We just finished the Gather ‘Round Homeschool Dinosaur Unit Study, and spoiler alert, we loved it! But like all curriculums there are ups and downs. So let’s dive into what worked and what didn’t for our family of seven.
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This year of our homeschool has felt full—in the best and hardest ways. With multiple ages, younger siblings underfoot, and a school year that needed flexibility, unit studies have honestly been such a gift.
We have been doing Gather ‘Round Homeschool unit studies for just over a year now, and it honestly saved our homeschool. I’m not exaggerating. I’ve never been so discouraged as a teacher (I’ve got the license and everything) during fall 2023. Homeschool was not working. We started Gather Round in January 2024, and there has been no looking back.
You can read more about our transition to Gather Round here. Or if you feel like watching, head over to YouTube.
When I first started researching Gather ’Round, I immediately gravitated toward Dinosaurs as the very first unit study we’d try. I mean… dinosaurs felt like a safe bet. Hands-on, exciting, and let’s be honest—how do you mess up dinosaurs?
But before clicking “buy,” I did what we all do. I headed straight to the Gather ’Round Facebook group to ask for advice. Thirty-three comments later, the consensus was clear: don’t start with dinosaurs. Too big. Too much. Pick something simpler first to get a feel for how Gather ’Round works.
We started with the Reptile unit, and it’s STILL the one that my boys talk about the most. There’s no doubt that it was the right one to start with.
We got our feet under us with the Reptile unit and learned the rhythm of unit study life. And yet… Dinosaurs kept calling me back. Every time we flipped through the catalog or talked about what to do next, there they were. After all, I have five boys. It felt almost wrong not to do a dinosaur unit study.
As we ended our school year last spring, I lined up pictures of units that I thought my boys would be interested in and let them pick their top wishes, of course Dinosaurs was in that lineup, and yep, they picked it. We started Dinosaurs in January of 2025, and we will be concluding it a little over 5 weeks later. We jumped in—dinosaurs and all—and I’m really glad we did.
Why I’m So Grateful for Unit Studies This Year
Unit studies have been a fun way to keep everyone learning together without juggling a million lesson plans. Instead of separating out preschool, kindergarten, and 2nd grade subjects, we are able to learn as a small group while still meeting different needs—including special education accommodations and hands-on learning that works so well for young minds.
Thematic unit studies like this one make learning feel connected—social studies, general science, ancient history, vocabulary words, and even visual arts all woven together in a way that feels natural and doable.
More Gather Round Homeschool Reviews:
What We Used from This Dino Unit
There are a LOT of resources for this unit, so I wanted to give a summary of what we actually used. These are the paid resources available in the Gather ‘Round Homeschool store. In addition to the paid resoruces they also have a FREE app that has truly and abundance of free resources.
- Dinosaur Teachers Guide
- Dinosaurs Student Notebooks (Pre-Reader and Early Reader)
- Dinosaurs Seatwork (Early Reader)
- Dinosaur Teachers Mp3 Lessons (only used when we were on-the-go)
- Dinosaurs Printed Poster
- Dinosaurs Printed Flashcards
We started out also using the coloring book and the Mp3 Radio Show, but we ended up deciding it was too much for our family. A lot of the information was repetitive, and although it could be great to reinforce the lesson, it was not necessary for our season of homeschooling.
We also used my own designed Dinosaur Bible Verse copywork notebooks, which they each worked on in the morning before I clocked out of my at-home day job.
In order to successfully complete the unit, you only need the Teacher’s Guide and the Student notebooks; everything else is extra. However, I do want to emphasize how helpful and important the free resources on the app are. The videos, in particular, were very useful for my young boys, and we did try to watch at least 2 or 3 each lesson.
Another noteworthy free resource is the booklist, which I always find helpful, as I have a bucket of books throughout each of our units for my boys to freely look through and enjoy.
Dinosaur Unit Study – Gather ’Round Homeschool
The Gather ’Round Dinosaur Unit Study is a full prehistoric adventure that takes kids through the world of dinosaurs, prehistoric life, Christian apologetics, the age of the dinosaurs, paleontologists, and notable historical events. You can either buy the main books as a digital PDF / printable PDF, or buy the physical copy.
Most lessons will cover a paleontologist and a dinosaur. It includes informational pages, close reading, field guides, and creative projects that really bring the prehistoric world to life—from dinosaur fossils and dinosaur bones to different dinosaurs like the Tyrannosaurus rex.
