Space
One of my most frequently requested projects are ones for “Big Kids” no real age is ever given since Big is really relative but here are my projects that I have done with Sunday school, after school students and other “Big Kids” over the years. Some of these could be done with a young child with varying degrees of help and mess!
(seen above)
All of these projects can be found under the “Ages 8 and Older” category. Looking for more big kid projects? Try the “Age 5 and Older” tab too! I try to add more of these projects in the summer when big kids are home from school, but now that I know they are in high demand- I’ll add them more frequently!
Comet c !
Space the final frontier perhaps but also a subject loved by preschoolers everywhere! I admit I am not sure if it was a book or somewhere else ( which means tv) that my son was introduced to comets but I wanted to jump on the introduction and teach him a little more. I think that is key with early learning, if they show an interest in something run with it, you don’t have to teach them a full unit of study, just don’t ignore the interest and their curiosity will inspire you!
- Gather your materials. You will need some black paper but in a pinch you can do what we did and color a white paper with black crayons ( but I had to go over it a few time to make it dark enough for photos – with my son’s permission , it was his art), some sticky back sparkly foam, white tissue paper streamers, markers, scissors and star stickers.
- Start by writing a lowercase c on the backing of your foam. When I teach lowercase letters that look exactly like their uppercase version , I usually make them smaller and mention it while we are doing the craft casually.
- Cut the c out and set aside.
- If you need to color a white piece of paper use your black crayon and cover as much as you can.
- Add your star stickers. Having your child peel the stickers off is great fine motor, it can be frustrating for little ones so be there to lend a hand but let them do as much as they can.
- Next cut the party streamers. This picture of my son cutting wasn’t what we ended up doing ( he’s just warming up his scissor skills here) but I’m not an octopus and couldn’t take a picture of what we did do! What we did was I held the end of the streamers still and my son using his scissors cut the middle of what I was holding. Then we repeated this a few times. You can pre cut these if your child isn’t ready to use scissors.
- Color the streamers with the markers. Yes he has 3 markers all bunched in his hand, there was no talking him out of this.
- Peel off the backing of the c
- Stick the streamers on to the sticky back to create the comet’s tail. Make sure some of the sticky back is free for sticking onto the black paper.
- Stick it on and slam it down, my son loved smacking it onto the paper.
Books
“Comets” by Melanie Chrismer surprised me. This little book was not only full of facts about comets but it also kept my son’s attention from cover to cover. The facts are simple, and presented in small bits with illustrations . The straightforward approach was perfect to support an introductory activity about comets.
“Stargazers” by Gail Gibbons is a good choice of book to teach about stars, constellations, telescopes and more. My son sat listening to this book and every now and then was engaged but it was a bit lengthy and a little too in depth for him ( he’s almost 3) however the book is great , it explains complicated scientific information in a really accessible way. I even learned a few new things about telescopes! I will be taking this book out of the library again for sure when my son is a little older.
“Our Stars” by Anne Rockwell is another wonderful non fiction book from this author illustrator. The book shares the most basic facts about stars with the reader as well as more complicated facts about constellations, comets and meteors. I love that the facts are shared pretty independently on each page, so if something is above your toddlers head you can simply skip that page, until they are . The illustrations are fun enough to grab attention but detailed enough to help explain the facts being presented
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- Gather your materials. Some are missing from the picture because this craft evolved as we went, but I’ll list them all even those that aren’t pictured. You will need a clean juice bottle, 2 toilet paper rolls, some red, yellow and orange foam ( paper would do), some crayons, some recycled bottle caps, a paper grocery bag, some sparkles, a washed out applesauce container( single use), scissors, white paint and a hot glue gun and glue.
- Start by pouring sparkles into your bottle ( totally optional) I was hoping to go for a sparkly effect and in some parts it is but it didn’t turn out as metallic as I’d hoped.
- Add your paint, yes you need a lot.
- Pop the cap on tight and shake to cover the inside.
- Let dry in the hottest place you can find, it can take a while.
- While that is drying color your toilet paper rolls with crayons.
- Next cut a small square out of a grocery bag or other scrap paper and color it.
- Cut it into 2 triangles for wings.
- Cut the foam into flames .
- Tape them into the bottom of the toilet paper rolls , layer them for effect.
- When the bottle is dry, it’s time to warm up the hot glue gun. I burn my self every time I use it so please make sure your child is not within touching distance.
- Glue the rolls on the back.
- Glue the bottle caps on the front.
- Glue the wings on.
- This was an after thought but I grabbed an applesauce container and glued it on the bottom so that the flames of the rockets ( aka the toilet paper rolls) don’t get in the way of the rocket standing up on end.
- Play !!
Song!
we’re going to the moon,
hurry and get ready
we’re going to blast off soon,
put on your helmet
and buckle up real tight,
cause here comes the countdown
so count with all your might!
10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1,
Blast off!!
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- Gather your materials. You will need a piece of yellow and a piece of black construction paper. Some contact paper, gold sequins, glitter glue, glue , markers and scissors.
- Start by drawing ( or tracing) a star on the yellow paper. Draw some tails too.
- Have your child color the star and tails with markers.
- Cut a small piece of contact paper, peel the backing off.
- Add sequins to the contact paper.
- Squeeze some glitter on.
- Fold in two and press. Cut to size. I made this large for my son to add the sequins to , but then had to cut it so small to fit inside the star. I’d make a larger star next time.
- Cut the star and tails out . Cut the center of the star out, make sure the hole is big enough to show off the glitter but not too big so there are any gaps.
- Glue the glitter packet on the paper.
- Glue the star over it and the tails on. Let dry.
Books!
“Our Stars” by Anne Rockwell is another wonderful non fiction book from this author illustrator. The book shares the most basic facts about stars with the reader as well as more complicated facts about constellations, comets and meteors. I love that the facts are shared pretty independently on each page, so if something is above your toddlers head you can simply skip that page, until they are . The illustrations are fun enough to grab attention but detailed enough to help explain the facts being presented.
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- Gather your materials. You will need some heavy paper or an old cereal box ,one sheet of construction paper, some paint or markers, a little aluminum foil, scissors , glue and cotton balls.
- Start by cutting your cereal box open and drawing a rocket on it. Simple is fine! Also draw some circles on the side for windows.
- Have your child paint or color the rocket.
I like these paint rollers because it limited the paint for quick drying, couple that with the little hands that finger painted it after and it dried fast! - Cut out the rocket and the circles.
- Cover the circles in aluminum foil.
- Add glue to the construction paper.
- Add your rocket
- Glue the foil windows on
- Add the cotton ball “smoke”. Let dry.
Song!
we’re going to the moon,
hurry and get ready
we’re going to blast off soon,
put on your helmet
and buckle up real tight,
cause here comes the countdown
so count with all your might!
10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1,
Blast off!!
Books!
“The Way Back Home “ by Oliver Jeffers is a moving story about a boy , a martian and the moon they were both stuck on. Together they figure out a way to get back home even though they are so sad to say goodbye to each other. I love this author, I love his illustrations as well, they are so unique and the emotion he manages to convey is amazing. There is an illustration of the boy and martian standing awkwardly before they have to say goodbye and it embodies the emotion. Grab anything written by this author and you will be happy!
“Space Boy” by Leo Landry is a sweet book about a little boy who needs to get away from everything at home so he climbs in his rocket and blasts off. I think we can all relate to this story, having to escape from the annoying things in our life for some alone time, if only we all had rockets the moon would be a busy getaway. The book started off really simply , then a few pages in the middle had much more text which was hard for my toddler, who’s interest was lost. I rounded him back up , skipped a few lines and we finished and enjoyed the book.
