Space Activity Day

Shayla looking at the "stars"

In response to questions about what camp theme day I did for the girls summer camp, I did SPACE day! It was a lot of fun - here are some activities so you can do your own space day at home!

SONG:

5 little aliens went out to play over the moon to the milky way.
mama alien went hep hep hep4 little aliens came floating back.
4-3 3-2 2-1 Father alien went HEP HEP HEP the 5 little aliens came floating back

BOOKS (from Library):

• Sheep on a Ship by Nancy E. Shaw
  
• The Magic School Bus Lost in the Solar System by Joanna Cole
• The Moon by Seymour Simon

ACTIVITIES

• Balloon Rockets - I hook a medium sized balloon onto the end of a bicycle pump, and let the children use the pump to fill the balloon with air. When the balloon get full enough, it lets loose and flies around the room OR suspend a string across the room, attach a long balloon to a straw and thread it onto the string. let go and watch it zoom. We counted down 10,9,8...blast off!
• Make Star Viewers: Using black duck tape wrap it around a paper towel tube covering one end and leaving the other end open to view from. Prick pin holes of stars in the covered end. If you don't have duct tape you can also tape a small circle of black construction paper over one end of a paper towel tube. Then, help them use toothpicks to poke a constellation of holes in the black paper. We decorated ours with space stickers. Prompt children to point their star viewers toward a window or a flashlight and look through the open ends.
• Solar System Art: Provide black construction paper and foil star stickers and any other space stickers you can find (I found planets at Michaels). Have white chalk available too to draw the milky way on the paper. Encourage children to create their own constellations and solar system
• Astronaut Play: We had toy space astronauts for play in the sand table
• Moon Sand Play: From a teachers store we got Moon sand so the kids could play with it. It does not get WET so they would play with it in cup and see how it would be dry when it comes out of the water
• Parachute Play: We did songs with parachute and then had each kid goon parachute ride (1 adult holding each side and swinging and bouncing each kid).

Snacks: The light brown ones are the recipe below using sunflower seed butter (before rolled in toppings) and the chocolate ones are Energy Balls made with honey, cocoa, and sunflower seed butter

• Edible Planets: Snack on edible planets! Mix 2 cups of peanut butter or cream cheese with 1 cup instant dry milk, 1 cup honey, 1 cup sunflower seeds, and 1 cup raisins. Help children pat the mixture into small balls. Then, roll these “planets” in coconut, powdered cocoa, sprinkles, or graham cracker crumbs to decorate their surfaces. Eat and enjoy—no cooking needed! (Refrigerate any leftovers.)
• Make astronaut pudding: For each child, measure one tablespoon of instant pudding and 1/4 cup cold milk into a zip-close bag. Seal the bags and have children squish the bags to mix the pudding. Then, cut off the tip of one corner and suck out the pudding just like the astronauts do! (Green pistachio pudding was fun to use).