Easy Dinosaur Art Activity for Preschoolers and Toddlers
If you’re looking for a fun dinosaur art project for little kids that you can literally not mess up, check out one of our favorite easy dinosaur craft. My grandson is obsessed with dinosaurs at the moment, so as a dinosaur lover, he also wanted to do dinosaur art projects! There’s tons of great dinosaur activities out there, but we wanted to combine dinosaurs with his favorite art activity- painting!
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Why We Love This Craft
This fun dinosaur craft is a great way to incorporate dinosaurs with creativity and imagination. We love simple crafts, so we found all our supplies at the local dollar store or in the art supplies we already had. And in a more practical sense, there’s not not much set-up besides the usual painting set-up.
Dinosaur Process Art Activity
The main reason we love this particular dinosaur project is that it’s process art, so the goal is making this project and not what the final product looks like. Your children can paint however they want and cannot mess up the project. And because of that they need little help because there’s no right way to do it.
Fine Motor Skills
This project is also a hit for little hands because it helps build fine motor development as they paint and glue on their dinosaur shapes. Young children can have so much fun with their creativity while also working on these skills. It’s a fun way to let them explore the art how they want while also making cute dinosaur art.
Homemade Dinosaur Decorations
If you have dinosaur-loving kids, this is a creative way to make decorations that are cute enough to hang up. My grandson’s dinosaur art is now hanging in his room (that’s already covered in dinosaurs). You can limit what color paint they use on the dinosaurs to match the room you want to hang it in, too.
Materials Needed
You don’t need anything fancy for this project, and you can really use any paint, canvas, and dinosaur shape you like! We found these simple supplies at the dollar store, although they don’t always have the dinosaur shapes. But you can find those online or at Hobby Lobby.
- Wooden Dinosaur Shapes
- Paint (we always use washable)
- Canvas (this is an 11 x 14 inch)
- Hot Glue Gun
- Optional: Wooden Sun, Moon, Trees, or Add-ons
You’ll also need your painting supplies like brushes, a smock, and something to paint on. We always use a tablecloth from the dollar store and an old t-shirt to paint with.
Step-By-Step Instructions
This craft is the perfect way to let your child paint however they want. Younger and older kids can enjoy this craft and make a wonderful project! Feel free to use different colors than we did and use only your child’s favorite dinosaurs if you want.
1. Paint Your Canvas
This step can really be done at any point with your child or even on your own if you really want to. We just mixed a little green paint with white paint to make a lighter green. Then, let your child paint the whole thing however they want, and you can fill in gaps at the end.
2. Paint Your Dinosaurs
Next, paint those dinosaurs! This part of the project is a ton of fun for kids of all ages because they can really make the dinosaurs their own. Another element you can add to this fun project for sensory exploration is painting with various utensils instead of a paint brush.
3. Glue the Dinosaurs to the Canvas
Lastly, once everything is dry, use the hot glue gun to glue the dinosaurs onto the canvas. We did the glueing, but let my grandson choose where to put each dinosaur. There’s so many different ways you can arrange your dinosaurs, but this gives your child even more opportunity for creativity.
Have Fun With It!
This is the perfect dinosaur activity for younger and older children alike that allows for fine motor skills, creativity, and imagination while using different types of dinosaurs. You can really personalize this craft like we did with our dino-loving toddler with lots of options for different paint colors, canvases, and dinosaurs. Remember, there’s no wrong way to do this fun craft, and works great in a dinosaur preschool unit or at home!
Add this to your lesson plans like I usually do for the letter D or our dinosaur theme week. And if you have a lot of preschool children doing this project, just have them paint the dinosaurs and add them to canvases later.
