Sun Art
Supplies needed: yellow construction paper, yellow crepe paper (cut into 1 X 2 rectangles), glue and scissors.
Give each child a yellow construction paper circle (about the size of a small paper plate). Set out the crepe paper. Let the children glue the rectangle on the outside of the circle. When the glue is dried, have the children cut slits into the crepe paper representing rays from the sun.

Stars
Supplies needed: White paper (draw a star on this white paper with the crayon), white crayon, thin black tempera paint.
Give each child a paintbrush a starred paper. Let them brush the tempera paint wash over the paper and they will get a surprise

Comet Art
Supplies needed: foam balls (one for each child), pencils, newspaper, wide paint brushes, glitter, tinsel, art glue, and shallow bowls.
Pour the glue into the shallow bowls. Give each child a plastic foam ball and pencil. Demonstrate how to push the point of the pencil into the foam ball. Have them paint their foam ball with the glue. Now show them how to roll the glue-coated balls in the glitter. Shake the extra off onto the newspaper. To make to comet's tail, dab some glue onto the side of the ball and help the children attach some tinsel.

Moon Shapes/Sizes Pattern - here are a few ideas; Make bead necklaces following a drawn pattern by the teacher - or get them to make up their own first! Use squared graph paper to make/copy a pattern! Use all kinds of junk (bottle tops, old toy car wheels, interesting bits of plastic, corks,etc) to dip in paint and make some pattern wrapping paper - can do both color and shape here!

Globes
Put paper mache over balloons. Let it dry (this will take a day or two) Have the children paint them green and blue.

Earth Pictures
Have children glue white circles to another paper (background is your choice of color) Then have them paint the circle blue and green.

Mobiles
Have children color and cut out stars, suns and moons (crescent shape moons) Tie the shapes to a hanger (or stick)

Moons
Cut paper plates into crescent shapes. Have children paint them yellow. Then use a small round cylinder (like a cap off of glue sticks) and let the children dip the cylinder in brown paint and dab on the yellow moons, to create craters

Space Rockets
Start with a white dome shape paper (long and narrow) Have children glue red and blue pieces - 1 square, with two triangular shapes on either side (near the bottom of the dome) Then give them red and blue strips to attach to the bottom (hanging down) of the dome shape.

Paper Plate Suns
Have children cut triangles out, around the edge of the paper plate. (this should leave points all around the plate) Have them finger paint with a little red and some yellow, to cover the suns.

Planet
Use a large piece of paper. Chose the planet you want to make and use the appropriate color paints. EX: earth = blue and green, Pluto = purple, Venus = yellow and brown, Neptune = blues, Uranus = greens, Mars = reds. When the paper is good and wet with paint, roll the edges under, to puff up the center. Mold it into a round shape. Let dry. Turn it over, while drying so that the flat bottom side can dry out too.

STARLIGHT MOBILE
Use cookie cutter shapes for moon crescents & stars (or draw your own) to trace a moon crescent & three stars. Trace around each shape twice onto aluminum foil and cut out the traced figures. Glue the foil crescents to each side of the cardboard moon. Glue tinsel to each of the cardboard stars. Glue the foil stars to each side of the cardboard stars. Tape a dark-colored thread from each star to the moon. Glue a long piece of thread along the inside curve of the moon. When the glue dries, hang the mobile in your window.

MOON CRATERS
Use the bubble wrap that comes in packages and covered it with plaster of paris. Let dry and peel off. Then paint.

ROBOTS
Build Robots from various boxes and tubes. After they are dry, paint them with gold paint (or silver). You could do this as a group or individual project

STAR CARDS
Painted glue on index cards and scattered celestial glitter and confetti.

ROCKETS
Make a cone shape from construction paper and tape to make a rocket ship. Paint it silver, add glue and glitter stuff with colorful shredded paper with some strips dangling out the bottom. Run your rocket ship with you through the sprinkler and imagine you're traveling through an ice crystal shower on the moons of Jupiter, cool spots of the universe!

MY PLANET
Put out the paint colors needed and supply them with plenty of brushes. More than likely, someone will be unhappy with the outcome of his planet. Remind the children that there are many planets yet to be discovered and theirs can be one of those. Undiscovered planets can look however we want them to look..

Moon Craters
Give of the children a sturdy foam paper plate to work with. Glue on dried beans & other assorted things to provide texture for the moon surface. When it dries cover with aluminum foil & tuck the edges over so it doesn't come unwrapped. Then press down gently. This will reveal craters and fissures, etc. on the moon's surface. Purchase some toothpick flags to stick on the moons surface.

