All Systems Are GO!

Ever since the Mars ROVer thing last year, my peeps have been super-interested in outer space.  But, other than looking at some pictures and video of meteor showers and planets online, we really haven't done much in the way of exploring the final frontier. 

I finally got around to doing a bunch of loosely-related space stuff with my wee scientists this week.  Most of the ideas came from other blogs, but I came up with a couple on my own.  

The first thing we did was to read Berenstein Bears on the Moon.  Even though this isn't an informational text, it sparked discussion about gravity and how we get to space, 

and we practiced counting backwards.  

Next up was a space-themed busy-box.  

A pack of black and neon aquarium gravel and one of those astronaut-themed Toob sets were all that was needed to get my little guys talking and asking questions about satellites, moon-mobiles, rockets, and chimps in space.  

 Yes, you read that right.  A chimp in a space suit is included in this play set. 

In keeping with the kinesthetic theme of things,

 I also made them some space play doh (recipe found here).  

I really was going for a deep rich blue, but after emptying two bottles of blue food-coloring, I had to settle for more of a dark sky-blue.  Nobody really noticed or cared since I also dumped to containers of glitter in as well.  Sarah immediately pointed out that the glitter was like stars and started rolling her dough into "planets". 

We also have constellation lacing cards (fine motor), constellation connect-the-dots (numeric sequencing), and planet matching that we've been working on. 

Check out some other space-themed tangram activities we did. 
 I made my own tangrams by cutting out a pattern from several sheets of foam 
I got at Joann's, and they worked fine, but, man, do I miss the diecut machines at school! 

Here's more math-y goodness using star stickers and black construction paper.  This is not my original idea, but the point of it is for kids to recognize the number written on the paper and to stick that number of stars on the sheet.  Easy setup, big impact.  

I picked the one sheet where the stars don't match the number.  Doh!

For some fine-motor work, we strung some star-shaped beads.

My favorite part? Painting some watercolor planets!

We still have several other activities on tap, like going to the planetarium, making our own meteor shower (in the sand box), creating a meteor with dry ice, 

and stargazing during a backyard camp out. 

They got so into the space-stuff that they put on pool floats and pretended to "orbit". 

Her expression really reads "After picture of an alien abduction",

 but I promise, they really did have fun.

Laundry Day

Sarah goes to kindergarten next year.  I know she'll rise to the challenge like she always does, but it still doesn't seem possible.  I mean, we just brought her home from the hospital, like, YESTERDAY. 

Since she'll be among the youngest in her class, I want to try to prepare her as much as possible.  But it's kind of hard.  If she gets the slightest whiff of teach-iness from me, she goes into Evil Twin mode and all bets are off.  

There are some ways around her resistance to be taught by me.  The first involves an elaborate Cold War-esque ruse to wrap a lesson in a mystery inside an enigma, but I don't really have the patience for that.  The alternative is to sneak a little learning into playtime.  That's so easy with this age group, since the lines are still blurred between learning and fun.  

One thing I've noticed we need to work on with Sarah is fine motor skills.  Girlfriend is a triple-threat in dancing, baseball, and pool-noodle sword-fighting, but not so much on buttoning, snapping, or Legos.  If a tiny Barbie shoe gets stuck in a toy truck, she'll pass it off to Will "Meat Hooks" Brown, because, for whatever reason, he's got the hand strength
 and fine motor skills to fix stuff.  

Mostly because he breaks stuff in the first place. 

I've been giving her a lot of sewing, beading, and Play-Doh playing to do, and I've been looking into some other ways to sneak fine motor in. One of the activities
I've been meaning to do for awhile now is to have her hang clothes on a clothesline.  Simple, right?  But all of that pinscer-gripping is perfect for building strength in those little digits and getting them nice and strong for writing.

The other day, I finally got around to setting up a clothesline in the back yard. I gave her some clothespins and clothes, and away she went!

I'd seen Busy Bags with felt clothing for kids to string up, but I figured we'd use the real thing.  So, I hauled out some old baby clothes that I can't bear to part with, put them in a laundry basket, and brought them outside.

Both kids thought it was HILARIOUS that they could have been small enough to fit in some of those newborn onesies.  
Sarah thinks Dreft is the second-best smell in the world.  

Right behind cookies.

Will wasn't amused to the point of being motivated to abandon his mud pie.  

However, Sarah had a blast "hanging the wash" and practicing whistling while she worked.  

Believe it or not, it was a fun little activity for her, and it required minimal setup and zero cost for me.  I count that as a win-win all the way around.

Next up on my to-do list is to start a Mommy and Me journal, where we write/draw notes back and forth.  She's going to smell the lesson in that one a mile away.