These Dinosaur Play Dough Counting Mats will help your pre-k kids learn counting skills while playing and exercising their fine motor muscles. These will go great with a Dinosaur Theme. You can also find many more Play Dough Mats here.
To prepare these mats, just print and either laminate or slip them in clear page protectors. I always choose to put them in page protectors and then I bind them together like a flip book using metal binder rings. That keeps them neat on the table in the child’s area, so they don’t spread them out all over the table.
Each mat says, “The dinosaur has [#] eggs.” Dinosaur eggs will be easy for your prekinders to make with play dough. They will identify the numeral on each page, and count out the correct number of “eggs” to place beside the dinosaur on the mat. Show them how to pinch off a piece of play dough and roll it in their hands.
Want to save ink? Print what I refer to as the “toddler” mat. You’ll only need to print it once, then either write the numerals with a dry erase marker or place small number cards on the mat for children to count.
The toddler mat can also be used with younger children who need fine motor practice, but are not ready for counting. That mat says, “The dinosaur has some eggs.”
No one knows what color real dinosaur eggs were, but the color of play dough we used seemed realistic. We got this color by accident. My class was playing with a Dr. Drill N Fill play dough set and they mixed a regular size can of white play dough with a small can of silver. Since no one knows the color, you could let them use their imaginations. Another dino fact: dinosaurs laid their eggs either on the ground or dug a nest in the dirt.
Alternatives to play dough: If you prefer to use something other than play dough for counting practice, try these options:
- Cut eggs out of craft foam
- Use flat marbles (floral marbles)
- Draw the eggs with dry erase markers
Download the Dinosaur Play Dough Mats
Note: This printable is FREE. Just click to download.
Download Dinosaur Counting Mats:
Download Dinosaur Toddler Mat:
Books to Read with This Activity
Thank you these were great ways to use with preschoolers.
I am new to this site and do not seem to be able to download the dinosaur mat – all I get is a black page I also want to buy the March cards in today’s offerings but I think it said there has to be a $20 minimum.
Hi Cyndi,
Go here to read my printing help tips: http://www.prekinders.com/printing-help/
Since the problem is not on my end, its impossible for me to do anything. Hope these tips help!
The weather cards are free, but the weather letter tile cards are for sale on TeachersPayTeachers. They do require a $20 minimum for school purchase orders, however if you are paying yourself with credit card or paypal, the minimum is $3.
Thanks for these wonderful dinosaur math mats. My Pre-K students loved using them, and observing the kids gave me good snapshots of where they are with some of their math skills. What was even more exciting, though, was the creative storytelling that accompanied the creation of the dinosaur “eggs”, the mom dinosaur’s caretaking of the eggs and babies that hatched, and the antics of each dinosaur family. My students created a fantastic way to combine math and literacy while using your beautiful math mats!