Our Review – Three Things We Loved
So as I’ve stated before, we did love the Gather ‘Round Homeschool Dinosaurs unit. It fit within our family’s convictions and theology without being dogmatic. It also presented ‘theories’ and gave room for discussion. I really appreciated that element of the curriculum. Three other things stood out to me as I thought back on the last six weeks. So let’s dive into the three things we love, not the picture-perfect stuff, but the parts that made learning smoother, more enjoyable, and actually doable with multiple ages and real-life interruptions.
These are the three things we loved most about the Gather ’Round Dinosaur Unit—and the reasons it ended up being such a good fit for our homeschool.
The Discovery Book, Artwork, and Student Journaling
The student notebooks were very well done. We didn’t do every single page because I definitely adapted based on the ages we had, but I loved the overall content. We used the Early Reader for my 7-year-old and the Pre Reader for my 3-year-old and 6-year-old.
The Pre-Reader had two pages of work to do each day, and the first page had a coloring element that the kids were able to complete while I was reading the lesson. The Early Reader had 5 pages of work, but two of those are a part of what is called a Discovery Book, which is basically a section for student journaling with art and reflection.
This was such a great resource for encouraging critical thinking and creativity. The Discovery Book allowed for student journaling, graphic arts, and visual arts all in one place. My kids loved drawing dinosaur feet, labeling dinosaur fossils, and recording what they learned in their own words.
There were definitely sections that felt like it was geared more towards middle school or even high school students with deeper prompts, but most of those were apologetics or faith-based activities or prompts.
Thing 2 – It Wasn’t Just About Dinosaurs
This wasn’t just a dinosaur study—it tied in the natural world, physical science, ancient history, social studies, and even discussions around the fossil record and ancient animals. The main topics from my perspective centered around Paleontologists, the dinosaurs they discovered, and Christian apologetics. It gave my kids a closer look at how everything connects in a fun way that didn’t feel forced.
The Dinosaur unit walks through the discoveries, adventures, and people who helped shape what we know about dinosaurs today. It’s written in a living book style, with lessons that open with daily devotional prompts and include weekly apologetics sections focused on why we believe the Bible is true.
Thing 3 – The Optional Extension Activities
The hands-on activities ended up being one of our favorite parts of this dinosaur unit study. Using the optional extension activities from the Teacher’s Guide, we made dinosaur footprints in clay, crafted dinosaur teeth, did a full-on dinosaur dig with homemade eggs, and sculpted our favorite dinosaurs using air-dry clay.
My boys especially loved building and shaping with clay, and I’ve learned that when I lean into what they’re enjoying, it almost always leads to deeper learning and more curiosity. So we followed that interest hard, turning it into a fun way to explore different dinosaurs, prehistoric life, and the natural world through hands-on experiments. As a result, we now have so many clay creations around the house, and honestly, I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Our Review – One Thing We Didn’t Love
The only thing that didn’t quite work for us was that some of the apologetics felt a little too much for my younger kids. Just to be completely transparent, we’re young-earth creationists, but for preschool curriculum ages and early elementary, I found myself simplifying or skipping certain discussions. That said, I appreciated having the option and just adjusted it for our family.
Additional Resources We Loved
We also pulled in a few extra resources that really rounded out our dinosaur unit study, especially for keeping younger siblings happily occupied during lessons. Our sensory table was the real star of the show—it was set up with moldable sand, digging tools, and dinosaur skeletons, and it gave little hands something purposeful to do while big kids listened, read, or worked through their assignments. It wasn’t just a distraction in the chaotic sense, but a meaningful, quiet activity that fit the theme and kept the natural world front and center.
We had lots of dino books, so many that it would be too hard to mention them all, but one that stands out is the A Guide to Dinosaurs from the Creation Institute. Another honorable mention is the Build It! Dinosaurs book, which my LEGO-loving boys really enjoyed for independent building time. We also had a bunch of fun doing Sticker by Letter and Sticker by Number books. Bonus that it had numbers, letters, and dinosaurs!
- Dinosaur Handwriting Bible Verses
- Sensory Table
- Guide to Dinosaurs by the Creation Institute
- Dinosaur Sculpting Kit
- Build it Dinosaurs Lego Book
- Sticker by Letter – Dinosaur
Conclusion – We Love Gather ’Round Unit Studies
Overall, the Gather ‘Round Homeschool Dinosaurs unit study was a great resource and a genuinely fun way to learn together. It worked across ages, encouraged creative projects, supported young minds, and brought learning to life without overwhelm.
If you’re looking for a hands-on, engaging, and flexible unit study that brings the prehistoric world into your homeschool in a meaningful way, this one is worth checking out—especially if you’re juggling multiple kids and want something that truly works as a family.
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