LETTER D -- Dinosaurs
This week we’re diving into the letter D, and our theme is one that sparks instant excitement in preschoolers: Dinosaurs. There is something irresistible about imagining creatures that lived long ago — the giant footprints, the soaring wings, the gentle leaf-eaters, and the big stomping feet. Dinosaurs invite children into a world of curiosity and big questions: How do we know they were here? What did they eat? What were their names? Themes like this give children a chance to explore, pretend, wonder, and learn in ways that feel joyful and empowering.
​
Letter Sounds and Our Zoo-Phonics Friend
Our Zoo-Phonics companion this week is Deedee Deer. Children place their hands on top of their heads like antlers and make the gentle /d/ sound: “d-d-d.” This connection between sound and movement helps reinforce early phonemic awareness in a meaningful, developmentally supportive way.
Words like dinosaur, dig, drum, dog, and dance help us stretch out that beginning sound and listen for it in everyday language. If your child enjoys music and movement, this short letter D song is a fun reinforcement at home: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7H2d8U3FjZ0
​
How We Form the Letter D
Using our Learning Without Tears approach, we teach uppercase D as “a big line down, then a big curve around,”
which helps children feel the symmetry of the shape. Lowercase d begins with the familiar “magic c,” which then
goes up like a helicopter and back down to the baseline. These motions help children build muscle memory and
hand strength in ways that support early writing skills.
Children might practice forming the letter D in playdough, trace it on a vertical chalkboard, or draw it in a sensory
tray filled with rice or sand. If you’d like more handwriting ideas for home, Learning Without Tears offers helpful
tips here: https://www.lwtears.com/resources
Theme Connection: Dinosaurs
Our dinosaur theme brings the letter D to life in playful, imaginative ways. Children might examine dinosaur figurines, create fossil rubbings, or pretend to be paleontologists gently brushing sand away from “bones” in a sensory bin. Books like How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight? by Jane Yolen or Saturday Night at the Dinosaur Stomp by Carol Shields encourage language development through rhythm, humor, and story.
Many children enjoy making dinosaur footprints in paint, building caves or nests with blocks, or moving through the room like dinosaurs waking from a long sleep. These moments help develop storytelling skills, sequencing, gross motor strength, and creative thinking.
For families looking for hands-on dinosaur play ideas, The OT Toolbox has several child-friendly activities:
https://www.theottoolbox.com/dinosaur-activities-for-kids/
Kindergarten Readiness Skill: Recognizing Patterns (WaKIDS/GOLD Objective 11)
This week’s kindergarten-readiness focus is patterns — noticing and creating sequences that repeat. Pattern recognition is one of the earliest mathematical skills and helps children develop logic, problem-solving abilities, and early reading comprehension.
When children arrange dinosaur footprints in a “big-small-big-small” pattern, clap out rhythmic stomps, or line up dinosaur figures in a repeating sequence, they’re practicing this important skill. At home, families might make patterns with snacks, toys, or movements (“stomp-stomp-clap”). For more ideas, the website The Measured Mom offers engaging early math activities for young learners: https://www.themeasuredmom.com/pattern-activities/
​
Continuing the Learning at Home
Dinosaurs make it easy to extend learning beyond the classroom. You might talk with your child about what a dinosaur might eat, how it might move, or where it might sleep. Children often enjoy drawing pictures of their favorite dinosaurs, creating “fossils” out of playdough, or searching for the letter D in picture books and signs.
Even something simple — like pretending to tiptoe through the house as a “gentle dinosaur” or stomping around outside while saying the /d/ sound — helps reinforce letter learning in fun, memorable ways.
Thank you for supporting your child’s natural sense of wonder. These small moments of curiosity and connection lay the foundation for a lifelong love of learning.
