This one turns a tub of plastic rings and sticks into early shape math, with a dinosaur as the reward at the end. You print a simple dinosaur outline, then a child fills it in using the rings and sticks, choosing each piece by its length and size until the shape comes together. It looks like building a dinosaur. It is really comparing lengths, matching sizes, and talking about shapes. Ages 3 to 5.
What you need
- A set of plastic rings and sticks in assorted colors and sizes. These are the threading-and-building toys with straight sticks and curved rings, and the more variety of lengths the better.
- A printable dinosaur outline to build on. Any simple dinosaur shape works, and you can draw your own on a sheet of paper if you would rather.
- Optional shape reference cards, if your set came with them, for building set shapes before moving on to the dinosaur.
How it works
Lay the dinosaur outline on the table and tip the rings and sticks out beside it. The job is to copy the outline using the pieces, fitting straight sticks along the straight edges and curving the rings into the rounded parts. A child has to keep comparing pieces, holding two sticks side by side to see which one fits the gap, and swapping a ring for a smaller one when the first is too big.
The math hiding inside it
For something that looks like simple building, there is a lot going on. Lining the pieces up against the outline works on visual perception of size and color. Choosing which stick fits builds the language of comparing, longer, shorter, the same. And placing everything so the legs do not run into the tail asks for real spatial awareness. If your set has shape cards, building a few of those first is a gentle way in before the dinosaur.
Keeping it going
With a few different dinosaur outlines printed off, the activity lasts well beyond the first sitting, and once a child has the idea they will start building dinosaurs of their own with no outline at all. That free-build stage is the one worth waiting for, because it is the point where the shape thinking has quietly become their own.
For another dinosaur activity that works on early math, our dinosaur colors and numbers busy bag covers sorting and counting with the same kind of small pieces. And for a quieter sit-down session, our free dinosaur coloring pages keep the theme going on paper.