Friday Favorite March 22

This week my Friday Favorite is from my partner teacher Lynn and Mrs. Jump. 

My partner teacher, Lynn, found a new book for us to read to our little ones for Astronaut Adventure Days, Aliens Don’t Wear Underpants. 

This book was a big hit with the children.  The illustrations are adorable.  The rhyming text is wonderful.  The children love the story.  They giggled and laughed all the way though the book. 

Mrs. Jump had an idea on her website for an art project.  We  used that as our spring board.  We wanted to let our little ones pick their own colors and decide their own aliens.  So we gave them a varity of  paper shapes and colors. 

The project turned out super cute.  

Here are two more books I highly recommend this week:

Astronaut Adventure Day 2

Day 2 of Astronaut Adventure Days started with three centers again.  The first center was the science center where my little ones worked with magnets. 

We read the book, The Mystery of Magnets.  Each student was given two magnets and worked with the concept of attract and repel. 

 Part 2 of this center is a Game.  

Who Can Get the Paper Clips out of the cup first?

Rules:

1.  No Yelling and Screaming

2.  No putting your hands in the water.

3.  No dumping the water on the table.

4.  No getting my magnets wet!!!!!

It is so fun to watch the little ones stand there and hold the magnets above the water and tell me,  "Nothing is happening!"  

I ask, "What else can you try? Think like a scientist!"

This center is simple: create a rocket with pattern blocks and add  a background with foam stickers.

The third center was a creation of my partner teacher Lynn.   The children create another rocket with sticky tape, aluminum  foil, construction paper, and paper towel tube.  Double Stick tape worked the best to hold the pieces on and a parent did hot glue the top on.  There was lots of excitement at this center!

We read a Scholastic book about Comets and then created comets with aluminum foil and wrapping ribbon.  This activity needed a lot of assisstance because my little ones do not know how to tie knots.  However, they did have fun throwing them in the hall.  It was a rainy day so we were stuck inside.

Space in a Bottle is one of those activities that I have modified throughout the years.  At first I poured light syrup in the bottles mixed with water to give it some texture.  But over the years I found the kids love it just the same with plain water.  Sometimes I have the my little ones draw on the water bottles with sharpies if time allows.  

They add 8 pom poms for planets, star beads for stars, glitter for astroids and sequences for comets.  

AND

Blue Food Coloring

Shake, Shake, Shake.........and you have Space in a Bottle!

To end the day we created robots with the scraps from all our projects and most of my little ones did not finish so their 8th grade buddies came down after lunch to help them.  

Astronaut Adventure Day 1

Astronaut Adventure Days occurs on the last two days of my space unit.   My friend Pam and I came up with this idea about 20 years ago and each year my partner teachers and I have added something new to the mix. 

We started the morning with our crew pictures.  There are three shuttles, Discovery, Atlantis, and Endeavor.  So each shuttle has a group picture.

Then we put on our gear and go to our ships and get ready for Lift Off!

 This year my partner teacher, Lynn, found something on smart exchange that we used.  I tried to find it for you but I was unable.  Sorry:(  All my little ones were all set in their shuttles.  

You can see on the back of the shuttle there is a Mission Schedule.  It tells each shuttle where to go for each center.  There are three centers to go to because there are three shuttles.  

The first center is a Science Exploration Center.  

It has two parts.  The objective of this center is to problem solve and understand what is must be like for the astronauts to work in those 

big gloves. 

The first activity is the Penny Pick Up.  

 I have two rules for this activity.  1.  You may not take off the gloves.  2.  No Yelling and Screaming.  

The children have 30 seconds to pick up as many pennies as possible and put them in their cup.

  It takes about 20 seconds for someone to figure out to slide the pennies into their gloves or pick up the cup and slide the pennies into the cup. 

Floating Pennies is the second part of the center. 
 I put the children in teams and demonstrate how to "share count."  That is where each child takes turns counting.  

The object of this activity is to see how many pennies can you get on your "boat" before it sinks.  

Our record this year was 27 pennies.  It takes two or three tries before my little ones begin to figure out you have to divide the pennies equally.  

At the satellite station a parent reads a page of a book about the uses of satellites and then the children get to work creating satellites.  

Materials for this center:  styrofoam balls, pipe cleaners, toothpicks, straws,  styrofoam noodles

The third station is Making Words.  The final word is rockets.  This word is perfect for my little ones because we have already reviewed the ot and et families.  We are just starting alphabetical order so that is another step we practiced as well.

During snack we discussed the food that the astronauts ate during their missions.  We enjoyed pudding from a bag.

As a whole class we did Dropping Astroids on the Moon.  

This activity is from The Inspired Apple , a purchased unit.  

This is a class book that my partner teacher Lynn thought of and it is super cute.  Yesterday I had my little ones do a spray paint background picture on black paper.  Then they wrote in their journals where they would like to go in space.  

Today they drew a picture of an astronaut and a shuttle.  I typed up the sentences and we put it all together to get this adorable book.

 Now I am exhausted and I am going to bed.   Sue

Getting Ready for Lift Off!

I have been working day and night to get ready for lift off tomorrow.  Thursday begins Astronaut Adventure Days in kindergarten.  We will have two fun filled days of science experiments and art projects in space.  We have worked all week to get ready for these days.

On Monday and Tuesday we made our control panels.  We had lots of coloring and cutting to get ready.

We made helmets and name badges as well.  I also ordered special t-shirts for the children as well from the Embroidery Guy.

   

10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 

We are ready to Lift Off!

MoonCake

Today I read one of my favorite stories, Mooncake by Frank Asch.  It is an adorable story.  Bear thinks he has travel to the moon to have a piece of the moon to eat.  He is really eating snow.  It is so much fun to watch my little ones put the pieces together in the story.

A couple of years ago I found somewhere on the web this great idea to make "Mooncake," for the children.  Of course I did not write the source on this so I am sorry, however it is an awesome idea.

I mix 2 quarts of thawed vanilla ice cream with 1/2 container of thawed lemonade concentrate in my mixer.  It sounds funny but it is delicious.

Then I scoop the mixture in aluminum cupcake liners in my cupcake pans.  Freeze them overnight.  Right before I serve them I add an American Flag and a Teddy Graham.

sorry no teddy graham in the picture my little ones ate them before I had the camera out

I do not tell the kids what I make the mooncake out of, it is fun to listen to them guess.  Today one little boy had the class convinced there was strawberries in it.  

My little ones did a response sheet to the story as well.

Click Here for your Freebie

On Thursday I read the story Papa Please Get the Moon For Me, by Eric Carle.  

Then we created this art project I found on google.  It is so cute.

First, on Thursday, we painted white construction paper in an ab pattern with two tones of blue stripes.

Then, on Friday, we built our ladders with popsicle sticks, made the moon out of construction paper.  We added sticker stars.  Each child made a picture of herself/himself climbing the ladder.

I think they turned out adorable.  I could not find a source for this, but thank you, whoever you are.  This is cute!

I own the Eric Carle VHS video of Papa Please Get the Moon For Me, however it is on Youtube if you want it. 

Moon Books

This week I am reading a lot of stories about the moon to my little ones.  I found a lot of cute stories to read to them. 

I even have Happy Birthday Moon and Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me on VHS.  Wow I know those must really be old!

Here is the poem I have been using for about 15 years.  I have no idea where I found it.   I do remember that it goes to the song, I’m a Little Teapot.

Click Here for a copy for your poetry basket and a student copy :)

Do you have a favorite book about the moon to add to this list?