A Nature-Inspired Pre-K/K Curriculum

by Leah M cDermott © 2015

SPACE
 OVERVIEW
Purpose: Space is the great unknow n - almost as much for adults as it is
for children! Young children have a natural w onder and curiosity about
their w orld in general, but especially about the moon and sun and stars -
and everything that lies beyond w hat they can see in the sky! This theme
addresses a lot of those questions that your child naturally has. Your child
w ill learn and explore constellations, how the M oon orbits around the
Earth and the Earth orbits around the Sun, about other planets, and w hat
it' s like to go into outer space! Encourage and explore your child' s
creative side as much as possible in this theme. After all, imagining about
w hat can be found in the solar system is w hat took us to the M oon and
beyond in the first place! Raising curious, conscientious, and imaginative
individuals is the greatest gift w e can give to future generations!

Key Learning: Our planet Earth, and our Sun and M oon, all can be
found in our solar system!

Focus Words: space, planet,

Earth, moon, sky, stars,
constellation, galaxy, solar system

Space Theme 1
 Recommended Books
Find these great books at your local library, bookstore, or online resource!

The Sun is M y Favorite Star by Frank Asch

I Took the M oon For a Walk by Carolyn Curtis and Alison Jay
On the M oon by Anna M ilbourne
The Big Dipper by Franklyn Branley
How to Catch a Star by Oliver Jeffers
The Lost Stars by Hannah Cumming
Space Vehicles by Anne Rockw ell
Zoom! Zoom! Zoom! I' m Off to the M oon! by Dan Yaccarino
Phases of the M oon by Gillia M . Olson
Our Solar System by Seymour Simon

Literature Lesson in Onomatopoeia using Zoom! Zoom! Zoom! I' m Off to the M oon! by Dan Yaccarino
M aterials Needed: book, a silly sense of humor!
Purpose: Don't worry - your child doesn't need to know how to pronounce onomatopoeia, or even what it
means! All you're introducing here is the concept that words can showcase sounds. Onomatopoeia is a
literary device (a FUN one!) in which a word is a "sound word". Words like "zoom", "bang", "poof", etc. Any
word that makes a sound is considered onomatopoeia. Pretty easy, right? For a young child, they just need
to see that words can represent funny sounds - they don't always have to mean something. There are tons of
fabulous books out there that use onomatopoeia, this one is just a fun space-themed one.
Procedure: Show your child the cover page of Zoom! Zoom! Zoom! I'm Off to the M oon! by Dan Yaccarino.
Point out the words "Zoom Zoom Zoom" and have your child make the noises with you. Be silly about it and
read it several times, having your child read the word as you point to it. Zoom! Zoom! Zoom! Then read
through the story. Every time you reach a sound word, point it out and have your child make the silly sound
with you. This is a great way to engage with literature and words. It is something that can easily be done in
any story, anytime there is an instance of onomatopoeia.

Space Theme 2
 Nature Explorations
Star Search - There' s no better w ay to appreciate a love of the stars than to get outside and look for them!
After a reading of The Big Dipper by Franklyn Branley, head outside after dark and search for the
constellations. The Big and Little Dipper are generally easy to find regardless of your location. If the stars
coming out is generally past bedtime, I recommend having a special evening w here you can stay up a little
late and go out together to enjoy a star gazing session.
Solar System Chalk Rings - Head outside to make a chalk solar system to help your child visualize the w ay the
planets all orbit around the sun. After a reading of Our Solar System by Seymour Simon, get outside w ith
some sidew alk chalk and draw the solar system in rings and planets. First, start w ith a big circle in the center,
and explain to your child that this is the Sun. Then, draw eight rings around the Sun, and have your child
draw a circle for each planet on the ring, naming the planets as you go. (It' s up to you as to w hether or not
you w ant to add Pluto as a ninth planet....(I do) poor Pluto! ). This chalk solar system provides a great gross
motor play area as w ell - your child can hop around from planet to planet, w alk the ring lines practicing
balance, and many more imaginative play activities!
Night and Day Walks - Explore w ith your child the difference betw een how the w orld looks during the
nighttime and daytime. In the morning, take a w alk around your home or neighborhood and ask your child
to describe w hat the w orld looks like. Can they see the moon? Stars? What color is the sky? How does the
w orld smell and sound? Then, take the same w alk that night and ponder the same questions. How are things
different from the w alk that morning? This activity is w onderful for observation skills, utilizing the senses,
and comparing and contrasting practice.
Rocket Hopscotch - Another excellent gross motor outdoor
activity is this Outer Space themed hopscotch game. Draw a
traditional style hopscotch board w ith some sidew alk chalk,
but add a triangle to the top and some w ings on the sides
making a rocketship shape! Play as normal, practicing
hopping and jumping, as w ell as number recognition skills. A
fun variation to hopscotch at this age is to draw shapes inside
the squares instead of numbers, and have your child call out
the shape as they hop!
Rock and Tw ig Constellations - After reading about the
various constellations, have your child practice recreating
them w ith natural objects w hile out on a nature w alk. Gather
some small rocks and tw igs and design some constellations
on the ground. Use the rocks to mimic the stars and connect
the stars w ith the tw igs. These are especially fun to create on
nature trails or hiking paths, as they make such joyous natural
discoveries for other hikers or trail users! Just be careful not
to use large rocks or accidentally create tripping hazards on
an otherw ise clear path.