Robots
Cover one medium sized box with foil for each robot (milk cartons, cereal boxes, etc.). Set out buttons, pipe cleaners, different shaped stickers/labels, egg carton sections, empty spools, bottle caps, etc. Have the children glue or tape these items to the robot bodies to represent legs, arms, controls and instruments.

Satellite Sculptures
Provide plastic foam balls or square chunks cut from plastic foam packing material. Set out colored toothpicks, toothpicks with colorful cellophane at the top, coffee stirrers, thin short plastic straws, pipe cleaners, packing peanuts, small fun foam shapes. have the children construct the satellites by attaching the materials to their various picks and poking them into the foam ball bases. When finished attach pieces of string to a pipe cleaner loop and secure to the satellite for hanging.

Astronaut Helmets
Cut a viewing space toward the bottom middle of the unprinted side of a brown grocery bag. Turn the top of the bag down all around for support/durability. Give the children a variety of star and space theme stickers to decorate their helmets with. Geometric stickers can look like buttons and control switches. When they are finished decorating attach a length of yarn to a spool and glue to a plastic cup near the bottom front areas of the helmet for radio transmissions. as an option you can tape panels of blue cellophane over the viewing space for sky gazing.

Rocketships
Materials: Toilet tissue tubes, Aluminum foil, 1/2 circle taped or stapled into cone shape, Glue, Brushes, Crepe paper strips (red), Tape.
Procedure: 1. Keep circle halves cut and ready to use. (A coffee can lid makes the perfect size nozzle if cut in half.)
2. give each child a toilet tissue roll and a sheet of aluminum foil to wrap around the roll. Staple together the half circle to make a cone shape.
3. Child should glue the cone onto the roll. 4. Now tape on crepe paper 'flames' from the bottom of the roll.

Space Helmets
Materials: Medium sized paper grocery bag, tape, crayons or markers, glue and scissors.
Cut off the top of the bag, so when the bag is on your head it will just cover your ears. Cut down part way on one end to form a bill on your forehead. Reinforce it with tape. Draw, color and cut out emblems to glue on the sides of the space helmet. Ideas would be American Flag, space ship, and the letters U S A. or cut a square face hole out of one side of a paper bag. Let the children decorate the bags with crayons or markers to make space helmets.

Moon Craters
Use the bubble wrap that comes in packages and covered it with plaster of paris. Let dry and peel off. Wouldn't this look like moon craters or such? Then they let the children paint it.

Moon Craters
Give of the children a sturdy foam paper plate to work with. Glue on dried beans & other assorted things to provide texture for the moon surface. When it dries cover with aluminum foil & tuck the edges over so it doesn't come unwrapped. Then press down gently. This will reveal craters and fissures, etc. on the moon's surface. Purchase some toothpick flags to stick on the moons surface.

Shape Robots
Cut various shapes out of colored paper. Give each child a piece of construction paper to glue their shapes on to make a robot of some sort. Allow them to use markers to finish off their robots.

Styrofoam Robots Set
out Styrofoam packing pieces and toothpicks and paint. Let the children stick the Styrofoam pieces Rockets Collect cardboard toilet tissue holders and 3 oz. paper cups. The children can glue or tape the cup onto the top of the tissue holder to create a rocket. Let the children paint it, or draw on it with felt tip markers. They may add a door, windows, and ladders

Stuffed Moons
Using newsprint cut two patterns out (Fairly Large) stuffed with newspaper and then painted them. Then hang them around the room.

Glowing Stars
Have the children cut different sized star shapes out of the white poster board. Use glow in the dark crayons to color both sides of the stars. Use a pin to make small holes in the stars and thread a piece of clear fishing line through the hole to make a hanger for the stars. Hang stars from the ceiling with the rest of the stars.

