Photo Credit: apod.nasa/apod/

1. Space, Here We Come! Photo Credit: http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ Get ready to blast off with this unit that will have you and your little astronomers learning about the stars and beyond!

2. “Paper Bag Space Helmets” No astronaut is prepared to blast off into space without a helmet. Make these simple helmets with children to ensure they are ready for flight. To prepare, collect a class supply of standard paper grocery bags. Cut six inches from the open end of each bag. Then cut a face opening on one side of each bag. To cut a face opening, begin approximately 2 ½ inches from the closed end of the bag and cut a 5 ½ “ x 6” rectangle, rounding the corners as you cut. Then have each child use markers, crayons, or paints to decorate his helmet. Invite students to suit up and take a voyage into space! http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap110421.html

3. “Paper Bag Space Helmets” No astronaut is prepared to blast off into space without a helmet. Make these simple helmets with children to ensure they are ready for flight. To prepare, collect a class supply of standard paper grocery bags. Cut six inches from the open end of each bag. Then cut a face opening on one side of each bag. To cut a face opening, begin approximately 2 ½ inches from the closed end of the bag and cut a 5 ½“ x 6” rectangle, rounding the corners as you cut. Then have each child use markers, crayons, or paints to decorate his helmet. Invite students to suit up and take a voyage into space! http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap110403.html “Space Snack” Your kids will experience the challenge of eating in space with this creative snack. Prepare two or three batches of instant pudding according to package directions. Then put a small serving of putting in a snack-size resealable plastic bag for each child. Cut a supply of straws in half so that each child will have one half. Give each student a straw and a bag of pudding. Have her open her bag just enough to insert the straw. Then instruct each child to sip her pudding through her straw!

4. http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap110503.html • “Kindergartners on the Moon” • Your children will picture themselves walking on the moon with this clever bulletin board. In advance, photograph each child. Make a class set of the astronaut patterns. Have each student color and cut out an astronaut. Then help each child cut out the face portion. Tape each child’s photo onto the back of the pattern so that her face shows through the opening. Next, have students sponge-paint a large semicircle of bulletin board paper to represent the moon. Attach the moon and astronauts to a bulletin board as shown. Then add the title “Our Class is Out of this World!”

5. http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap110409.html • “Constructing Constellations” • After your kids have had some practice interpreting the stars, it’s time to let their creative minds construct their own configurations! Provide each child with a supply of miniature marshmallows and one or two pieces of uncooked spaghetti. Instruct each child to break her spaghetti into pieces and then use the pieces to connect her marshmallow stars, creating a unique constellation pattern. Next, have her name and illustrate her constellation. Invite each student to share her constellation with the group; then provide some extra for snacking.

6. http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap110406.html • “Student Spaceship” • Your students’ imaginations will soar with this center activity that combines cooperation and lots of fun! Turn your dramatic-play area into a space adventure. In advance, obtain a large appliance box. Cut a doorway on one side of the box and then cut circular windows on the other sides of the box. Have students assist in painting the outside of the spaceship, adding decorative touches such as the U.S. flag. Tape a scrap of laminating film to the inside of the box over each window opening. Top the spaceship with radar, fashioned by covering a Styrofoam fruit tray with aluminum foil. Then hot-glue the radar to the top of the box. • To decorate the inside of the spaceship, draw instrument panels, attach knobs or buttons, and add elements such as an old computer keyboard and a small radio. • Finally, outfit your astronauts with space suits; large white shirts, moon shoes (large sponges attached with rubber bands), gloves, and helmets. You can also make air tanks by inverting two two-liter bottles, taping them together, and adding yarn loops to each side to create a backpack-style apparatus. We’re ready for liftoff!

7. “Astronaut Training” • Do your students have the right stuff? These astronaut-training activities will certainly get them in shape for space travel! Explain to students that in order to become astronauts, candidates must meet educational and physical requirements. Then challenge kids with the following exercises that practice skills such as counting, letter recognition, and skip-counting. • Countdown Exercises • To begin, have students stand. Instruct children to count backward from ten, gradually bending their knees into a squatting position. When it’s time to blast off, have each child jump into the air. Vary the activity by beginning at different numbers appropriate to your students’ skill level. • Moon Walk • Have students walk around the room in very large, exaggerated, slow steps. While walking, instruct them to say the alphabet or count. • Swim • Have your junior astronauts take the swim test. Instruct each child to skip-count to 100 as he walks around the room, moving his arms in a regular swimming stroke. Then have him skip-count backward from 100 doing the backstroke. • Solar System Swat • Have students practice eye-hand coordination with this exercise. Suspend several planets (foam balls) from the ceiling. Vary the position of each ball, but make all of them slightly higher than the students’ arms can reach. In turn, have each child jump and try to swat a planet. • Eye Exam • Have each student cover one eye with her hand and then read flash cards. http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap100702.html

8. http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap110414.html • “Spaceship Shapes” • Students will have a blast with this puzzle, which offers practice in “space-tial” relationships, counting, and numeral writing. In advance, make copies of the spaceship pattern. Laminate them for durability. Make a class set of the recording sheet. Place the spaceship patterns, recording sheets, and a supply of pattern blocks at a center. Challenge students to fill in the spaceship using pattern blocks and following the grey outlines or by creating their own patterns. Instruct students to have the blocks stay within the bold lines and leave no empty spaces. When the pattern is covered, have him record the number of each block he used to make the spaceship. After each child has completed the activity, encourage him to use the pattern blocks to create a spaceship of his own!

9. http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap110407.html • “The Shuttle Game” • Here’s an activity that provides practice in counting and number recognition. Make a game strip for each child. This strip should contain the numbers 1-10. To the right of #10, design a designated “Launch Pad.” Photograph the strip to make a class set. Program ten clean milk jug lids with a different number from 1 to 10’ then place the lids in a bag. Put the bag, strips, a supply of Unifix cubes, and several pencils at a center. Invite a small group of students to visit the center. In turn, each player closes his eyes and draws a lid from the bag. The player circles the corresponding number on his game strip and places a cube on his launch pad. He then returns the lid to the bag. If a player draws a number he’s already circled, the game continues with the next player. The winner is the first player to circle all ten numbers and build his space shuttles ten cubes high. Have students count backward from ten before launching a new game. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, blastoff!

10. http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap100612.html • “Constellation Exploration” • Your little learners will be reaching for the stars with this activity. Make a paper copy and transparency copy of each constellation pattern. Cut apart the patterns. Use a hole puncher to punch out each star on the paper copies. Explain that groups of stars form patterns, or pictures in the sky. These pictures are called constellations. Then place one of the paper constellations on an overhead projector. Have students look at the projected stars and guess the picture they show. After a discussion, remove the paper patter from the projector and replace it with the corresponding transparency to reveal the constellation’s picture. Continue the same process with the other constellation patterns. Way to reach for the stars!

11. “Meteorite Masterpieces” • Aspiring artists will enjoy the creativity that this craft allows. Explain to students that meteorites are pieces of matter from the solar system that are found on Earth. Gather the supplies listed below and then guide each child to complete her meteorite. After each project is complete, hang the meteorites from the ceiling using fishing line to create a display that is out of this world! • Materials for each child: • Styrofoam ball • Pencil • Paintbrush • Paint in various colors • Glitter glue • Directions: • Press a pencil tip into the ball to make small craters. • Paint the ball with different colors, swirling the paint as you go. Allow the paint to dry. • Brush on glitter glue to add sparkle. http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap100708.html

12. http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap100728.html Blast Off!!!