Learning Goals:
To help your child prepare a vegetarian (herbivore) picnic for the class. To help your child learn what foods fit into an herbivore's diet (fruits and vegetables). To remind your child about the importance of handwashing before eating. To discuss why all animals need to eliminate waste from their bodies (a.k.a. pooping).
Age Range:
3-6
What You Need:
What to Do:
- Show your child a picture of a Brachiosaurus, and have him practice saying this species' name [BRAK-ee-oh-SAWR-us]. Ask him to guess what type of food he thinks this dinosaur ate. After listening to all his suggestions, explain that Brachiosaurus ate only plants, therefore it was an "herbivore" like many other dinosaurs, such as Triceratops. (If you wish, you can also introduce the terms "carnivores" for meat-eaters and "omnivores" for animals that ate both plants and animals.)
- Have your child watch a video clip from "Dinosaur Poop!" (above), in which the characters talk about a special Brachiosaurus Brunch, and play Hide and Seek (and discover that the big boulders they are hiding behind are actually Brachiosaurus feces!)
- Plan a Brachiosaurus Brunch, using the Recipes and Games page to give you some ideas. Discuss why it is important to wash your hands before you eat, and after you use the bathroom.
- During the Brachiosaurus Brunch, watch the video clip of the song "Every Dinosaur Poops" (above) -- and talk about why every animal needs to go. Ask: What might happen if an animal didn't poop out the parts of food its body didn't need? (Eventually, the animal would die.)
Extensions:
- Your child can learn how scientists use the feces of animals today (as well as fossilized feces called coprolites) to learn about animals' dietary habits.
- Your child can go to library to learn about dung beetles — and other insects that use the poop of larger animals as their foodsource. In this Dinosaur Train episode, Buddy has a hypothesis that one animal’s waste can provide nutrition for other smaller animals.