Space Theme 3
 Art Activities
Sticker Constellations - For this simple activity, you w ill need black construction paper, a w hite crayon, and
small star-shaped stickers (the multi-colored foil ones w ork perfectly and are easily found in the dollar store).
On the black construction paper, have your child place the star stickers at random to create a constellation.
Use the w hite crayon to connect the stars, designing a picture. They can also add a moon to the picture w ith
the crayon. Depending on your child' s ability level, this activity can be designed to make actual
representations of constellations after a reading of The Big Dipper by Franklyn Branley.
M oon Paint - To add fun "moon-like" texture to this paint, all you need to do is add a common kitchen
ingredient! You w ill need black cardstock, w hite crayon, w hite tempera paint, and flour. Squirt some of the
paint into a bow l and add a small scoop of flour. Stir it around and add more paint or flour as needed to get
a nice fluffy texture. On the black paper, use the w hite crayon to draw a large circle (make it easy and trace
around a plate! ). Have your child use a paintbrush to fill the circle w ith the moon paint. Have them add it
quite thick. For additional texture and fun, use an assortment of bottle caps and lids to make craters on the
moon, by stamping the lids into the paint w hile w et! Allow to dry completely before hanging.
Yarn-Wrapped Planet - This art activity is also a w onderful
fine motor and dexterity exercise. You w ill need
cardboard pieces and yarn. Cut various planet shapes out
of the cardboard pieces - some round, some w ith rings,
etc. Attach a piece of yarn to each planet, either w ith
tape or glue or by cutting a slit into the edge of the
shape, and have your child w rap the yarn at random
around the planet. * Tip: to avoid tangles and frustration,
keep the yarn lengths rather short - no more than 20-24".
Night Sky Art - Process art is a great w ay for a child to see
how something can come together in layers or steps. You
w ill need an art canvas - any size w ill do, you can find
these cheap at craft stores - some tempera paints in night
colors such as dark blues, blacks, greys, etc., and some
glitter. Set up the canvas w ith the variety of paints and
glitter and ask your child to paint the night sky on their
canvas. Allow them to use paintbrushes or their fingers to
create as they like, using the paint and the glitter in turns.
Watercolor Constellation Hunt - This art is almost like magic and is a beautiful w ay for a child to see and learn
constellations! You w ill need some w hite painting paper, w hite crayon, and w atercolor paints. First, on the
w hite paper, use the w hite crayon to draw a constellation (I w ould start w ith the Big Dipper for easy
identification). Draw stars for the stars and then lines to connect them. Obviously this w ill be hard/impossible
to see, so do your best. Then, have your child paint over top of the crayon w ith their w atercolor paints, filling
the entire page. The w ax from the crayon w ill resist the paint, show ing the constellation through the colors
beautifully! Have your child identify the constellation that w as hidden on the paper. This activity pairs
w onderfully w ith a reading of How to Catch a Star by Oliver Jeffers.

