Dinosaurs: let's get ready to romp!

What you need

• ‘Dinosaurumpus’ by Tony Mitton (if you don’t have a copy it is accessible on YouTube - we’d suggest turning the sound off and reading it yourself!) Space for a dance floor
• Your best romping dance moves Dinosaur toys (optional)

Benefits

Language development, listening with interest and enjoying stories!

The experience

Clear a space, big enough for a bit of moving and grooving! Settle down in the space, and invite your child to share ‘Dinosaurumpus’ with you. Before you open the book, talk about what the book might be about - teddy bears? I don’t think so!

Encourage your child to join in with the repeated refrains like ‘shake, shake, shudder’. Together, pretend that you are the dinosaurs and copy the different actions they do, like Triceratops with dinosaur hops or twisting and spinning like Deinosuchus. Now try it without the book! Put together the sequence of moves that the dinosaurs did - hop, twist, spin, dive and clatter. You’re doing the dinosaur romp!

Make some music to go with your moves - why not use a pan and a spoon? If you’re feeling brave, invite any dinosaurs in the house to join in.