3, 2, 1.....BLAST OFF!! It's Space Week!

 We started out the week exploring what the sun, moon, and stars look like. What does a rocket look like? What does a rocket do? Google images has a great library of photos to look at.

Star gazers are fun to make. It's just a toilet paper tube with black paper over them (they don't have to look pretty). We used toothpicks to poke holes, then just hold up to the light and you will be amazed. If you want to get fancy or are learning about specific constellations, you can punch those out. We did do the big dipper.

This is what it looks like peeking through the star gazers

We learned that star begins with an S and painted with water colors

A fun, easy and nutritious snack a triscuit rocket with cheese and some kiwi planets and "goldfish" rockets, moons and stars

Toilet paper tube rockets. You can also cut the windows out and put kids photos in

We made a spaceship and blasted off......

and went on a spacewalk! It was dark so we brought our flashlights to explore!

Moon sand was fun to play with! 

• 6 cups of play sand
• 3 cups of cornstarch
• 1 1/2 cups of cold water

1. Mix the water and cornstarch together thoroughly, this will take a few minutes to get it nice and smooth.
   
2. Gradually mix in the sand, one cup at a time. You'll need to really work it in with your fingers.
   
3. Play with it!
   
4. When you're all done, pop it in an airtight container
5. When you next play with it, you'll need to revive it with 2-3 tablespoons of water. Just sprinkle it over and work it in.

 We explored and learned about the planets, their sizes, some had rings and what order they are from the sun.

Rocket Stomper! What fun the kids had with this!

We learned that the moon is not smooth and we made moonscapes with puffy paint and finger painted with it. To make a batch of puffy paint, simply mix equal parts of shaving cream and Elmer's glue.

We made a few counting games. We counted the planets. We would draw a number and have to go find that many stars. We had groupings and had to put the right number with that group, and of course 3, 2, 1 BLASTOFF was a favorite!!

 Astronaut ice cream was a fun treat! The kids weren't too sure about it! They thought it felt like chalk and didn't weigh very much, but tasted like ice cream

Our space packs! What a fun week we had!

Transportation Part 2

More transportation fun........

 Toilet paper tube airplanes. Have kids paint tubes and let dry. Have them glue on wing shapes and circles for the windows. We also rolled up black construction paper to make the nose and end.

 Fun and easy. The kids did this for 20 minutes making different tracks and even roll playing construction scenes. I did add different colors and you can also add salt or sand for a texture effect (and noise)

 Transportation Shadows on the wall. Print out different vehicles, let kids color or paint and glue onto Popsicle sticks.

 Paper plate boats with triangle sails that the kids colored with crayons.

 Transportation shadow match game let to the picture below when the kids thought the old plane shadow was a ladder. We talked about old planes and looked pictures up on the kindle and then watched the Wright Brothers first flight :)

Here we GO! (it's all about transportation)

Traffic Lights
Kids LOVE traffic lights. I am sure you have plenty of back seat drivers like me who tell you when to stop and go! This fun project brings them to life!

 

 

I traced a bowl on white paper and had the kids rip the construction paper up for me!

Have the kids glue the pieces onto the circles. I lightly water down glue and let them paint the glue onto the circles. Let dry and then have the kids glue onto black paper.

Finished Stop Lights.

 Transportation Scavenger Hunt 

Print of transportation word cards. I then lay them down upside down or fan out like cards in my hand and have each child pick a card. They then have to go hunt through the space to find the word/picture on their card.
Variations: Who can find me something that starts with a "P"  or a "P" sound?
Give them the toy and have them find the card

  

Homemade Roadway

Another great way to talk about shapes and colors with a fun twist as they will get to use their roadway to drive their cars on!

Drawing lines is great writing and motor control practice

The Name Train

This great matching project reinforces their name spelling as well as letter recognition and shape color recognition. I made the engines and glued together along with one long black strip for the train cars to glue onto. I then wrote their name on individual white squares and on one big piece of paper.  We read their name together, said each letter and then I had them mix up their white squares. I would then (in order) point to a letter and have them find that letter that matches and glue it onto the car.

 Have them glue on some wheels and then go through the letters of their name again

Finished Name Trains