Space Theme 4
 Sensory Experiences
Galaxy Playdough - For a super fun galaxy-spin on
playdough time, mix a big scoop of silvery glitter into a
batch of black playdough (homemade or store bought)
and let your child enjoy stretching and expanding the
galaxy in their hands! Include some balls of colored
playdough to create planets as w ell. This can be a
completely open-ended play, but a fun w ay to set up the invitation is to roll out the galaxy dough in a large
circle and make dotted rings like you w ere going to map out the solar system. Use the colored playdough to
make balls of various colors and sizes to represent the Sun and the planets. Set those along the side to have
your child place them on the rings you made in the galaxy playdough! Be sure to include an assortment of
utensils and tools for exploration and play.
Smashing M oon Rocks - This is a w onderful sensory play activity that could be easily adapted to create a
letter recognition game. You w ill need cotton balls, flour, w ater, black tempera paint, foil, a baking sheet,
and a mallet or child' s hammer. M ix equal parts of flour and w ater in a bow l and add enough black paint to
tint the mixture gray. Line the baking sheet w ith foil and preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Have your child
dip the cotton balls in the paint mixture, completely covering the cotton and place on the foil. They can use a
spoon or their fingers. (Sprinkle w ith some glitter if you w ant to add an extra level of fun! ) Bake for about an
hour. Let them cool completely, and then you have your moon rocks! The baked flour mixture creates a hard
layer around the cotton. Now the best part - smashing them! Use your mallet or hammer to let your child
smash the moon rocks! To extend this activity, you could w rite letters on the rocks in permanent marker and
have your child identify the letters before smashing them.
Write Like an Astronaut - For a super fun sensory activity, let your child experience w hat it' s like to be in an
anti-gravity space shuttle and have to w rite a letter! Underneath a small table or chair that your child can lay
under, tape a piece of paper. Have your child lay under the table w ith a marker and draw a picture upside
dow n, w ith the paper "floating" above their head! This is a great sensory activity and your child w ill certainly
enjoy spending some time like an astronaut! This pairs w ell w ith a reading of Zoom! Zoom! Zoom! I' m Off to
the M oon! by Dan Yaccarino.
M oon Craters - For this sensory play experiment you w ill need a flat bin full of flour and some stones. Flour
(especially w hole w heat flour) is a great sensory play material and it w onderfully represents the surface of the
moon. Explain to your child that since there is no w ind or w ater on the moon (there is technically w ater, but
it' s all completely frozen), footprints that w ere placed there by the first astronauts many decades ago are still
there! Then present your child w ith the moon sensory bin filled w ith flour and let your child experiment w ith
leaving hand prints in the flour. Next, explore how craters are created by having your child drop stones into
the flour. What happens to the stone? Would the crater remain on the moon if no w ater ever w ashed it
aw ay and no w ind ever blew the dust? How could w e test this? This is a great explorative play exercise.
Galaxy Water Beads - Create a fun w ater bead sensory play w ith a mixture of any purple, pink, blue, and/or
clear w ater beads in a bin over the light table! Include an assortment of planetary objects such as toy planets,
astronauts, etc., as w ell as a variety of utensils and exploration tools such as scoops, cups, and such.

Space Theme 5
 Science Experiments
Toothpick and M arshmallow Constellations - Explore the shapes of various constellations and practice
manual dexterity and hand-eye coordination w ith this fun engineering experiment! You w ill need mini
marshmallow s, toothpicks, and images or draw ings of an assortment of constellations. Set up an invitation to
explore and create w ith these objects and let your child design constellations by sticking the toothpick ends
into the marshmallow s (stars). After replicating some of the draw ings, have them create their ow n
constellations and name them!
Oreo M oon Cycle - What better w ay to visualize the Moon Phase Image t o Demonst rat e
moon cycle than w ith cookies?! You w ill need eight Oreo Full Moon
cookies for this activity. Read Phases of the M oon by
Gillia M . Olson w ith your child to first see the eight
different stages of the moon cycle. To illustrate these Waxing
Gibbous
w ith the Oreos, you w ill have your child separate the
cookies and eat/scrape out the filling enough to
First Quarter
demonstrate each cycle. Follow the chart to the right,
making the w hite part of the cookie the part of the moon
that is visible (the w hite part of the image): Waxing
Crescent
Plot M oon Phases - After exploring the different moon
cycle phases w ith the activity above, make notes in your
New Moon
calendar together to get outside and get an in-person
view of the moon phase! On a calendar, have your child
make a mark for the dates you can see the phase of the Waning
moon in your area. A simple online search or the w eather Crescent
section in most new spapers w ill tell you w hen you can
see the major phases. Third Quarter

Anti-Gravity Experiment - Test out w hat it' s like to fight

gravity in space in this fun and simple experiment. All you Waning
need is a glass of w ater and a small piece of cardboard Gibbous
that w ill cover the top of the glass. Fill the glass
completely w ith w ater. Place the cardboard on top of the
cup. Now ask your child w hat w ill happen to the cardboard if you flip the cup upside dow n. Naturally, they
w ould expect it to fall, as gravity w ould have it do. Hold the cardboard tightly on the cup and flip it quickly. (I
recommend doing this over a sink... just incase! ) Remove your hand and marvel at your child' s amazement
that the piece of cardboard remained in place!
Constellation Flashlight Cards - This activity takes a little bit of preparation, but it is a really great w ay to bring
the magic of the stars inside! You w ill need a flashlight, scissors, black paper, needle or aw l, and a pencil.
Place the flashlight face dow n on the black paper and trace around it several times, then cut out the circles.
On each circle, use the pencil to make dots for all of your favorite constellations! Use the needle or aw l to
punch the stars on the circles out. Place the discs over the flashlight and shine it on a w all in a dark room to
see the constellation! * Tip: For an even clearer view , remove the silver triangular piece from inside the
flashlight and spray paint it black before doing this activity.

