D is for Dinosaur Unit Study

D is for Dinosaur Unit Study

This study is for the purposes of explaining that science and the Scriptures are in harmony while at the same time teaching your children about dinosaurs. When our darlings realize the Bible can be trusted in all areas, the foundation of their faith is that much stronger… Shall we "dig in"?

Read Aloud Book Suggestion for Older children (8 and up): Dinosaurs for Kids by Ken Ham, Dinosaurs by Design by Duane T. Gish (Both of these books promote science in harmony with the Scriptures as well as the choices for little ones below.)

Read Aloud Book Suggestions for Younger children (4 - 8 years): What Really Happened to the Dinosaurs? by John Morris/Ken Ham, D is for Dinosaur: A Rhyme Book and More by Ken and Mally Ham (This is a sillier book but with a serious message that is a great introduction for younger children to science and the Scriptures. The second half of the book has pages for coloring and devotionals and exercises for the family.)

For Fun: Dinosaur Floor Puzzle with Songs CD (These songs are fun that teach about dinosaurs and we really love this series in our homeschool.) We like to time the children doing the puzzles and see if they can break their record the next day. 

I would suggest reading together from the above books for 1/2 hour a day. (The books are just suggestions and you may use whatever you have available to you providing they are creation based.) Then, have the children do some of the listed activities below each day according to their abilities.  Include all work separately in a notebook/binder or composition book for each child. Don't forget to let them decorate their own covers with pictures of dinosaurs, stickers or clip art! Encourage them to be creative.  By the end of a few weeks you will have a nice collection of "dinosaur scrapbooks" to cherish as an educational keepsake. For more information on the concept of Unit Studies, visit What is a Unit Study?

Dinosaur Inspired Learning Activities~

Spelling/Vocabulary Words: 

1. dinosaur
2. creation
3. evolution
4. reptile
5. lizard
6. paleontologist
7. fossil
8. bone
9. extinct
10. skeletons

Bible/Science: If dinosaurs in the Bible are a new concept to you, visit this site which will give you answers to the questions about how dinosaurs "fit" into the Scriptures. You may want to read this article aloud and have a family discussion.

Bible/Penmanship: Read to the children, Job 40:15-24 (see below) and see what they think he is describing. It can certainly be a dinosaur but wouldn't be called a dinosaur since that name was created by Sir Henry Owen in 1841 when he found the first fossils. Explain this to the children. Have your students copy one verse a day from Job 40:15-24 in their best writing while paying careful attention to punctuation.

Bible/Art: Read aloud from Job 41 to your children. See what animal they think he is describing (How about a plesiosaur?). Have them draw a picture of one. Older children can copy some of the verses from Job 41 onto their artwork.

Science Research: Choose five different dinosaurs and research the meaning of each name. For example, Tyrannosaurus Rex means "tyrant lizard" in Greek. 

Science Research/Report: Choose a favorite dinosaur to do a report on and be sure to include an illustration. Obviously, the younger the child, the shorter the report.

Language Arts: Using the verses below from Job 40:15-24, see if the children can point out the verbs to you. How about the nouns. Can they identify the adjectives?

Language Arts: Discuss similes. Explain to your children that a simile is defined as a figure of speech involving the comparison of one thing with another thing of a different kind. Using Job 40:15-24, see what sentences the children can point out that are similes. For example, "He moved his tail like a cedar."

Language Arts: Have the children make up a poem about dinosaurs.

Language Arts: Set the timer for five minutes and see how many words the children can make using the word, "dinosaur".

Thinking Skills: Have older children alphabetize the dinosaurs you have learned about in this study.

Math: Younger children can learn place value in a fun game called, Dino Math Tracks Place Value Game by Learning Resources. We had fun playing this dinosaur game while learning simple math concepts. There are three levels of play.

Geography: Print out a blank map of the world and label the areas where the dinosaurs fossils were found each time you read about it in your books.

Arts and Crafts Science Project: Create a dinosaur poster. Using the free, printable vintage dinosaur coloring pages at this  link, have children color, cut and paste pictures onto a white poster board. Label each dinosaur according to it's name. Hang up in the school area and at the end of the study, see if they can identify each dinosaur by memory.

Art: Have the children draw and color some dinosaurs. Remind them that there is no real way to color a dinosaur since fossils don't tell us what color the skins were. That is left up to the imagination.

Art/Picture Study: Study some paintings of dinosaurs by Charles R. Knight (1874-1953) with the children. See if they can guess which dinosaurs are depicted in the pictures. Choose one to do a picture study on. Have the children observe the painting daily and see what new details they notice about the picture. At the end of the week, print off the picture and paste onto paper and have children write an "art review" on the painting. Note that all the paintings on this post are his artwork. It is also interesting to mention to the children that he was legally blind when he painted these pictures with the aid of specially designed glasses.

Photo by Taste of Home with Recipe Here

Home Economics/Math: Make some dinosaur cookies with the children by using Dinosaur Cookie Cutters. Have children double the recipe to sharpen math skills.

Field Trip: Visit a museum that features fossils, or any other place geared towards dinosaurs. If you live near Kentucky, you can visit the Creation Museum. If you live in California, you can visit the Cabazon Dinosaurs which is creation based as well. If you live near any other place relating to dinosaurs, leave it in the comment box to give others some ideas.

Movie Suggestions:
Dinosaurs, Genesis & the Gospel, DVD (4 -7 years of age)
Project Dinosaur DVD (7 & up, but younger children would enjoy too.)
The Bible Explains Dinosaurs DVD (Great for adults who need answers, Ages 12 - adult since this is in lecture form and probably won't hold the attention of younger children but it will hold yours!)
Dinosaurs & Dragon Legends--DVD (This is a "Short Video" of only 14 minutes but we really enjoyed the cinematography so I wanted to include this in the list in case your family gets really interested in this topic).

"Behold now behemoth, which I made with thee; 

he eateth grass as an ox.

Lo now, his strength is in his loins, 

and his force is in the navel of his belly.

He moveth his tail like a cedar: 

the sinews of his stones are wrapped together.

His bones are as strong pieces of brass; 

his bones are like bars of iron.

He is the chief of the ways of God: 

he that made him can make his sword to approach unto him.

Surely the mountains bring him forth food, 

where all the beasts of the field play.

He lieth under the shady trees, 

in the covert of the reed, and fens.

The shady trees cover him with their shadow; 

the willows of the brook compass him about.

Behold, he drinketh up a river, and hasteth not: 

he trusteth that he can draw up Jordan into his mouth.

He taketh it with his eyes: 

his nose pierceth through snares."

~ Job 40:15-24


If you have any questions or concerns about
Science and the Scriptures,
I highly recommend Answers in Genesis 
as a Bible based tool for your family.