Day 2: Dinosaur Dig with Mom of All Trades

Monday, May 02, 2011 Aimee Larsen 8 Comments

 

Kori and I are so honored to be guest bloggers here today. Its always exciting to show off fun things we do and with summer just around the corner our eyes are focused on outdoor activities. Especially since we have kids and they are at such a fun age.
My son loves Dinosaurs and he loves to play in the sand boxes where they dig for dinosaurs. I thought how easy it would be to make one for our own.
DSC_2062

I used an old pool kids pool that had a small hole in it. Instead of throwing it away we use it as a sand box.
DSC_2066 
I bought this bag of brick mortar and i only used about a third of it. We mixed it in an old 5 gallon bucket and used a small shovel to stir in the water. It was very easy!  
DSC_2064

I wanted the bottom to be smooth so we made the first batch really thin. My husband helped me mix it. We used a cement thrall (i hope i spelled that right) to make it smooth and then i used my index finger to smooth the edges. I didn't have any latex gloves but they would be a good idea since the mortar does have chemicals in the mix. Make sure everything is very smooth you don't want to cut any tiny toes or fingers as the kids are playing .
 DSC_2065 

I added a lil note for my son and made sure i put the year i made it.
As we let the first part dry make sure you clean out all your tools and buckets.
DSC_2070

After the bottom layer is almost dry i took a cut out of a dinosaur i googled and laid it on the mortar. I drew the out line and then i knew where to add the next mixture of mortar.
DSC_2072
I took small handful an formed the dinosaur head. if you have cracks in the mixture just dip your hands in some water and tap it to smooth it out.
DSC_2074

I made a nose an eye and teeth. We were going to add a horn on the nose but i didn't want to keep messing. It isn’t the best dinosaur but my 2 year old will love it
 DSC_2075

We added a few backbones and that was enough for us. We wanted to keep it simple.
DSC_2081

If you look it was only an inch or so high so it doesn't have to be anything to complicated.
 DSC_2151

Add a bag of play sand an some sand toys and your good to go. I need to get my son an old paint brush but i forgot to grab it at the store.
DSC_2152

Here he is just starting to get uncovered.
Well I hope you liked our Dinosaur sandbox and it inspires you to do something fun for your kids this summer.
Don't forget to come check out other projects we have at our blog Moms Of All Trades
Tara

8 comments:

  1. Almost UnschoolersMonday, May 02, 2011

    Excellent idea!

    ReplyDelete
  2. What a great idea! I know my girls would LOVE this--and the older ones would love to make the cement one. Definitely on my list for the summer! Thanks!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Great idea. I linked to it on my Facebook page.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Amy @ ServingPinkLemonadeThursday, May 05, 2011

    Oh! My daughter would LOVE this. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  5. this is a fab idea, we took our son an a fossil dig last year and he loved it, to have one in the back yard would be brilliant

    ReplyDelete
  6. I was just thinking of making something like this for my little man! Thanks so much for the step by step! Now, I can work on it! 

    ReplyDelete
  7. That is such a great idea! Thank you so much for the inspiration :D

    I'm thinking about my son's 5th birthday party coming up and this would be a great group activity for the kids.


    Nikki
    Eveningsong Ink

    ReplyDelete

Show the love. Major love!