Materials
Poster or model of the solar system For papier-mache: flour, water, salt
Balloons Newspaper, torn into strips
Paper plates Paint
Collage materials Glitter
Sand Glue
String
Instructions
1. Discuss the solar system and show the poster or models of planets and the sun. Talk about the various aspects of the different planets, for example, how hot or cold they are, their position relative to the sun, whether they have water, air and other conditions needed to support life.
2. Help the children create their own planets using papier-mache. Blow up one balloon for each child and layer newspaper dipped in the papier-mache on it until it is completely covered. After the balloon is covered, attach a string to it, so it can be hung to dry. Simply lay a string on the balloon and put some papier-mache newspaper over it.
3. Hang the balloons up to dry. This may take a while as much as a couple of days so plan ahead to have some interim activities to do during this stage. For example, ask the children to dictate stories and draw pictures about their planets and the creatures that might live there. Let the children make their stories as funny, weird or outrageous as they like. Encourage them to include facts such as whether the inhabitants of this planet live on land, in the air or on water, what they eat, what they do for fun, whether they breathe oxygen, and if not, then how they live? Also, do these creatures have any special skills or talents?4. Let the children use a variety of materials to decorate their planets. They can use paper plates that you tie or tape to the planet for Saturn-like rings. They can also use paint, collage materials, construction paper, glitter and colored sand or just about anything else to represent land masses and bodies of water on their planets.
5. Display the newly-formed solar system by hanging the planets around your room. Fishing line, attached to the light fixtures or corners of the windows, works very well. Be sure to put a label on each planet to identify the planet name and who created it.More to doArt: Be creative! You do not have to use a balloon. Who says planets always have to be round? You can create planets out of tissue boxes, small milk cartons, juice or soup cans or any material you happen to have laying around. Just cover them with papier-mache and let the creative process take control! * Make Space Scopes, using discarded paper towel tubes. Let the children decorate the outsides of their tubes in any manner they wish, using markers, crayons or poster paints. Avoid using glitter or any other type of glued-on materials, since these scopes will be used near the eyes and such decorations tend to fall off. Encourage the children to take theirSpace Scopes home and use them to observe the nighttime sky.Games: Let the children run relay races or obstacle courses, as if they were floating in space. The object of the game is to move as fluidly as possible, as if floating weightlessly.Movement: Play your best "spacey" music and encourage the children to dance as if they were floating in space. Enhance this activity by tethering your astronauts with lengths of soft yarn. Remind the children to move slowly and fluidly, as if they are weightless.
