Letting kids paint dinosaur toys is an unconventional way to use them for fun and play, and clean-up is a cinch. (No, seriously, check out how easy these are to clean, and they come out as good as new!)
Letting kids paint the dinosaur toys is dino-mite fun
Our dinosaur toys have been painted a billion times over by our preschoolers, and you would never know.
We first learned this activity from Busy Toddler and have yet to look back.
And friends, you don’t have to only use dinosaurs!
This activity is just as fun with insect toys, plastic baby dolls, zoo animals, and the like.
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Materials
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- Dinosaur toys – ours are old and discontinued, but this set of jumbo dinosaurs looks great
- Kids’ paint
- Paintbrushes – the same brushes shown here, just with a new, updated handle color
- Bucket of water
Let’s paint the dinosaur toys
This is just as simple as it looks: set out different paint colors and invite your artists to add color to their dinosaurs.
Dinosaurs with stripes!
Dinosaurs with spots!
You might even find some dinosaurs covered in rainbows and hearts.
When kids are painting their dinosaurs, you’ll observe and hear the learning:
- Kids exploring color mixing: “I mixed pink and blue paints and it made purple.”
- New vocabulary as the kids narrate their actions: “I’m coloring under the Brachiosaurus’ neck.”
- Sharing of materials: “Jessica and I are coloring the dinosaur together.”
The fun doesn’t end once the dinosaurs are painted
Painting the dinosaurs is only half of the fun!
Next to the dinosaur painting station, we add a large bucket of water.
When a child has painted a dinosaur and wishes to start over, they drop it into the water bucket, rinse it off, and ta-da: the dinosaur is ready to begin again.
- Some kids paint, rinse, paint, rinse, paint, rinse.
- Some kids paint, paint, paint.
- Some kids rinse, rinse, rinse.
It’s always a joy to observe how kids gravitate to the “job” they like the most, and together, there’s a constant flow of painting and cleaning.
Does it stain when kids paint the dinosaur toys?
We have never had our dinosaurs stain, and we have done this activity many times over many years.
If you’re worried about your paint staining, you can:
- Do a test first with your paint or
- Add a touch of dish soap directly into your paint cups
You will want to avoid using acrylic paints as those are permanent.
Would your kids love to paint the dinosaur toys?
I haven’t met a kid who wasn’t captivated by this activity.
Chances are, yours are going to love it, too.
Thank you, Susie, for always sharing the best ideas. ILYSM!
Frequently Asked Questions
Any age that can safely use and enjoy the materials. Here, we are doing this activity with 3-6 year old preschoolers.
This paint shouldn’t stain, but you can always test it first.
Our preschoolers will easily play with this activity for a couple of hours at a time, and we will set this up for a few days in a row. They can’t get enough!
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