Outer Space Paintings
Draw a moon, planets and stars on large pieces of white paper with a white crayon for each child ahead of time. Have the children paint the paper with a thin layer of blue or black thinned tempera paint. The children will enjoy the outer space surprises

Space Creations
Give children a large piece of white paper. Demonstrate to the children that if you trace the shape of a scissors, it will make a rocket ship. Encourage the children to trace the scissors for a rocket and use bottle caps and circular jar lids for planets and moons. Have paints available for the children to paint their very own space creation

PLANET MOBILE
Needed: Papier-mâché Balloons (adult use only) Twist- ems Tempera paint Cardboard String Dowel or yardstick
Does your child have a basic understanding of the solar system? If so, he or she will enjoy having a planet mobile in his or her bedroom. To make the mobile you'll need to create a series of papier-mâché spheres. The trick is to create the spheres in the right proportions. This is easily done by using balloons as forms for the larger planets; for the rest, it's a matter of forming spheres of the right size by hand. (Do not let young children play with balloons.) Your mobile should use the following dimensions (in inches): Mercury (3/8 of an inch); Venus (15/16); Earth (1); Mars (5/8); Jupiter (11); Saturn (10); Uranus (4); Neptune (4); Pluto (1/4). (This is also the order of the planets, from the closest to the sun outwards.) Be sure to insert a hook made out of a twist-em or pipe cleaner to each sphere. When the paper is completely dry, paint the planets. You can make snug cardboard rings for Saturn. Attach strings to the pipe cleaner or twist-em loop, then tie the planets to a dowel or yardstick (or affix to hooks on the ceiling). The whole mobile is now ready for hanging or night viewing

MOONSCAPES
Let the children glue a variety of sizes of beans on squares of cardboard. When the glue has dried, have them lay pieces of aluminum foil on top of their cardboard square and fold the edges of the foil around the backs of their squares. Then have them gently press the foil down around the beans to create textured "moonscapes."

Bulletin Board

Discover the Planets Wall Mural
(This will take a few days to complete)
Supplies needed: Dark blue or black bulletin board paper, different colored construction paper, star stickers and large circles for the children to trace.
Have the children help stretch dark blue or black paper on one wall.
Have one child make a sun from yellow construction paper. Explain that the sun is a star. Tell the children that the next most important part of the solar system is the nine planets, which move around the sun. Our planet, earth is one of those planets.
Have the children make all nine planets from construction paper and post them to the mural. Continue with asking what the brightest object is in the night sky. The Moon!
Have a child make a moon. place it on the mural. Explain how the solar system is part of a galaxy. Our galaxy is called the Milky Way. Have all the children place "stars" in the Milky Way.

Recipes & Cooking

Crescent Sandwiches
Make moon sandwiches using croissants (moon shapes).

Solar Snacks
Objective: The child will gain practice in fine motor skills by cutting, stringing and washing fruits and veggies.
Materials: Fruits & Veggies (grapes, cranberries, mushrooms, apricots, carrots, plumbs, pears, ECT) String, Clothes hangers, Safe plastic yarn needles
Set up: Place fruits, veggies, strings and plastic needles at the table.
Procedure: Encourage the children to string the different fruits and veggies. Attach strings to the coat hangers and hang them in a clean dry area that receives a lot of sun. Allow them to dry undisturbed. Taste your dried fruits and veggies. Compare the taste to fresh. Clean up: Throw away excess materials

ASTRONAUT ROLL-UPS
4 McIntosh Apples, 4 navel oranges, 2 Tb. butter
Peel, core and slice apples. Peel and seed oranges. Puree fruit in a blender or food processor. Lightly butter 15" X 10" X 1" pan. Bake at 200 degrees for 3 hours, with the door slightly ajar. Remove when dry, cut into 12 pieces. Place pieces on waxed paper and roll them up! I also put juice in ziploc baggies with a straw in it and we drank it out of the bag. Before we did this, we had talked about why you need different food in space than on land.

Dehydrated Food Snacks
Peel bananas, slice apples, oranges, or other fruit or vegetables. Put into dehydrator for the day or overnight depending on the fruit. You may use ziplock bags or shrink wrap from a meat deli. This is a great science activity as well as fun for the children to pretend they are astronauts.

ASTRONAUT SHAKES
Materials: 3 8 oz. cartons of plain yogurt 3 very ripe bananas 1 1/2 cups of cold apple juice 1 1/2 cups of cold milk
Process: Combine the yogurt and bananas in a blender and mix until smooth. Pour the mixture into a large pitcher and stir in the juice and milk. Enjoy.

