Guide to Space and Heavenly Bodies Study for Kids (with FREE Resources)

I’ve been planning this unit since last month because I wanted to prepare ahead of time. We’ve done A LOT of space and heavenly bodies unit in the past and I wanted to upgrade the lesson, add something new for Mavi to learn.  So right now, I’m sharing our Space and Heavenly Bodies Study for this year. I’m also putting a bunch of links from our previous lessons and activities for your reference. I hope you find this post helpful.

Space and Solar System

               
Solar System and Planets Part I
Solar System and Planets Part II
Planets and Solar System for Preschoolers
Moon Phases

        
The Moon
Phases of the Moon
A look at the Northern and Southern Sky
We looked into the star constellation maps seen in the northern and southern hemisphere.  This is to make Mavi aware that there are stars that can be seen in the northern part of the world but not visible on the other side.

                   
Stars and Constellations
For the details of our constellation study, click here or click the image below.  The material we used here is the Fantacolor pegboard.
Space Exploration History
I made chronological cards of the space exploration history.  The pictures and the fact cards were all taken and referenced from Wikipedia and Wiki Commons.  Though Mavi can read this straight from the site, I wanted to have something tangible and something that we can work on, like arranging the timeline and matching it with objects.

The cards I created contains the year and a title of the major event that occurred in that year.  The description is very much readable by kids though there were a few words that Mavi couldn’t pronounce well or he needed to ask me for the meaning.  Such a good material to improve reading skills, spelling and vocabulary!
After which, I showed him how we can arrange the cards according to their timeline.  This gives him a visual presentation of the order of events. 

Aside from arranging the cards chronologically, you can also use them to match objects.  Here we used Safari Toobs Space, Safari Toob Insects (fly) and Safari Toob Farm (dog).

So if you wanted to have a copy of the cards for Space History Timeline, click here for the link.
Parts of a Space Shuttle
The parts of a space shuttle is something that Mavi really looked forward to.  Oh boy he was so happy that I made him another “flying object”.  The first one was the Airplane Nomenclature Cards, and here’s the newest Space Shuttle Nomenclature Cards.  This is based on the NASA’s space shuttle design.  Using the cards, a child will learn the different parts of a space shuttle.  I wrote the parts’ functions in a notebook because I was out of ink.

To get a copy of the Space Shuttle Nomenclature Cards, click here.
Sensory Tub
Now, this is something I prepared for both of the boys to play with.  Xavi had his own Letter S: Star Unit study last week so it was timely that I prepared this Space Sensory Tub for the boys.  Figures are from Safari Toob Space, homemade PlayDoh planets and homemade Earth felt.

FREE Space Exploration History Learning Cards

We recently concluded our First Great Lesson part 3 which is all about the space and the solar system.  We were able to reuse our material of Space History Cards which I made years ago because Mavi was asking me all about how did NASA came to be.  

Letter D: Dinosaur Unit Activities and {Learn & Play Link Up}

The boys are crazy about dinosaurs so this is what we had last week for our letter D sound of the week. I think this is the very first animal Vito recognized because he’s been seeing these dinosaur figures since he was born.

I made use of all Mavi’s dino toys and used it for Vito’s unit. The activities here are so simple and easy to prepare especially if you have dinosaur figures already.

Cleaning dinosaur toy.  This was the first activity I could ever think of. Knowing the boys like to play with water, surely they will like this. And they did!  They washed and brushed their dinosaurs together outside. Vito mostly played with the water but Mavi was seriously doing the work.  So even if Vito didn’t get to really “brush” the dinosaurs, it was a perfect way to expose him to such kind of activity.


Playdough Dino Prints.  I wanted Vito to improve his “pressing” skills so I got out our playdough so we can make impressions.
As you can see, he doesn’t really press the dinos in the dough.  He would just place them on it.  At times he would push them into the playdough using his pointer fingers, not much of the entire hand yet.

