Mini Unit - Space

The great thing about putting this unit together is that it was pretty much already put together. (You may recall we spent the month of January focusing on space.) There are some new things, but for the most part I reused many of the same materials and, because I'm lazy (and very pregnant), I'm reusing many of the photos and text from my January post, too. :) Just note that the trays aren't included in the mini unit.

~an overview~

Here's a closer look at what's inside this unit:
Felt Planets (Sensorial/Just For Fun!) Made these myself and I'm proud to say they've held up quite well considering how much they've been loved. :)

Poetry Basket (Language). I made the sun out of felt, the Earth came from the top of a Toob, and the little baggies is filled with star shaped beads.

Worksheets (Language/Math/Art/Science). Many of these worksheets were found in various places around the web - Google Images, Making Learning Fun, abcteach, and Homeschool Creations Astronaut Preschool Pack.

Lacing (Practical Life). I found this image on Google, laminated it and then punched in holes about 1" apart.

Stamping Stars (Practical Life/Art). This is a self-inking star-shaped stamper and a little booklet of scrap paper stapled together. Simple, but fun!

Skip Counting (Math). This counting mat came from here. I made that little blue envelope as well as the ones in a few of the other photos. They're really easy to make and perfect for small cards that would normally slide around on a tray. I made my own version after watching this video.

Life Cycle of a Star (Science). I made these myself! This is very similar to the phases of the moon work in that James will need to order the cycle according to the control chart. As with all of these activities, I keep it light and fun - I am well aware of the fact that James is only FOUR and so there's no need to delve into the cosmological significance of black holes or anything. ;D The important thing to me is the fact that he LOVES doing this kind of stuff!

Phases of the Moon Cards (Science). We use these regularly on our classroom calendar, but I'm putting them all on the shelf along with the control chart.

Build A Rocket (Math/Sensorial). I found this idea on Making Learning Fun, but I modified and recreated it with card stock and added a 6th shape to account for the 6 on the die.

Solar System Flashcards (Science/Language). These cards have really beautiful photos and are full of significant, yet easy to follow facts on the reverse sides. You can buy them through Montessori Services.

Space Magnet Pages (Language). I don't actually use magnets with these, I use flat marbles instead. These came from Making Learning Fun.

Memory/Matching Games (Language/Sensorial/Science). These are three separate games focusing on planets, parts of the Earth, and constellations.

Space Mat (Science). These little things are the UK version of Shrinky Dinks (they sell A LOT of UK brands here). Basically they are drawings cast on to plastic sheets which you then color and heat in the oven. They shrink down and become very sturdy. The solar system mat came with the kit.

Pin Punching (Practical Life). I found these jumbo pins at the dollar store and printed out the constellation cards from here. The added bonus to this activity is that once James has them all punched we'll go into a dark room, shine a flashlight behind them and project the images onto a wall!

Books (Language). My Place in Space by Joan Sweeney; There's No Place Like Space by Dr. Seuss; and On The Moon by Anna Milbourne.

Cards & Counters (Math). I made these cards and used stone pebbles ("moon rocks") as the counters.

Astronaut Figurines (Just For Fun!).

Planets (Science/Sensorial/Just For Fun!). These are made of styrofoam (I think). I found them at the local thrift shop. They aren't the greatest, but James loved using them in our space lessons.

Planet Photos (Science). Not sure who makes these (another thrifty find), but their large size and detail make them perfect for studying.

Solar System Card (Science/Just For Fun!). My wonderful sister in law sent this card to James. It is SO cool! Pop up things have come such a long way since my childhood days!

Three Part Space Cards (Science/Language).

All packed and ready to explore!

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~Thank you for your comments!~

Felt Solar System

I made these after my sweet friend, Ann, sent this link to me. She thought my space loving boy would love a set and she was right!

These were quick and easy to stitch up and were done all by hand (I point that out so that those of you without a sewing machine know you can do it, too!). I also needle-felted some of the details.

James and I had fun designing these together. I pulled out all my felt and scraps and we selected which colors would best represent each planet, using our flashcards as a guide. We talked about why certain planets appear to have spots, strips, and rings.

James really enjoyed playing with these and is especially fond of the sun. He tells anyone with ears that the sun is "4.7 biiiiiillllion years old!"

~Thank you for your comments!~

Space Materials Giveaway

~This giveaway is now closed~

In honor of our theme this month, I put together a little space package to give away to one of you lovely people.

It's nothing extravagant; just a few things to add to your classroom when you do a space unit. I found I had some extras in my collection after planning our shelves this month and I thought why not share the love?

Here's what's in the package:

:: A sheet of planet stickers. There are two of each sticker which I used to create a matching game.

:: A set of constellation cards. These can be used as another matching game. Here's a thrifty story/tip for you: these cards were once a part of a long banner - the kind that decorate the perimeter of a bulletin board. I purchased a pack of 12 banners for super cheap at our local teacher's supply store then I simply cut up two of the banners to make a set - easy peasy!