Cheese Robots
At snack time cut cheese into different sized chunks. Then provide the children with pretzel sticks and let them put the chunks together to create "cheese robots." **make astronaut juice with the children by placing 2 orange quarters in a ziploc bag, then seal it... after all the juice is squished out (sounds awful, doesn't it?), open just a corner of the zipper, stick in a straw, and drink

Colored Space Star Cookies
3 Cups All-purpose flour
1 Teaspoon Baking powder
1/4 Teaspoon Salt
1 Cup Sugar
1 Cup (2 sticks) Margarine or butter, softened
2 Large eggs
1 or 2 Teaspoons Vanilla extract
Hard candy such as sour balls or Life Savers¨ (10 to 12 ounces) in these assorted star colors--red, yellow, blue, and white. Fishing line (optional).
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Into a large bowl measure flour, baking powder, and salt. In another large bowl, with mixer at medium speed, beat sugar, and margarine or butter until creamy. Reduce mixer speed to low. Add eggs, one at a time, and vanilla. Beat mixture until blended. Beat in flour mixture just until blended. Divide dough into four equal pieces. Wrap each piece with plastic wrap and refrigerate 30 minutes (dough will be soft).
While dough is chilling, group candies by color and place in separate heavy-duty self-sealing plastic bags. Place one bag on towel- covered work surface. With a meat mallet or rolling pin, lightly crush candy into small pieces, being careful not to crush until fine and powdery. Repeat with remaining candy.
When dough is chilled, place one piece of dough on a well-floured surface. With a floured rolling pin, roll dough 1/4 inch thick. Use floured cookie cutters to cut dough or, if using a cookie pattern, trim around the outside edge with a knife (let the grown-up do this) to form cookies from the dough. Cut as many as possible. Save the dough trimmings, form into a ball, then roll flat again to cut more cookies
. If you want to hang the cookies as decorations, cut a small round hole at the top of each cookie (or the top of one of the star point). A drinking straw makes a good hole cutter.
Line a baking sheet with foil. Use a pancake turner to lift cookies from floured surface, placing each on foil. With mini-cookie cutters, cutters, or knife, cut one or more small shapes from each cookie. Reserve cut out pieces for re-rolling.
Place some crushed candy in cut-outs of each cookie. Bake 10 to 12 minutes, until lightly browned.
Remove from oven and cool cookies completely on baking sheet. If desired, cut lengths of fishing line and loop through small hole at the top of cookie. Hang cookie as decoration.
If you do not have a star cookie cutter, here are a "star" shaped one and a more realistic "sun" shaped one you can print and cut out to use as patterns.

Shuttle Mix
Have packages of dried fruit (apples, peaches, bananas, pineapple, etc.) I also put juice in ziploc baggies with a straw in it and we drank it out of the bag. Before we did this, we had talked about why you need different food in space than on land.

Space Orange Juice
Into a small ziplock bag -- measure out orange drink crystals. Children can measure out water and pour it into the bag. Seal bag and mix well. Poke a small hole near the top and insert a straw for drinking

Edible Stars
Bread, star-shaped cookie cutters, strawberry jam, orange marmalade, grape jelly Have the children cut the bread into star shapes. You can toast the bread first. Have the children spread jam on their starts. They can choose strawberry jam for a cool star, orange marmalade for an average star, or grape jelly for the hottest star.

Non-Edible Recipes

Galactic Mobiles
2 1/2 c. Boiling water
2 c. salt
4 c. flour
Add salt to water, then stir into flour. Have the children knead the dough until it is a good consistency for shaping. Let them roll the dough out and use cookie cutters to cut out star and circle shapes. Each child should have a couple of stars and a couple of circles. Don't forget to put a hole at the top of each shape for hanging. Bake shapes in the oven at 250 degrees for 2 -3 hours, checking frequently after 2 two hours. Paint them another day.

Sun and Moon Dough
Art Materials: Flour, salt, oil, cream of tartar, water, yellow and blue food coloring, mixing bowl, teaspoons, tablespoons, saucepan, stove.
Activity: Make play dough by combining the following items in a mixing bowl: 2 cups of flour, 1 cup of salt, 2 tablespoons oil, 4 teaspoons cream of tartar, 2 cups water. Divide this mixture into two bowls. Add four drops of yellow food coloring for the sun mixture and four drops of blue food coloring for the moon mixture. The consistency should be runny, so put the mixture in a saucepan and cook it on a stove or hot plate until it forms a ball. When it's cool, have the children make a large sun and a large moon. They can make moon craters with thumb imprints. Then let the play dough harden.

Moon Mud
In the bottom of a dishpan pour in equal parts of cornstarch and water. Add food coloring, if desired. Mix the cornstarch and water together to make moon mud

Songs & Finger Plays

Nine Little Planets
(Tune: "Ten Little Indians")
One little, two little, three little planets,
Four little, five little, six little planets,
Seven little, eight little, nine little planets,
And our great big sun.

