It has been awhile since I last posted! I was blogging over at Mom.me for awhile, and that occupied my blogging time. If you are interested in checking out some of my guest posts, you can find them here:
Miss Jeanine on Mom.me!
But, now that I am done with that gig I can get back to sharing some of the fun things that have been going on over at my preschool! Like this awesome space & planet activity. My kiddos LOVE learning about Space. I tend to save it for our last theme of the school year and we spend two full weeks exploring. Here is a really fun idea that the preschooler in your life will enjoy!
Miss Jeanine on Mom.me!
But, now that I am done with that gig I can get back to sharing some of the fun things that have been going on over at my preschool! Like this awesome space & planet activity. My kiddos LOVE learning about Space. I tend to save it for our last theme of the school year and we spend two full weeks exploring. Here is a really fun idea that the preschooler in your life will enjoy!
DIY Planet Beads
Here is a finished set of our Planet Beads, done independently by one of my five year olds. Aren't they spectacular?! You can see Jupiter's red storm, Saturn's stripes, and many other wonderful planet details.
Each day this week (we have a four day week at my preschool) we studied two planets. We read books about the planets, and made a page in our Planet Books! The kids worked on drawing the planet and on writing the planet's name.
Here is an example page one of my kiddos made for Venus!
We also have this wonderful set of blow-up planets. We work on counting and taking turns by pumping a set number of times and then passing the pump to the next friend in the circle to blow them up! By the time we made our two beads for the day the kids knew (really well) what the planets looked like! And they love looking at the planets all week long as they hang in our school.
A little added cuteness for you :)
To Make:
1. Gather Supplies
The most important supply is the beads. I used three sizes of wooden craft beads from Micheals. We used the largest size for Jupiter & Saturn, the medium size for Venus, Earth, Uranus & Neptune, and the smallest size for Mercury and Mars. We used a piece of pipe-cleaner for Saturn's rings. You will also need paints and brushes.
2. Set up a drying rack
I wanted to use stuff I had around my school already. We had a bunch of old play-dough, and some metal garden stakes so I used those to make a drying rack for our wooden beads. The beads fit perfectly on the metal rods. Of course, you can buy really cheap wooden rods at most craft stores, or you could use string.
3. Let the kids paint!
We painted two planets a day, but with a smaller group you could easily study planets for a week and then make all the beads in one day as a bigger activity.
The kids were able to do all their own painting and could put their beads on the drying rack on their own too (great fine motor practice).
All finished! You can use them to make a necklace, a planet order game, or make a permanent rack where kids take them on and off. FUN!
Do you have any fun Space Activities?! Share them below!