The Honeybees are slowly meandering their way through space. This week we introduced the International Space Station and a kid-friendly tour of the station by astronaut Sunita Williams. We finally understand gravity a little better after seeing Sunita floating around with her wild hair. This video also brought some some very big ideas. What do you do with your trash in space? You have to bring it back to earth in a capsule that isn’t really big.
We made some name rockets this week, and many of us are really interested in writing each other’s names and incorporating them into our art. I put the full list on the fridge so they can try out some new letters.
We talked about telescopes in our homes and out in space. We looked through a book of beautiful images from the Hubble Telescope and added to our collaborative space mural. Next week we’ll create a rudimentary model of the the new James West Telescope…. Does anyone have an old umbrella with a straight handle?
I’m also looking for big boxes to build a rocket with several compartments for kids to play in. This is always big dramatic play fun. Speaking of dramatic play, has your child told you about the taco stand. I have a few more things to add next week, but it’s been wonderful to eat so many pretend tacos…. all day. The morning kids and the afterschool program kids love it too.
We’ve been playing around with fiction stories about space like Jan Brett’s Hedgie Blasts Off and Jon Agee’s Life on Mars. We’ve also talked about robots…. only robots have been to other planets. I want to show them some Mar’s Rovers next week.
I think we’ll be playing in space for at least 2 more weeks…. and then maybe heading into the land of the Dinosaurs.
