Study of Star Constellation Maps for Kids

To appreciate the study of stars and outer space, we looked into the star constellation maps and understand how people of long time ago interpreted them.  As we all know, constellations were made up by astronomers, travelers, farmers and ancient people to identify stars: basically to tell the directions, seasons and weather.  So Mavi and I explored some of the known constellations, learned when and where they appear and identified their brightest star.

Our materials for the study include homemade star constellation maps and Fantacolor pegboard. 
The cards are so easy to prepare: black cardstock, silver or gold star stickers and a silver/gold marker.

The Fantacolor pegboard was used by Mavi to recreate each constellation…

…and identify their brightest stars.

Ursa Major, Ursa Minor and Polestar (Big Dipper, Small Dipper and Polestar)

Scorpius

Common Name	The Scorpion
	This constellation contains some of the most spectacular stars, nebulae and star clusters.  Closest to Milky Way
Visible from	Worldwide
Location	Southern Hemisphere
Best time to see	After sunset of April to September
Brightest Star	Antares

Leo

Common Name	The Lion
	Lies afar from the band of Milky Way.
Visible from	Worldwide
Location	Northern Hemisphere
Best time to see	After sunset of February to June
Brightest Star	Regulus

Sagittarius

Common Name	The Archer
	This has a vivid constellation and lies in the southern half of the sky. It is rich in star clusters and nebulae.  This constellation shines brightly because the middle of the Milky Way lies in its borders.
Visible from	Worldwide
Location	Southern Hemisphere
Best time to see	After sunset of July to October
Brightest Star	Kaus Australis

Orion

Common Name	The Hunter
	This is the brightest and most popular constellations in the entire sky.  It is exceptional since it can be seen from both the North and South Poles.
Visible from	Worldwide
Location	Mid Latitude
Best time to see	After sunset of December to March
Brightest Star	Rigel

Taurus

Common Name	The Bull
	The constellation looks like the front of a mighty bull charging towards the Orion.
Visible from	Worldwide
Location	Northern Hemisphere
Best time to see	After sunset of November to February
Brightest Star	Aldebaran

Cygnus

Common Name	The Swan
	This constellation contains many fascinating stars and nebulae.  The pattern creates a distinct cross (known also as the Northern Cross)
Visible from	Worldwide
Location	Northern Hemisphere
Best time to see	After sunset of July to November
Brightest Star	Deneb

We are continuously learning about space. Currently, we’re looking at the chronological timeline of space exploration history and how space shuttles work.  This has been a very fruitful topic for Mavi, and I am learning a lot as well!  More posts about Space Study coming up in the next few days. Stay tuned!
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DIY Letter Puzzle

Here’s how I made our alphabet puzzle when we’re still in Serbia.  Using Melissa and Doug Magnetic Letters, I traced the pieces into a cardstock using a Sharpie.

And there you have it! An instant, so easy to prepare letter puzzle! Mavi looooves it to pieces! He plays with it every single day.

I believe you can do this to any other magnetic letters.  So go ahead make your own!

Montessori Inspired Clock and Time Activities (with FREE Cards)

A few weeks ago, Mavi brought home some homework about clocks and time reading. I knew then that we should at least have a brief discussion about the clock and telling time as it has been years since we had a clock activity.

Reading and Writing Time

Using my latest clock nomenclature cards and workbooks, we reviewed how to read and write the time, compared the difference between analogue and digital clocks and the relevance of time in our lives.


Clock Nomenclature Cards with Borders are from here. You can get the learning clock from here.

We then moved on to our workbooks for more practice on writing time. Have I mentioned before that Mavi enjoys using workbooks? Oh yes he does!

Learning AM and PM

In addition, I asked him to make a record of his daily routine. Like, what time does he wakes up, eat breakfast, lunch and dinner… till he sleeps. He’s very excited about this! I can’t wait to see that routine record and share it with you.

Other Clock and Time Activities

Click this link for your FREE Simple Hour Clock cards.

FREE Insect Habitats Learning Material

Here are some of the learning materials that we used in our activity, Complete Guide to Insect Study for Grade-Schoolers.  You can now download a free copy of the file, I’m sharing it for everyone to enjoy.