Dinovember/cember/uary!

"Dinosaurs may be extinct from the face of the planet, but they are alive and well in our imaginations." -Steve Miller

Each day may take its time, but the weeks sure fly by. This post is embarrassingly late, but better late than never, right?

This year, Dinocember extended into Dinouary. And instead of 10 days, I got to do 13! Some may look similar to last years, but I had a few new tricks up my sleeve. Or rather, my dinosaurs did.

Enjoy!

It actually began in Dinovember, when I had to clean all the paint and glitter off from the last day of Dinocember last year.

Bath time!

Dinocember Day 1: My sister, the geologist, helped me set up this one.

Dinosaur paleontologists!

 Dinocember Day 2: The dinos get to play doctor.

Dr. Dinosaur, at your service

Dinocember Day 3: My kiddos love this new addition to my classroom--a hand-me-down from another teacher.

"Honey, did you walk the t-rex yet?"

 Dinocember Day 4: Who doesn't love to write on white boards?

The dinos were better at capping the markers than my students are.

 Dinocember Day 5: A new addition to my classroom, that hid away in a cabinet, nearly forgotten about, when my dinosaurs reminded me.

I see somedino channeling Edward Scissorhands over in the corner.

 Dinocember Day 6: Couldn't help show off some of my sweet dinosaur books. Of which I have many more.

Hi, my name is Amy, and I have a children's literature problem.

 Dinocember Day 7: Lincoln Logs were a toy I remember loving as a kid.

Look! Another log cabin!

 Dinocember Day 8: This was a last minute Target trip the day before winter break.

Deck the halls with boughs of dinos.

 Dinouary Day 1: This was actually really fun to set up. I should play with blocks more often.

Unclear if any of my students noticed that it said "dinosaurs".

 Dinouary Day 2: Recycling last year's drawings.

I opened a brand new box of crayons for this. The dinosaurs also take better care of their crayons than my kinders.

 Dinouary Day 3: Making a mess, as usual, but also doing some ten frames math!

om nom nom

 Dinouary Day 4: These were in my classroom when I moved in, and never got to use them last year. This year, I've had time to pull them out because we're full-day instead of half-day.

 Dinouary Day 5: My students LOVE legos, but hate cleaning them up. They have lost lego privileges for a while, but the dinosaurs haven't.

Shout out to my friend Bridget, who helped me out for a day, and set up the legos.

My dinosaur collection just keeps growing...My sister got me these sweet fossil cookie cutters for Christmas, which meant I just had to bring some in for my kids.

It's amazing how well kinders can behave, when they want something...

My students loved it, and I continued to deny any participation in their movements. Even the kids who claimed they didn't believe me, never seemed quite so sure...

Probably the best moment was during our Daily Message on the rug, we were talking about the dinosaurs being extinct, and I asked, well, are there any dinosaurs alive today? And one of my students said yes! So I ask, where? And he points....to my Dinocember display.

Torn between accurate scientific knowledge, and maintaining the magical illusion of toys having their own lives, I fumbled through a "well, they're different, small, not dangerous" blah blah blah that he definitely bought. But it made me glad that my students, who have already overcome a lot for their young lives, and for some who are exposed to things (music, movies, language) beyond what's appropriate, still have an openness to imagination and wonder.