Space Week
As a part-time homeschooler (my kids are in public school part-time) now full time homeschooler like everyone else, I figured I would take my evenings at home and figure out what the heck I’m going to do with two kids home full-time. We are studying the history of science in our current homeschool curriculum, and now that I am incorporating more time and an additional kiddo, I went on the hunt for great space resources - right now we’re studying Galileo and reading this book, as a part of our History of Science curriculum from Beautiful Feet Books.
So, mamas and papas, if you need something for your kids to do this week or in the weeks to come - resources are below. Ideas for little kids. Ideas for bigger kids. Ideas for podcasts, for books that you can order from Amazon or your local bookstore or your library, free videos and materials, board games and art project ideas. Most of these resources are appropriate for preschoolers through late elementary/early middle school, but there are a few books at the end that are geared towards older kids and adults. Looking for ideas to put all this together? Plan and scheduling ideas HERE.
Best place to start… NASA’s Solar System Exploration. Photos, videos, night sky guides, asteroids, comets, planets… it’s an amazing resource.
Podcasts and Video Clips:
Podcasts - thank you NPR! links will take you to the NPR website where you can play them directly, or go to wherever you usually get your podcasts and search for “Wow in the World” “Rebel Girls” and “Brains On”.
All the Wow in World podcast episodes are over 20 minutes, which should give you some time to shower or catch up on some work emails.
Wow in the World: Betelgeuse! Betelgeuse! Betelegeuse!
Wow in the World: My Asteroid is Blowing Up!
Wow in the World: The Very Hungry Black Hole
Wow in the World: Spaced Out Pen Pal Part 1
Wow in the World: Spaced Out Pen Pal Part 2
Wow in the World: Hey Mars Put a Ring on it
Wow in the World: Bang! Where’d this Universe Come From?
Rebel Girls: Out of this World: Margaret Hamilton
Brains On: Black Holes, Worm Holes and Donut Holes
Brains On: Mysteries of the Universe - Expansion and Gravity
Brains On: The Secrets of the Spectacular Space Suit
Video Clips:
These clips are either from NASA or youtube - all the youtube clips are linked through The Kid Should See This site, an amazing, free, curated source of video clips for kids on any subject you could think of - definitely worth checking out!
How We Are Going to the Moon - NASA video short
Everything You Need to Know About Planet Earth
The Life of Alfred Wegener (plate tectonics on Earth)
The Solar System to Scale in the Desert
Why Isn’t Pluto a Planet Anymore?
How Small are We in the Scale of the Universe
Can Fractals Help Us Understand the Universe?
Ideas for Little Kids:
Books:
Little Kids First Big Book of Space
What’s So Special About Planet Earth
Going Around the Sun Some Planetary Fun
Puzzles, Games and More:
Build an Edible Solar System - Raddish Kids - Free
Use food around your kitchen to model the scale of things in the solar system.
Make a calm-down bottle. For the kids. For you? Calm down bottles for everyone.
Constellation Luminary - Red Ted Art - Free Printable
Launch into a discussion about constellations with this free printable. Find the constellations in the night sky, and read about the stories behind them in Wishing on a Star: Constellation Stories and Stargazing Activities for Kids.
(you will need a battery-powered tea-light - please don’t use a candle!)
Maybe something to keep little hands occupied while they listen to one of the space themed podcasts above?
This memory game has beautiful color images of all the planets and many moons in the solar system and includes a booklet with details about each planet or moon depicted. It’s simple enough for my youngest (5) to play, but the information is high level enough to keep my oldest (9) engaged.
The Layers of the Earth Modeling Project
We’ll be trying this, this week with homemade play dough and reading Earth Explainer from Science News for Students.
Ideas for Bigger Kids:
Books:
Astrophysics for Young People in a Hurry
Star to Star: Astronomical Dot to Dot Puzzles
(these are not your average dot-to-dot - they are intricate with hundreds of dots and background information on the constellations depicted)
The Planets: The Definitive Visual Guide to our Solar System
Comets, Stars, the Earth and Mars: Space Poems and Paintings
Rocket to the Moon - Graphic Novel
The Universe Explained: A Cosmic Q and A
The Usborne Book of Astronomy and Space
(The Science Comics series is for grades 4-6 and they are phenomenal - if you search “science comics” on Amazon, they have a whole range of available topics.)
365 Starry Nights: Backyard Astronomy for All Ages
Look up the date and this book will give you something to hunt for in the night sky. This is written for adults, so you might need to translate for younger kids.
Again, written for an adult audience, so some translation necessary for younger kids, but great information and cool graphics to check out.
Puzzles, Games and More:
Players race to collect stars to complete constellations to fit the needed pattern. If we are playing with the whole family - we’ll often throw out the rule book and play cooperatively.
This memory game has beautiful color images of all the planets and many moons in the solar system and includes a booklet with details about each planet or moon depicted. It’s simple enough for my youngest (5) to play, but the information is high level enough to keep my oldest (9) engaged.
The Photographic Card Deck of the Solar System
158 cards with stories, scientific data and gorgeous pictures of planets, moons, asteroids and comets. These will be hanging out all week and we might pick cards to inspire a short writing assignment - probably a quick summary or an original poem.
The Layers of the Earth Modeling Project
Add on info for bigger kids from geology.com. We’ll be printing this gorgeous free game to use this week too.