The Box-o-saurus is Finished!

After a lengthy period of random box building, we decided we were ready to build our box-o-saurus.  The children suggested four different choices for a design.  First, we drew sketches to give us an idea of how we might construct our creation.  Next, we voted using tally marks to find the favorite option.  The Ankylosaurus was a clear winner.

All of the children joined me in the block area so we could begin construction.  As a group, we decided that hot glue would be the best binding agent.  For safety, the children sat on the window seat and on stools around the staging area as we worked.  They directed box choice and position while I glued.  Referring to one of the pictures we have as a resource, they decided that it should have shorter legs in the front, a tiny head, and a club on the end of its tail.  One the first day, we completed the legs, body, and head.  The tail was almost finished, but needed some trimming the following day.

The next morning, one of the children asked for some of the scraps to cut up.  Once he began cutting small strips, he remained diligently working on this task for about 20 minutes.  When another child asked him what he was doing, he replied, “I’m making the spikes for our dinosaur.”  He placed all of his small pieces in an empty box and put it in the block center for later use.

Later that morning during center time, I called over two children at a time to place the spikes on our Ankylosaurus.  Some children were more drawn to the task, adding many, many pieces.  Others put on two or three and then returned to their center.

More details were added that afternoon.  We have been discussing the fact that human do not actually know for sure what color dinosaurs might have been.  We can make guesses, but really any color could have been possible.  With this in mind, each child chose their own paint color for our Ankylosaurus.  At first, the children painted the spot directly in front of them.  Then, they moved on to other areas of the dinosaur’s body.  This was cause for some discussion since some children did not wish for their painted area to be painted over and other children wanted to paint over everyone elses colors to see what the mixture would look like.  The children finally decided that each individual could decide if they wanted a friend to paint on their space and if you were invited, you could paint on someone else’s painting.

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