Space Odyssey

We spent several weeks learning about
our place in space. The focus was
the Earth, our sun (stars), the moon & gravity. 

We experimented growing grass seed in trays.  

One was kept in the sun and one in total darkness.

We took photos each week with our document camera to record the changes.

Students noticed that the grass with no sun was a yellow green.

The grass that did get sunlight was a deep green.

This helped students to learn about photosynthesis

and the importance of the sun.

Students were soon able to identify the earth when ever they saw it.

"The blue is the oceans and the brown and green is where we live!"

We watched some of Commander Chris Hadfield's videos
of experiments for students taken
on the International Space Station.  

Water in zero gravity is amazing!!

This 48 piece floor puzzle was a great opportunity for teamwork
& problem solving while learning about space.

Our sun print experiment showed the power of the sun's rays.
Pattern blocks were put on black constructions paper in our window.

We took photos each week to record the changes.
Here is a sun print after four weeks. 

I made a space check list for the Dramatic Play area.
 This builds early literacy and writing skills.
Students pretended they were in the space shuttle traveling the solar system.

The class was also very interested in learning about rainbows.
I brought in a prism to help them learn about this concept.
Here is one students work with excellent attention to detail.

Team 3's Space Facts:

CS- The sun is hot.

TB- The sun is bright. 

CA- I see the moon shine when it's dark.

GaM - The sun stays in one spot.

GrM- The sun is really big.

Some Team 5's Space Facts:

ElC- The planets spin.

LC- In space stuff floats all the time.

EV- The earth spins around the sun.

MS- There's no gravity in the space ship. 

We always do one paper mache project in Pre-K every year.
We dipped newspaper into warm water and flour and laid it on balloons.
Using the water table helped control the mess.
We used low, wide plastic cup so the balloon wouldn't roll away.

This year we kicked the planet project up a notch...

We painted them with puffy paint!!

The project took about 4 weeks from start to finish.
Most students were very interested in making them.

Students had to decide if they were making a sun, moon or planet.
We discussed whether it would be warm or cold.
Students chose colors accordingly

Our finished display.
Special thanks to Mrs Seiz for making the idea become a reality.
She is fearless when it come to supporting children with their art!

One Planet

One Sun

This planet looks rather familiar...

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