For the past two weeks, we've been having fun studying Outerspace! Learning about space and the planets has been one of the kiddos favorite units this year. We had some freeze-dried astronaut ice cream, acted as astronauts in our dramatic play center, did space crafts, etc...all making learning fun! Here are some pictures from our learning activities:
I folded the paper into 10 sections and wrote the numbers on each section, then gave the kiddos shiny star stickers and they had to count each number and add the correct amount of stars. It is great for fine motor practice and counting. Peeling those stickers off of the page and sticking them on is hard work for little hands! They liked it because they got to use star stickers! :)
How cute are the moons that we made! I cut a white circle out of thick construction paper and had the students use glue to make craters and moon rocks. We then let the glue dry and the next day they took a grey crayon and colored over the glue. My kiddos were shocked when I actually told them to scribble. lol! The glue is easier to color and comes out nicer if they scribble it. :)
Here is a pic of our name rockets. Students had to write one letter of their name on each strip of paper, then build it to say their name and glue it on the black paper. They added a triangle on top, 10 shiny sticker stars and then they had to count down to blastoff with me to add the glitter glue flames.
We also made star constellations. I again divided a black sheet of construction paper into 10 spaces and wrote the numbers 1-10 in white. Then the students had to count out the correct number of shiny star stickers and place them on the number to form the number constellations.
Look at our awesome setup for our dramatic play space center!!
Here's a part of our dramatic play center for our space unit It's a NASA space control center. I had the kiddos paint the box with silver paint, then I added all of the fun stuff! I used tap lights for the buttons, fancy colored tape and printouts from NASA.
This is the shuttle in our dramatic play center. The kiddos painted it white, and again I added the fun stuff to turn it into a shuttle. They had a "blast" going in and pretending to be astronauts!
With each theme I teach I like to incorporate puzzles into the unit . They can either be printed off and you can have the students cut and paste them, or you can save money and resources by laminating them and cutting them up and having students use the model to correctly put the puzzle back together. That is how I chose to use it with this theme. I've done it both ways, though. Puzzles are so wonderful for the kiddos to do. They're great skill builders. Puzzles help with problem solving skills, analytical skills, fine motor, etc.....and....Who doesn't love puzzles!??!!
I have so many more activities and ideas in my brand new space unit that is available in my store. Here's a preview pic of some of the things that are included in the 137 page pack!
For your convenience, I've included links to some of the things I used in my space unit that are available for purchase on Amazon (affiliate):
Thanks and enjoy!!
Love, Kristin
