Family Storytime: Outer Space

Outer space is always a fun theme that both the kids and I love. There's tons of books and activity ideas and it was special this time because we celebrated the anniversary of the moon landing.

After we followed along to our opening bean bag song, we read Mousetronaut by Astronaut Mark Kelly. I have read this book before and everytime I read it, it keeps the kids attentive throughout the whole story even though it is on the longer side. The illustrations of the mice going up into space are so cute and funny!

Once we got through with our first book, we used the flannelboard and each put up a different colored spaceship on the moon. Of course we had to count the spaceships too.

Our next book was Green Wilma,Frog in Space by Tedd Arnold. This was a silly, rhyming story that also kept everyone's attention.

For our next activity, I put up Earth on the flannelboard and we talked a little bit about our planet. Then, each child was able to put up a star on the flannelboard. They really enjoy having their moment of putting something up on the board, so I always try to incorporate that into storytime.

Our last book was a short, but sweet book called I Wish I Were an Alien by Vivian French. I've also used this book before because it is short, rhyming, and tells a story of a boy who would like to be an alien and of an alien who would like to be a boy.

Once we were done with our last book, we started with our space scene craft. First, everyone glued their moon, earth, rocket, and astronaut onto their construction paper. These were made by using coffee filters for both the moon and earth and clipart/diecuts for the rest. Once everyone glued their pieces on and added star stickers, it was time to color their moon and earth using markers and then lightly spraying them with water to make the colors blend together. This craft turned out perfect and the kids loved piecing it all together.

 

Other Books:

Sidney, Stella, and the Moon Emma Yarlett

Astro Bunnies Christine Loomis

The Way Back Home Oliver Jeffers

Sheep Blast Off! Nancy Shaw

Other Activities:

-One Little Rocket Came Out to Play Flannel

-If You're Happy and You Know It

-Shake Your Sillies Out

Toddler Art: Outer Space

For Toddler Art's outer space theme, I picked another space book that was shorter and two somewhat easier crafts.

Roaring Rockets by Tony Mitton explains a lot of what you would see in space, including a rocket and the moon, in short rhyming format.  

I had some newbies along with the familiar faces and overall, they were good listening to the story. Though, this group definitely needs a short story.

I had the group make moons using cotton balls attached to clothespins to make gripping a little bit easier. They stamped to make craters and different designs on their black, round paper. This was great for their coordination and using a different way to paint instead of a paintbrush or fingers. 

For our last craft, we made a rocket much like the one in the story. This craft was a bit more challenging for this age group, but great practice. The parents did a good job of helping their child without being overbearing. I used streamers and foil to allow the kids to experience different sensory textures. 

The parents appreciated adding a story to the class and wanted to know if we would be taking a break in September. Because of such great turnouts, I've decided to make this a once-a-month program along with Preschool Picasso. There are tons of ideas out there and I'm looking forward to presenting them to the kids.  

3-2-1....blastoff!

Preschool Picasso: Outer Space

I was browsing my Pinterest board on all things related to the library, and came across quite a few good craft ideas I pinned on outer space. So became our theme.

After reading quite a few space picture books, I decided to read Man on the Moon: A Day in the Life of Bob by Simon Bartram. I chose this one because it covered the space theme rather well and because I had planned to use a moon craft. I also liked the illustrations and the book wasn't too short or too long.

Adding a book to read during both Preschool Picasso and Toddler Art has been a good thing, and not just for the obvious reason of encouraging reading. I find that I am having to explain how to do the crafts less and less to those who come in a little later because they are usually here by the time the story ends. 

After reading our book, we went on to our first craft. We made the sun using a variety of paint colors and plastic wrap. This was a win-win for everyone. The kids enjoyed the craft and cleanup was not bad at all. 

Each were given black construction paper that had a white circle glued on it with red, yellow, and orange paint squirted onto it. The kids had to use the plastic wrap on top to squish the paint all over the white circle to make the sun. We talked about how hot the sun is, how the paint feels under the plastic wrap, and how the different colors blended. We used q-tips to make sun beams coming out and some used them to spread their paint on the circle. 

I also had enough supplies for the parents to do this one and they enjoyed it as well. It also encouraged their kids to work on their own while mimicking their parent.

For our second craft, it was time to make the moon using white paint and water bottles. The group liked this one just as much, but really enjoyed the stickers to put in the background. Lay out a bunch of stickers and don't expect any strays after a program because kids LOVE stickers! Despite the sticker excitement, everyone shared so sweetly!

To make the moon, black construction paper was handed out that had a circle drawn on it with white crayon. They had to use the white paint to paint the moon and then added craters using the tops of water bottles and stampers. The white paint had flour added to it to add a different texture to it and make the moon look more 3D.  

To infinity and beyond!