:: Life Cycle of a Star set - printed in color and laminated. I created this myself and have also made it available to you here as a PDF.

:: A star-shaped cookie cutter to go along with your starry night playdough! (playdough not included)

:: A laminated copy of my space poem.

:: A jumbo pin and sheet of foam paper for a pin pushing activity. You can print out constellation cards from here.

:: An Earth lacing card with string.

:: Number cards (0-10) and a little handmade envelope to keep them in. You'll need to find 55 of something to use as the counters. I used stone pebbles (aka moon rocks), which I have TONS of and would like to have given some away, but they would undoubtedly add to the weight (and shipping cost) of the package!

:: A small baggie of plastic crystals (aka stars). These are much lighter to ship :) and you can use them in a sifting activity, include them in a sensory tub, or any number of other things. In my opinion, they are a bit too tiny to use as counters.

:: A little handmade drawstring pouch to hold your constellation cards.

So that's it. Just a humble offering, but one I hope someone will find useful! If you'd like to enter to win all you have to do is:

1. Leave me a comment in this post.

For extra entries:
2. Like Counting Coconuts on Facebook and leave me a comment letting me know you have/already are.
3. Become a follower of Counting Coconuts and leave a comment letting me know you have/already are.
4. After today come back and leave me one comment per day until the end of the giveaway.

That's a total of 7 changes to win! The giveaway will end on Friday, January 14 at 9pm Atlantic Time. Any comments left after that time will not be counted. Please be sure to leave an email address or enable it in your profile so I can contact you if you win. I will ship anywhere in the world.

Good luck, Everyone!

Life Cycle of a Star PDF

Thanks again for your comments and emails asking for a PDF version of my Life Cycle of a Star lesson. Please use these links...

Click here for the control sheet and here for the cards.

As always, my ideas, printables, and tutorials are for your personal use only. Please do not sell or offer them in a giveaway. If you'd like to share them please link back to my blog. Thank you and enjoy!

~Thank you for your comments!~

Space Lessons

I wanted to share with you all some of the learning fun that took place in our classroom yesterday.

We used some of the materials from our shelves and combined them to create one big interactive lesson. That's the beauty of incorporating a theme throughout each area - each one lends to another (in true Montessori fashion!).

We did a variety of things:
We used our books as a guide and laid the planet cards out in the proper order.

I made up a song to teach the order of the planets and we sang that several times all the while patting each of the planet cards as we sang its name.

We matched the balls to the planet cards and, using our books, talked about the characteristics of each planet. James was SO interested in this - he wasn't content just to know that one side of Mars is freezing cold while the other side is roasting hot; he wanted to know WHY. I'm so going to need to brush up on my space knowledge!

We took turns pretending to be the sun, Earth and moon and we'd circle around one another, simulating the rotation of the Earth and moon. James LOVED this and as he circle around me, holding the Earth, he'd sing, "I'm the Earth, I'm the Earth!". :)

When we talked about the moon we brought out the space figurines from our sensory tub and the "moon rocks" from one of our math activities. James has resolved that he WILL go to the moon someday to play with all the moon rocks and to drive the Lunar Rover. I hope he does!

Here's the song I made up, just in case anyone wants to use it. It's not super creative, but it works:
(To the tune of "Ten Little Indians")
Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars
Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune
These eight planets in our solar system
Travel around the sun.

Short and sweet! And notice I didn't include Pluto (poor, exiled Pluto!). :)

~Thank you for your comments!~

On Our Shelves - January

The theme for this month is outer space and most of these activities are space related. As I mentioned, our whole family loves all things celestial so for us this was an especially fun theme to put together!

Practical Life
Pouring Star-shaped Pasta. This is a bit more challenging than pouring from one container to another because in this case James will need to equally fill four very narrow cups and stop when each is just about full. All of these pouring activities have truly paid off - James can very easily pour his own milk or juice (from a child-size pitcher). Hooray for independence!

Spooning Marbles. The marbles are meant to resemble little planets. :) I should note that my usually anti-spooning boy LOVED spooning with a melon baller during last month's work and I'm hoping he'll enjoy using this little mustard spoon, which the marbles fit into perfectly.

Lacing the Earth. I found this image on Google, laminated it and then punched in holes about 1" apart.

Dressing Basket. This will remain out in our classroom for a long while, I'm sure. James is absolutely loving it!

Sweeping Stars. This is a common Montessori activity. To do this work James will first remove all the items from the tray, then pour the stars (crystals) onto the tray. Next he'll use the crumb brush to sweep the stars into the designated area (the rectangle) and then sweep them onto the little dust pan. From there he'll dump the stars into the leaf shaped dish and then pour them all back into the little pitcher. I used some fun scrapbooking tape to create the rectangle.