FOUR LITTLE STARS
Four little stars, Winking at me.
One shot off, Then there were three!
Three little stars, With nothing to do.
One shot off, Then there were two!
Two little stars, Afraid of the sun.
One shot off, Then there were one!
One little star, Alone is no fun.
It shot off, Then there were none!

CLIMB ABOARD THE SPACESHIP
(Tune: Itsy Bitsy Spider)
Climb aboard the spaceship,
We're going to the moon.
Hurry and get ready,
We're going to blast off soon.
Put on your helmets,
And buckle up real tight.
Here comes the countdown,
Let's count with all our might.
10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1
BLAST OFF!

SPACE ACTION SONG
(Tune :London Bridge)
The planets spin around the sun,
Around the sun,
Around the sun. The planets spin around the sun,
We live on earth!

The sun is in the middle,
In the middle,
In the middle.
The sun is in the middle, And it keeps us warm!

The stars are twinkling far away,
Far away, far away.
The stars are twinkling far away,
Now lets make a wish!

I'M A LITTLE ROBOT
(Tune: I'm a Little Teapot)
I'm a little robot, watch me walk,
Push my button, now I can talk.
When I get all oiled up I can work.
Even if I have to jerk.

I'm a little robot, watch me go,
Sometimes fast, sometimes slow,
When I get all worn out you can see,
All I need is a new battery

SPACE ACTION SONG
(Tune:London Bridge)
The planets spin around the sun,
Around the sun, Around the sun.
The planets spin around the sun,
We live on earth!

The sun is found in the middle,
In the middle, In the middle.
The sun is found in the middle,
It keeps us warm!

The stars are twinkling far away,
Far away, far away.
The stars are twinkling far away,
Now make a wish

Planets
(Tune: Ants Go Marching)
The Planets revolve around the sun...hurrah, hurrah
The Planets revolve around the sun...hurrah, hurrah
The Planets revolve around the sun,
They spin on their axis everyone
And they all go spinning...around and around

They go Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars...hurrah, hurrah
Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars...hurrah, hurrah
Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars all whirling and twirling among the stars
And they all go spinning, around, and around

They go Jupiter and Saturn are next in line...hurrah, hurrah
Jupiter and Saturn are next in line...hurrah, hurrah
Uranus, Neptune and Pluto makes nine
And they all go spinning around, and around they go Boom, boom, BOOM!

Astronaut Song
(If You're Happy and You Know It)
Outer space is where I really like to go,
I ride inside a spaceship, don't you know?
I like to travel near the stars,
Wave to Jupiter and Mars.
Outer space is where I really like to go.

Sing a Song of the Solar System
(Tune: This Old Man)
*Chorus:
With a round, go around,
Planets 'round the sun,
Sing about them everyone.

Mercury, number one.
It is closest to the sun!
<*chorus>
Venus bright, number two, morning and evening star we view.
(* chorus)
Planet Earth, number three. We live on it, you and me.
(*chorus)
Planet Mars, number four. Named for a Roman god of war.
(*chorus)
Number five, Jupiter. Colored rings around it stir.
(*chorus)
Number six, big Saturn. Many rings around it turn.
(*chorus)
Number seven, Uranus. It looks blue and green to us.
(*chorus)
Number eight, stormy Neptune. Triton is its frozen moon.
(*chorus)
Number nine, tiny Pluto. Farthest from the sun you know.
(*chorus)

We're Flying to the Moon
(Tune: The Farmer in the Dell)
We're flying to the moon
We're flying to the moon.
Blast off, away we go
We're flying to the moon.
Other verses:
We're going in a spacecraft
We're walking out in space
We're landing on the moon
We're collecting moon rocks
We're flying back to Earth
We're landing on the Earth

Tuning Up For Outer Space
(Tune: "The Farmer in the Dell")
The sun is in the sky.
The sun is in the sky.
Hot and bright, it gives us light.
The sun is in the sky.

The moon is in the sky.
The Moon is in the sky.
Around and 'round the earth it goes.
The moon is in the sky.

The stars are in the sky.
The stars are in the sky.
Twinkle, bright, they shine at night.
The stars are in the sky.

I'M A LITTLE ROCKET
(Tune: I'm a Little Teapot)
I'm a little rocket
Pointing at the moon.
Now I'm getting fueled up
We'll be ready soon.
When it's time to board me
Then I'll say:
Blast off! Zoom!
We're on our way!

