Help preschoolers combine 2 cups of all-purpose flour, 1 cup of salt and 1 cup of water in a medium bowl. Stir until the mixture becomes the texture of dough. Knead the dough on a flat surface. If the dough is too thick or too dry, add a small amount of water to thin out and moisten the dough. Add a few drops of food coloring to the water before combining it with dry ingredients to create colored salt dough.
Lay a piece of parchment paper or butcher paper on a flat surface. Place the ball of salt dough on the parchment paper. Show preschoolers how to use a rolling pin to roll the dough flat.
Provide the preschoolers with a toy dinosaur. Encourage the children to press the dinosaur’s foot into the dough to create dinosaur footprints. Alternatively, show children how to make dinosaur prints by pressing their hand into the dough while grouping their fingers together to create a three-toed dinosaur print.
Lift the parchment paper and put it on a cookie sheet. Bake in an oven at 200 degrees Fahrenheit until the prints are completely dry. Alternatively, leave the dinosaur foot fossil prints to dry naturally by sitting them undisturbed outside in the sun or on a sunny windowsill. Turn the fossil prints periodically to speed up the drying process. The thicker the dough, the longer it will take for the print to dry.
Provide preschoolers with tempera paint in a wide variety of colors along with paintbrushes. Encourage the children to paint the dinosaur footprint fossils. Spray clear varnish on the fossils to give them a glossy finish. Allow to dry completely and display the prints around the classroom.