PREHISTORIC LESSONS IN PRESCHOOL CAMP VACATION

All this week, students throughout Vacaville are on vacation as part of the President's Day holiday. Many have taken the opportunity to take a trip to Tahoe or hang around town or at home, and others have chosen to not let their minds wander.

That includes some Vacaville preschoolers, who came to Three Oaks Community Center on Thursday to play with toys, socialize and even gain some knowledge on a topic everybody finds cool: dinosaurs.

Through the Vacaville Parks and Recreation Department's Preschool Camp VACAtion, youngsters have been learning all about the creatures who once ruled the Earth, including the different types of dinosaurs, what they ate and how they met their untimely end. Along the way, they got to create dinosaur hats, make erupting volcanos and even explore fossils.

Kayla Diaz, recreation specialist and preschool teacher, said the camp taps into a subject campers are already into. In fact, she said they're already very knowledgeable about dinosaurs.

“Most of them are experts,” she said. “They know more about dinosaurs than me.”

There was evidently a lot of dino spirit on display Thursday morning, as several campers wore dinosaur shirts and had dinosaur backpacks. During free play, many kids tried to construct brontosauruses using plastic stacking blocks, and others drew the creatures using DoodlePros. There was another station to sort mini dinosaur figurines into barrels by color, and a mat where they could play around with toy dinosaurs and dinosaur-like creatures such as stegosauruses, triceratopses, brachiosauruses, ankylosauruses, pterodactyls, dimetrodons and the almighty Tyrannosaurus rex.

Beyond learning about and playing with dinosaurs,

"Most of them are experts. They know more about dinosaurs than me." — Kayla Diaz, recreation specialist and preschool teacher

Diaz said the camp sought to provide a social element.

“When they first come in, they're very quiet,” she said. “They're a little bit nervous and scared, and by the third day, they're friends with everybody and it's nice to see them connect with other

PHOTOS BY NICK SESTANOVICH/THE REPORTER Kalia Machado, left, of Vacaville and Alessandra Chen of Fairfield sort miniature plastic dinosaurs by color as part of the Vacaville Parks and Recreation Department’s dinosaur-themed Preschool Camp VACAtion.

Recreation specialist Kayla Diaz reads Jane Yolen’s “How Do Dinosaurs Choose Their Pets?” during the Vacaville Parks and Recreation Department’s Preschool Camp VACAtion on Thursday. Throughout the week, campers learned about dinosaurs and took part in activities.