Stars
(Tune: "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star")
Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
I know what you really are:
Giant ball of glowing gas,
One of billions in a mass!
Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
Oh, how big you really are!

Twinkle, twinkle, giant star,
Larger than the Earth by far!
Since your distance is a lot,
You look like a tiny dot.
Twinkle, twinkle, giant star,
Very bright, yet very far!

Stars are twinkling, every one,
Some are bigger than the sun!
Just a twinkle in the sky,
Just because you're oh, so high!
Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
Oh, how big you really are!

The Family of the Sun
(Tune: "The Farmer in the Dell.")
The family of the Sun,
The family of the Sun,
Here are nine planets in
The family of the Sun.
Mercury is hot
And Mercury is small. Mercury has no atmosphere.
It's just a rocky ball.
The family of the Sun,
The family of the Sun,
Here's another planet in The family of the Sun.
Venus has thick clouds
That hide what is below
The air is foul, the ground is hot,
It rotates very "slow."
(Repeat Refrain)
We love the Earth, our home,
Its oceans and its trees.
We eat its food, we breathe its air,
So no pollution, please.
(Repeat Refrain)
Mars is very red.
It's also dry and cold
Someday you might visit Mars If you are really bold.
(Repeat Refrain)
Great Jupiter is big.
We've studied it a lot.
We found that it has 16 moons
And a big red spot.
(Repeat Refrain)
Saturn has great rings.
We wondered what they were.
Now we know they're icy rocks
Which we saw as a blur.
The family of the Sun,
The family of the Sun,
Here are two more planets in
The family of the Sun.
Uranus and Neptune We don't know much about
Maybe you will study them
And then we'll all find out.
(Repeat Refrain)
Pluto's last in line.
It's farthest from the Sun.
* It's small and cold and icy too.
To land there won't be fun.
The family of the Sun,
The family of the Sun,
There are nine planets and Now our journey's done.

Games/Math/Science

Before doing this project with the children make clay models to represent the size of each planet below you will find approximate sizes for your models.
Mark the strips of construction paper with each planets name.
Place the models (planets) on a table in the order they are from the sun with the name displayed below.
Tell the children that these are models of the planets and to compare sizes, you will describe each planet and have them take turns placing the correct piece of fruit above it.

Now You See It Now You Don't
Supplies needed: softball, basketball, flashlight.
Ask the children what makes a shadow (great time to review what you did for groundhogs day).
Turn on the flashlight and have the children make shadows on the wall.
Point out that they had to stand between the light and the wall in order to make a shadow. Explain the same things happen with the moon and earth. It's called an eclipse.
Tell the class that the softball will represent the moon, the basket ball is the earth and the flashlight is the sun. Ask one child to hold the softball over their head and another to shine the flashlight on it. Ask another child to hold the basketball and to sit on the floor between the sun and the moon. Ask the "earth" to describe how the moon looks from where she is sitting. It will look full. Ask the "earth" to stand up so that it casts a shadow on the "moon". Explain that this is a lunar eclipse.
An eclipse occurs when the sun, moon and earth line up in a straight line. Tell the children that we don't have a lunar eclipse each month because the orbit of the moon around the earth is tilted, so it always moves over different parts of the earth.

Blast Off Game
Cut a large rocket shape and numerals out of felt. Place the numerals on the rocket shape from the bottom starting with number 1.
Let the children take turn rolling dice until one of the rolls a six. Then remove that number from the rocket. Continue passing the dice until someone rolls a five and that child will take the number 5 off, continue the game until all numbers have been removed and when the last child rolls a 1 everyone says "Blast Off"!

Sorting -
Save the caps from the 1 litter Wal-Mart brand of carbonated flavored water. Each flavor has a different colored cap. These make great counters and are excellent for sorting

Matching -
Use the plastic trays from the boxed kids lunches (such as Lunchables) to help the children classify, count, and to help with color recognition. You will need round stickers to label the small compartments, some have two and some have three, with either a number (for example put a 3 in one, a four in another, and a five in the last one). You will also need small objects to count with, such as small decorative erasers or buttons. You can use stickers that symbolize big and little. You could use the color word (for children that are ready for it) and different colored buttons. There are many possibilities. I brought back 30 trays from one of my son's field trips just by asking for the kids to donate them. Parents are also very willing

Make a large circle out of white oak tag. Divide the circle into quarters and in each quarter place a different colored shape. For example, one quarter has a yellow triangle, one quarter has a blue square, one quarter a red circle, and another quarter a green rectangle. Then take wooden clip clothespins and draw a corresponding color/shape on each one. Some have red circles, green rectangles, blue squares, and yellow triangles. Place the clothespins in a box and have the children reach into to grab a shape by random. Laminate the white oak tag circle and then have the children place the clothespin on the matching shape on the white quartered circle. It is a great game to play individually, or with a group at the table.

