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Easy Dinosaur Number Match Activity for Preschool

Learn how to make a Dinosaur Number Match Activity for your preschool math center. It doesn’t matter if you have a dinosaur fan at home, or you’re doing a dinosaur theme in your class. Your kids will have so much fun developing their math skills with this fun activity.

This number matching game can also be easily adjusted to practice matching colors, shapes, or letters. There are so many different educational activities to try with this one simple idea.

Disclosure: Adult supervision is required for all activities at all times. Some of the links provided in this blog are affiliate links. I will be paid a commission if you use this link to make a purchase.

More Dinosaur Activities to try

Are you looking for a fun way to engage your dino lover? These dinosaur themed activities are a great addition to any preschool lesson plans. Check out these ideas to get ready for some dinosaur fun.

  1. Salt Dough dinosaur fossils
  2. Free Dinosaur Coloring Page
  3. Paper Plate Triceratops
  4. Dinosaur Swamp Sensory Bin
  5. Dinosaur Shapes Play Dough Mats – Free Printable Activity

For more ideas, take a look at these 45 Dinosaur Activities.

Materials Needed

  1. Paper plate
  2. 10 Wooden clothespins
  3. Green paint
  4. Paintbrushes
  5. Black marker
  6. Popsicle sticks (optional)

How to make a Dinosaur Number Match Activity

Make the Dinosaur

1. Draw your dinosaur.

Take a paper plate and draw a dinosaur with its head and tail tucked into the curve of the plate. Like in the picture above, or however you think would work best for this activity.

I liked having the head and tail tucked in, because it meant that I didn’t have to cut the paper plate at all. Which would make the dinosaur easier for young children to hold while they play.

2. Paint the dinosaur.

I used green acrylic paint to decorate my dinosaur, but of course you can do whatever you like. Experiment with different colors, cover it in glitter, or don’t paint it at all and go with an all white version. It’s up to you and how you’re feeling when you’re making this dinosaur activity.

3. When the paint is dry, write the numbers from 1 – 10 along the back of the stegosaurus.

I used a black sharpie for this step, but a regular pen will work just as well.

Make the back plates

4. Paint the clothespins

I attached my clothespins to the end of a craft stick before painting. I like doing it this way because then I can paint the entire clothespin without getting my fingers covered in paint. It also means that I can prop them up in a cardboard box to dry.

5. When the paint is dry take each clothespin and write the number 1 – 10 on one side of them.

6. Turn the clothespins over and draw the same number of dots on the other side.

For example, if you have the numeral 5 written on one side of the clothespin, draw 5 dots on the opposite side of the same clothespin.

How to Play

There are a couple of different ways for younger kids to play with this fun dinosaur game.

1. Match the numerals.

The first thing that you need to do is to look at the number written on the clothespin, and find the corresponding number on the back of the stegosaurus. Clip the clothespin onto the top of the stegosaurus that has the correct number.

2. Number – Numeral Matching.

Count how many dots are on the clothespin. Find the correct numeral on the back of the stegosaurus. Clip the clothespin onto the top of the stegosaurus that has the correct number.

3. Shapes or Letters

You can take this same idea and use it for a whole lot of different learning activities. For example, you can substitute the numbers with shapes or letters. This would be a great way to teach your children some name recognition skills before they go to school.

What You’re Learning

Number Recognition / Numeral Recognition

Learn what the numbers 1 – 10 look like when written down.

Fine Motor Skills

Pinching the clothespins is the perfect way to practice pincer grip, while placing the pegs onto the back of the dinosaur also helps develop hand eye coordination too.

Counting

Counting the dots on the back of the clothespin will help children learn how to count from 1 – 10.

Number – Numeral Matching

Matching the dots on the back with the numeral is a great way to show young children how quantities are represented by a written form. For example, 6 dots are written as the number 6.

Are you going to make this Dinosaur Number Match Activity for your kids? Don’t forget to pin the idea for later.