😊 would love to know. Thanks for the comment
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Oooh I love this! May have to give this a whirl on my next day off 🙂 thanks for linking up to #fortheloveofBLOG
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Thanks so much! If you do end up doing it please let me know how it goes! Thanks for the lovely comment
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Ben would love this! He’s all for sensory play and loves his dinosaurs thanks to George’s teddy in Peppa Pig!
Thank you for sharing this with us at #TriumphantTales. I hope to see you back next week!
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Brilliant, try it! I’d love to hear what your son thinks to it. Thank you for the lovely comment
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Popping by from #TriumphantTales this time and thanks for the mess warning
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Haha-very welcome! It’s a ‘vacuum at the ready’ sort of activity
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I love the idea of using couscous: brilliant! My children are obsessed with dinos at the moment and this activity looks great for them all to enjoy #sharingthebloglove
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Thank you so much, would love to hear if you try it and what they think. Thanks for such a lovely comment
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What a great idea, simple but effective I know my son would love this activity. Thanks so much for linking up #BloggersBests
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Thank you Helen, would love to hear how you get on if you try it! Thanks for the lovely comment
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This is such a lovely activity I remember doing something similar with my daughter with sand and sea creatures before and she absolutely loved it! Thanks for linking up to #coolmumclub and welcome! x
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Thank you for the lovely comment, sand and sea creatures also sounds brilliant- will have to try that one out too. Thanks 😊
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My lot would have loved this idea as littler ones…as would I actually!! #DreamTeam
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Thanks for the lovely comment- glad you liked it!
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Popping back this week because someone loved this post so much, they added it to the #BlogCrush linky! Feel free to collect your “I’ve been featured” blog badge 🙂
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Thanks Alice! That’s fab! Will do, my second badge from Blog Crush now- thanks so much 😊😊😊
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This is fab and I bet they were kept occupied for a long time. I can’t waot until mine is old enough to try this.
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Thank you! It did! Was a bit messy to clean up, but well worth it. How olds your Little one? Hope you don’t have too long to wait to try it out!
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This is such a great idea for little ones, and would have been ideal when my little boy was younger. He’s dinosaur mad! Thank you so much for linking up with #KidsandKreativity with your second post, it would be lovely to see you again next week.
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Thank you! Really pleased you liked it! We’ve got a dinosaur themed week coming up on our blog soon- so you’ll have to come back and have a look 😊
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I love the idea of using paint brushes, to get that real archaeologist feel! x #KidsandKreativity
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Thank you! Great to help teach kids how to be gentle and careful with the brush too/
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Reblogged this on Special Educational Needs Resources Blog and commented:
Here’s a fun, sensory activity for kids to help them develop fine motor skills and a love of dinosaurs!
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