Letter D.  We started sounding the letter D around the house as we talked about dinosaurs. Aside from my foam letters, which I posted on the wall for Vito to see everyday, I also made him put dots on a letter D.   He had fun sticking the dots on the letter.  Vito is using more of his left hand these days. Hmmm… I think I might have a leftie!
               
Now Vito realized he can stick the dots to his face as well. And he had fun doing it!


Matching Dinosaurs.  Vito can identify objects now, so I was wondering if he can match objects as well. This activity is more of a presentation rather than Vito matching the dinosaurs.  I placed one piece of the dinosaur in the palette tray and the other on the basket.  Then I take one dinosaur from the basket and say “let’s look for a match”.  So basically, the child will learn objects that match. 


Dino Prints using Paints.  Another activity that I have to take picture before we do the actual thing.  As much as possible I try to involve paints in our unit activities to introduce Vito to arts.  This dino prints was not really appreciated by Vito. He couldn’t make a print out of a dinosaur yet, do he was quite frustrated, so he resorted to hand painting instead.

Discovering Dinosaurs in Ice. This was a total hit! I made these ahead of time and once they were ready both boys were so excited to touch and taste the ice!   
Integrating learning with sensory activities is so much fun!


Dinosaur Free Play. And of course, how can we not have a free play.  I let Vito play with the dinosaurs most of the time.   Vito and Mavi played the dino figures indoors (Mavi making stories)….. 
… and they also played with it outdoors!


More dinosaur activities!!
Over the years, we’ve done a number of wonderful dinosaur activities.  Click on the links below for more ideas!

Dinosaur and the land before time
Dinosaur activities
Digging Dinosaurs
Dinosaur and Worksheets
Preschool Dinosaur Activities
Homemade Dinosaur Fossils

Welcome to the Learn & Play Link Party!

For this week, I’d like to feature simple and easy to prepare activities. These would be best for busy moms like me!

FREE Yoga Poses Nomenclature Cards by Eager Ed
Spell Your Name Busy Bag by Spark and Pook
Beach Crafts for Kids to Make Dinnerware by Hands On As We Grow
A Week in the Life of Unschoolers by Nourishing My Scholar

Now it’s time for this week’s link party! This is a BRAND new link up for all blog posts that include learn and play activities and hands-on education for kids. We are excited to read your blog posts and to see what you have to share! Please link up below and grab our button to display on your blog.

If you are a blogger, share your family friendly posts here. We are looking for things which include:

• Montessori Education
• Homeschool
• Sensory Play
• Tot and Preschool Trays
• Fine and Gross Motor Activities
• Kids in the Kitchen
• Healthy Recipes for Kids
• Arts and Crafts
• Natural Living
• Free Educational Printables
• Family-Oriented Activities
• Healthy Living

Your post will be featured on each of our blogs where we will pick our favourite posts every other week. That means there is more of a chance that you will be featured!

Everyone, please meet our link party hosts:

Christian Montessori Blog ~ Please visit our CMN FB group ~ Pinterest

Vanessa from Mama’s Happy Hive~FB~Pinterest~Instagram~Twitter

Jennifer from Study at Home Mama~FB~Pinterest~Instagram~Twitter

Marie from Child Led Life~FB~Pinterest~Instagram~Twitter

Jae from Pinay Homeschooler~FB~Pinterest~Instagram~Twitter

Heather from Golden Reflections Blog~FB~Pinterest~Instagram~Twitter

Renae from Every Star is Different~FB~Pinterest

GUIDELINES FOR LINKING

• Please link up 1-3 posts
• Follow each of the hosts on social media
• When you link up, please add our button and place it at the bottom of your shared posts or link back with text link.
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• Please visit a couple of shared posts and leave a comment for them
• Remember that you must link back in order to be featured

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FREE Space Shuttle Nomenclature Cards

We are learning about space exploration and currently discovering how a space shuttle works!  Click the cards for your free copy or the link below.

Download your FREE copy of Space Shuttle 3-part cards! Hope you like it. Enjoy!

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.