Ordering - planets smallest to largest and vice versa

Size sequencing: Cut out simple star shapes in different sizes. Have children arrange them from smallest to largest. Have them sort by size using different categories or have them pattern by size

Star Boards
On a piece of tag board space the numbers one through ten about two inches apart. Then cut thirty stars out of tag board and laminate. Have the children match the correct number of stars to the number board

BALLOON ROCKETS
Decorate a lunch size bag with a picture of a rocket or shuttle and show the children the principle of flight by blowing up a balloon, inserting it into the bag, and then turning it loose and having the bag "take-off' into space.
**Although this is a difficult concept for young children, you may find that they will absorb quite a bit from this theme. Discuss the names of the planets, and that we live on earth. Talk about the moon and the fact that there have been men walking on the moon. Men have flown to the moon in spaceships.

MOON ROCKS
Go on a (pretend) space shuttle to the moon to collect moon rocks(you hide). The kids can then paint them.

SPACE CRAFT SIMULATOR
Every successful mission must be simulated in a fake craft. Have the children sit very close to each other inside a rope circle. Lead them through a take off, a bumpy ride and a landing. You will have to be animated to pull this off.

METEOR FIGHT
Have a good, old fashioned water balloon fight. This should be optional. Some children will not enjoy having meteors hurled at them.

WALKING IN SPACE
The concept of weightlessness and the loss of gravity is very difficult for a preschooler to understand. A fun way to help them "see" this concept is to give each of the children a blown-up balloon. Have the children draw a picture of an astronaut of the balloon. Now let the children enjoy batting balloons. Their weightless space people are floating in space.

Dramatic Play

Leader: Let's go on a spaceship
Group : Let's go on a spaceship
Leader: Pack up your bags
Group : Pack up your bags
Leader: Let's climb on board
Group : Let's climb on board
Leader: Be sure to close the hatch
Group : Be sure to close the hatch
Leader: Strap yourself in
Group : Strap yourself in
Leader: Let's count down 10-9-8
Group : Let's count down 10-9-8
Leader: 7-6-5- 4
Group : 7-6-5-4
Leader: 3-2-1-Blast Off
Group : 3-2-1-Blast Off
Leader: Look, I see a planet
Group : Look, I see a planet
Leader: Can't go over it
Group : Can't go over it
Leader: Can't go under it
Group : Can't go under it
Leader: Let's land on it
Group : Let's land on it
This chant can go on with exploring the planet surface, meeting inhabitants, encountering space monsters, or whatever direction your fancy takes you and your group.

MOON WALKING
Place pillows all over the floor. Then cover the pillows and floor with a sheet. Attach extra large sized thick sponges to the children's feet with rubber bands for space shoes. Let the children walk over the area. Play space walk music for a real dramatic effect.

ASTRONAUT WALK
Explain lack of gravity and its relationship to movement. Challenge the children to walk, run, skip, hop, gallop, leap, and crawl through space.

STAR MOVING GAME
Fly to one star, land, and discover that the only way to move on that star is to do jumping jacks. Then step back into your space ship and land on the "crawling" star...the "hopping" star etc. The ideas are endless!

Circle time

Earth and Sun Movement
Ask a child to be "earth" and stand with their back turned to the class, while another child is the "sun" and shines a flashlight on the "earth's" back. Have earth turn slowly left until they see the "sun" and continue to turn until the "sun" is no longer visible. Explain to the children that "earth" could only see the "sun" when "earth" faced it.
-Invite the children to stand and turn slowly in place counterclockwise. Explain that the sun seems to move across the sky, but it is really the earth that "rotates". One complete spin makes one day or 24 hours.

Rotation
Supplies needed: four or five balls of clay, pencil, toothpick and flashlight.
Divide the class into four or five groups. Give each group a ball of clay. Demonstrate how to stick a pencil through the ball to make an axis. Pretend the ball of clay is the earth and show them where to stick the tooth pick to mark their location. Now spin the ball of clay on its axis.