Sifting Planets. This is similar to an activity I put out at Halloween (sifting spiders) only in this case the blue rice is meant to represent the darkness of space and the glass beads are the planets. :)

Sensorial

Space Sensory Tub.

Space Playdough.

Geometric Solids.

Baric Tablets. I bought these a looong time ago and I'm afraid I'd forgotten all about them until recently. To learn more about Baric Tablets, read here.

Still on our shelves: The Knobbed and Knobless Cylinders, Sound Boxes and the beloved Pink Tower. :)

Language
Books: My Place in Space by Joan Sweeney; There's No Place Like Space by Dr. Seuss; and On The Moon by Anna Milbourne.

Memory/Matching Games. These are three separate games focusing on planets, parts of the Earth, and constellations.

Tracing Constellations. I found these on KidsSoup.

Space Flashcards. These cards have really beautiful photos and are full of significant, yet easy to follow facts on the reverse sides.

Space Magnet Pages. I don't actually use magnets with these, I use flat marbles instead. These came from Making Learning Fun.

Blue Series Work. We're just about finished with the Blue Series. Soon I'll be introducing the Moveable Alphabet (yay! I'm so excited!).

Dot-to-Dot Constellation Page.

Poetry Basket. That's supposed to be the sun... my lame attempt at needle felting a landscape!

I also printed a little book about space from abcteach.com. Since James is still reading everything he can, I think he'll enjoy being able to read this entire booklet by himself.

Still on our shelves: Sandpaper Letters.

Math
Cards & Counters. I made these cards and used stone pebbles ("moon rocks") as the counters.

Skip Counting. We're moving into the world of skip counting! This counting mat came from here. I made that little blue envelope as well as the ones in a few of the other photos. They're really easy to make and perfect for small cards that would normally slide around on a tray. I made my own version after watching this video.

Build A Rocket. I found this idea on Making Learning Fun, but I modified and recreated it with card stock and added a 6th shape to account for the 6 on the die.

Star Counting. For this work I cut squares of black construction paper and numbered the lower right hand corners (0-10) with a white crayon. James will use the star stickers to match the correct number of stars to the numeral. There are only enough stars (55) to match the squares exactly, so if, in the end, he has too few or too many, he'll know he needs to re-check his work.

Still on our shelves: The Hundreds Board, the Red & Blue Rods, and the Sandpaper Numerals

Science & Culture
Three Part Space Cards. A reader recently asked me how James uses the three part cards. My reply (in case anyone else is wondering) was that at first I only used the labeled cards from these sets, but now that James can read he's able to match the loose labels.

Pin Punching. I have been wanting to put out a pin punching activity for a while now because I think James is going to love it. I found these jumbo pins at the dollar store and printed out the constellation cards from here. The added bonus to this activity is that once James has them all punched we'll go into a dark room, shine a flashlight behind them and project the images onto a wall!

Phases of the Moon Cards. We use these regularly on our classroom calendar, but I'm putting them all on the shelf along with the control chart.

Life Cycle of a Star. I made these myself! This is very similar to the phases of the moon work in that James will need to order the cycle according to the control chart. As with all of these activities, I keep it light and fun - I am well aware of the fact that James is only THREE and so there's no need to delve into the cosmological significance of black holes or anything. ;D The important thing to me is the fact that he LOVES doing this kind of stuff!

Space Mat. These little things are the UK version of Shrinky Dinks (they sell A LOT of UK brands here). Basically they are drawings cast on to plastic sheets which you then color and heat in the oven. They shrink down and become very sturdy. The solar system mat came with the kit.

I saw this really cute idea - Make Your Own Universe - on The Work Plan. IF we have time we'll make one, but as you can see we have a lot to do already!

Still on our shelves: Parts of our North America Continent Bag and our Continent Puzzle.

Art & Music
Compose of the Month: Mozart. I always print out a portrait of our composer and upload the corresponding music onto my iPod, which then plays during schooltime. We're really enjoying our Composer of the Month routine! Throughout December whenever James heard either Swan Lake or The Nutcracker Suite, he'd shout out, "Chikovsky!!". As you can see, I have yet to print out my new Instrument Cards.

Space Songs. I hunted around online and collected a bunch of fun and simple songs about space, which we'll sing at circle time.

Stamping Stars. This is a self-inking star-shaped stamper and a little booklet of scrap paper stapled together. Simple, but fun!

Various Coloring Pages.

Painting Planets. I saw this idea on My Montessori Journey. We'll use watercolors to create some unique planets and then string them together and hang them in the classroom.

We'll be revisiting the solar system artwork we created last year and, if James is interested, we'll create a new one.

Be sure to check out the wonderful Montessori blog, Leptir, for LOTS of space related lessons.

NASA has a great kid's section that's lots of fun, too.

I'm linking this post up to The Preschool Corner and Montessori Monday.

~Thank you for your comments!~