print view

This takes time, but the end result is worth it!

What You’ll Need

cylindrical container, such as an oatmeal or coffee box
six paper towel cardboard tubes
two toilet paper cardboard tubes
tape
scissors
old newspapers
glue
paint
16 pieces of elbow macaroni
markers
colored paper

Instructions

1. The cylindrical container is the dinosaur's body. Use the paper towel cardboard tubes to give the dinosaur a neck, four legs, and a tail. Attach securely with plenty of tape. If needed, cut and shape the ends of the tubes to fit securely against the body.

2. Take the toilet paper tubes. Cut a slit into each one, from one end up to about 1 inch away from the other end. Overlap the cut edges to form a cone-line shape. Tape the cone securely. Attach one cone to the end of the neck to make a head. Attach the other cone to the end of the tail, for a pointed tail end.

3. Cut old newspapers into strips, about 1-2 inches wide. Glue the strips all over the dinosaur's body, completely covering it. Let dry completely, at least 24 hours.

4. When the layer of newspaper is completely dry, paint the dinosaur green, or whatever color the child likes. Allow to dry thoroughly.

5. Using markers, draw eyes and other details on the dinosaur. Glue four pieces of elbow macaroni on each foot. Use the colored paper to add other features as desired.

Try cutting the containers in half (all of them) to get shorter and different sizes of dinosaurs. You can create an entire dinosaur family! This project will end up taking time because you need to wait for the glue to dry so one tip to creating a family is to start a new one each day. Then when one is drying, your child still has other dinosaurs to finish creating or painting!

Submitted by Leximom