Day and Night
Supplies needed: flashlights, clay planet (from above).
Group the children with a partner. Have one child hold the earth and turn counterclockwise and the other the "sun" to see how the toothpicks moves from day to night, then back to day. Point out that all the planet rotate and there is night and day on all the planets.

Run Around the Sun

Supplies needed: Yellow construction paper, oak tag, chalk, hole punch, string or yarn.
In advance, cut out eighteen 4 X 9 oak tag strips, labeling two strips for each planet. Punch holes in each side of the strips and attach the matching strip at each end making a "sandwich" sign for the children to wear.
Review what you have done so far. Ask questions like, how many planets are there. What shapes are they? How do they move? Then explain that the earth and other planets move around the sun counterclockwise in paths called orbits.

Next play the game.

Take the children to an open area either indoors or out. Draw numbers 1 through 9 with chalk on the floor or sidewalk. Tell the children that each number marks the position of the planets. Don't forget to mark an "S" for where the sun would be. Assign children to stand and hold their planet sign and one for the sun. Play "Line up the Planets". Instruct each child using there planet name to walk around the sun as the class sings the following song:

(Tune: Here We Go Around the Mulberry Bush")

Mercury goes around the sun,
Around the sun, around the sun.
Like the planets, everyone.
Each one in its orbit.

(Continue with all nine planets)

As you continue the song, ask the children which planet would be next.
Variation: Substitute words like walk, run, jump, hop, skip for the word "goes" in the song.

Flannel Board Numbers-
Cut from felt: Large blue circle, 10 rocket ships: numbered 1-10, Large yellow circle

Pretend the felt board is outer space. Place the moon on the top part and place the 10 rocket ships around the board. Ask a child to come to the board and find rocket ship number 1, take it off the board, fly it around the room and land it back on the moon. Next have a child find rocket ship number 2 and so on. When all the rockets are on the moon place the Earth on the board. "Blast" the rockets off the moon and have them fly (or throw them) to different children. When all the rockets are with children call out for rocket number 1 to "fly back to earth". Continue until all the rockets have landed safely at home!

Planet Roll Call
Nine planets around the sun,
Listen as I call each one:
Mercury? Here!
Number one,
Closest planet to the sun.
Venus? Here!
Number two,
Shining bright, just like new!
Earth? Here!
Number three,
Earth is home to you and me.
Mars? Here!
Number four,
Red and ready to explore!
Jupiter? Here!
Number five,
Largest planet, that's no jive!
Saturn? Here!
Number six,
With rings of dust and ice that mix.
Uranus? Here!
Number seven,
A planet tilted high in heaven.
Neptune? Here!
Number eight,
With one dark spot whose size is great.
Pluto? Here!
Number nine,
The smallest and the last in line!

Sun, Sun Moon
A version of Duck Duck Goose
Seat the children in a large circle which represents the sun. Pick a child to be the earth. He walks around the outside of the circle (sun) gently touching each child on the head saying “sun, sun ,sun.......”When he decides who he wants to be the moon, he touches that person and says “MOON”. The moon chases the Earth around the circle (sun), until earth reaches his place in the circle. The moon continues as the new Earth.

Miscellaneous

SPACE PEOPLE Add little space people (you can find these at department stores) to the block area.

BLOCK AREA Make space ships to take us to the planets- wit legos blocks, pop beads and peoples

Create a unique sensory experience for your planet's landscape. Use pillows, pieces of foam, plastic bubble wrap, crumpled up newspaper, etc. to spread out on the floor. Cover the area with a large sheet and walk over your landscape barefoot, with shoes on, or you might try it with space shoes(tie large thick sponges to children's shoes or bare feet). Lots of fun!

Lost in Space Mazes
: Draw simple mazes on tag board, the size and difficulty will depend on your class. Decorate the maze boards with space themed stickers and stars. Laminate the mazes. Provide crayons and tissue (for cleaning). Encourage the children to find their way thru the mazes using their finger first. When they think they have solved it, trace the path with their crayon.

Write names of children on index cards with fabric paint. Put them in the writing area with crayons without the paper around them. The children can place a piece of typing paper or lightweight paper over top and rub away to see their name magically appear!

If you have an eager bunch, ask them to write a story to go with the constellation that they make up. (explain the stories that go behind real constellations).

BOOKS

GOODNIGHT MOON - Read story, flannel board re-telling and then set up Goodnight Moon Room with all the objects set up like the book. Have children bring flashlights to school and as you re-tell the story have them shine flashlights on the objects.

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