Space Week

Summer's over, but this has been sitting in my drafts folder... it was a really fun week we did last year: Space Week. This was one of my better planned themes, because each day focused on a different part of space. 

Stars

Fine motor skill practice AND jewelry-making with star-shaped beads and yarn. 

We learned about constellations and painted some with glow-in-the-dark paint (and yes, we did take the paintings into the dark bathroom to see them glow). 

I made star-shaped pizza crusts and we made our own pizzas for dinner. 

Solar System

We finger painted the sun. 

After reading about planets, we painted a styrofoam solar system, and then we measured out toilet paper to create a scale representation of their distance from the sun. (I'd need to look for the link where I found the number of squares needed for each planet... It was a lot of toilet paper!)

Planets

The girls made their own solar systems in some colorful rice, with marbles, pompoms, beads, and other choking hazards, but they really liked the hands-on sensory play. 

Next, they made their own planets with paper and crayons and stickers. We talked about the possibility if life on their planets and how many moons they had. 

We also made planets with marble painting, because... Why not throw in another craft when your kid is wanting more?

Lastly, the girls colored some planet and space-themed pages and did a few simple worksheets. 

The Moon

We learned how craters are made on the moon by throwing marbles onto a plate of flour. 

We made moon paintings with homemade puffy paint (self-risingflour and water, microwaved after being painted onto the paper). 

We learned the phases of the moon in a most delicious way (for dessert).

Space Exploration

We made cute name rockets. 

We went to Space Center Houston, which is conveniently located about 15 minutes from our home. 

Anthony got a souvenir. 

And we brought home water rockets from the gift shop. Paul got into the fun too. 

We made astronaut sticker scenes before dinner. 

And had astronaut ice cream after dinner!

I remember getting excited the way only teachers do when I planned this week, because the progression of activities was coming together so well, and that is one of the best parts of lesson planning (to me, at least). Space Week was a great week!