Space Theme 6
 Math Connections
Shape Rockets - This simple activity is w onderful for shape recognition and manipulation, creative play, and
engineering skills! Using pattern blocks, have your child design rocket ships w ith various pieces. If you don' t
have pattern blocks, cut out a variety of different color shapes from construction paper for your child to piece
together. This pairs w onderfully w ith a reading of Space Vehicles by Anne Rockw ell. After reading, have your
child attempt to make some of the other uniquely designed space vehicles w ith their pattern blocks!
M oon Dust Writing Tray - With this sensory tray, your child can practice w riting numbers and counting. To
make the moon dust, you w ill need salt, black food coloring, and silver glitter. Squirt a few drops of the black
food coloring into the salt and mix it around until the salt is evenly tinted. Spread it out on a tray to dry
completely before use. M ix in a large sprinkling of silver glitter and spread on a tray or in a shallow pan to
present to your child for w riting. This is great to do w ith their fingers, but if your child prefers, they can use a
paintbrush. Show your child some number cards and have them practice w riting the numbers in the moon
dust. You can also have them make tallies in the sand and w ork on counting skills.
Asteroid Counters - Set up a simple counting exercise w ith a basket of small stones ("asteroids") and some
number cards. Have your child lay out the number cards and count an appropriate number of asteroids to
each numbered card. This is great for number recognition and counting as w ell as transfer skills.
Star Sticker Counting - For this exercise, all you need is paper and a packet or tw o of the shiny colored foil
stars from the dollar or craft store. Set up an open-ended activity w ith the paper and stickers. Have your child
place stickers in patterns, count them, make number stairs (one sticker on a line, then tw o stickers below it,
three below that, etc.), sort by color, or just transfer the stickers and make fun designs. Transferring stickers
is an excellent practice in manual dexterity and fine motor skills.
Night and Day Sorting - Gather an assortment of items
that represent "night" and "day" and place them all
together in a basket. Have your child sort the items by
"night" and "day". Sorting and classification skills are
incredibly important for creating a solid foundation in
mathematical concepts! To make the categories for
sorting, design sensory discovery bottles for each section.
M ake a day bottle by filling a plastic bottle w ith blue-tinted
w ater and some w hite pom-poms. M ake a night bottle by
filling a plastic bottle w ith black tinted w ater, silver and/or
blue and black glitter, perhaps some star shaped sequins,
and some oil or corn syrup (this helps slow the movement
of the glitter dow n to make it more beautiful to w atch! ).
Have your child then match an assortment of items w ith
each of these bottles. Some ideas for "day": sunglasses,
toy animals you' d see during the day, a rainbow , a sun
shape, etc. For "night": a moon photo, toy nocturnal
animals, bedtime books, stuffed animals, etc.

Space Theme 7
 Fun With Food - Moon Cake
This healthy cake is a super fun w ay to explore in the kitchen, learn about
the craters on the moon, and enjoy a delicious snack together! M ake sure
to let your child help you w ith this recipe - it' s just as fun to make as it is to
eat! Pair this up w ith a reading of I Took the M oon For a Walk by Carolyn
Curtis and Alison Jay for an even more enjoyable experience.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup coconut palm sugar (or light brow n sugar)
1 tsp salt
5 Tbsp grapeseed oil
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp w hite vinegar
1 cup milk (your choice - I used coconut)
raisins

Directions:
1. Grease a round cake pan generously w ith non-stick oil (w e prefer grapeseed). M ix the flour,
sugar, and salt directly into the pan. Combine w ell.
2. Use a spoon to make three "craters" or w ells in a few places on the pan.
3. Pour the grapeseed oil in one crater, the baking soda in another, and the vanilla in the third.
4. Pour the vinegar on top of the baking soda crater to enjoy a momentary eruption on the moon' s
surface!
5. Add in the milk and mix everything together, combining w ell.
6. Have your child sprinkle raisins on top of the cake - these are the "moon rocks".
7. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Enjoy!

Space Theme 8