Adventures in Space

Get ready for...AN ADVENTURE in SPACE!  The kids had so much fun designing their very own astronaut scrapbook pages each day as we visited new places in the Solar System!  I dressed up in my fuzzy astronaut helmet, and we began by learning all about Amazing Astronauts!  {Isn't this one adorable?}

We went on a virtual field trip with NASA and learned that the sun is not just yellow--it is all the colors of the rainbow!  {This is our ROY G BIV sun, complete with solar flares, sunspots, and solar winds.}

We visited each planet in the Solar System and journaled the cool facts we learned there!

These scrapbooks were such a fun way for my students to record their learning!  They loved looking back and reading why "Mars is Magnificent" and why "Earth is Extraordinary"!


I have uploaded *a new and improved--seriously very cool* Adventures in Space scrapbook (created on my brand new MacBook--WOOT!) to my TpT store for $4.00--but I will send 2 out for free to the first two friends who comment!  {Just leave me your email address!}

Hope you have amazing adventures in space...

Shooting Stars!

Space craft-tivity of the week:  shooting stars!  Very simple to make (just takes a little prep work to cut all the ribbon), and the kids will have a BLAST making them fly!  

Directions:  

1. Cut 2 different lengths of banner strips (any color), and 3 or more different lengths of curling ribbon.  {Curl one or 2 of the curling ribbons with your scissors!}
2. Have the kids gather all of the ribbons together at one end, then twist together tightly, and tape to a square of aluminum foil.
3. Crumble up a paper ball, then wrap the foil (with ribbons attached) around the paper ball.  
4. Tie a piece of yarn to the ribbon bunch found right underneath the foil ball. {This is your flying string.}
5. Take the shooting stars outside to watch them fly!

They are AWESOME!!!!

Flying Saucers

What's that in the math station tub?  A bird?  A plane?  It's a UFO!  One of the "alien addition" themed activities this week is Flying Saucers!  The kids have a bucket full of 20 flying saucers {really they are those 25 cent machine prize pods}  and they choose a saucer, read the addition fact inside, then solve the problem on their recording sheet!  Just something a little different from the old math worksheet!  Parents, please keep working with your first grader on doubles (to 20), doubles +1 (to 20), and addition facts to 10!  If anyone has fun ideas or things you have tried for home practice with addition, please share!!!

{Click the picture above to download a copy of Flying Saucers!}

Alien Addition!

 You've seen the penguins...now meet my little green space aliens!  They have arrived just in time for "Adventures in Space" week!  I found these green pebbles at Hobby Lobby, and created unique faces on each one using a black sharpie!  I can't wait for the kids to see these!  I am thinking about giving each child one to keep as a little alien pet--they can write about them, introduce them to planet Earth, and "imagine up" a name and planet where their new and unusual friend used to live!  I will be using the rest as counters and addition helpers.  I found the cutest flying saucer notepad {pictured below} at the Parent-Teacher Store, and will have the kids create story problems using the mat and aliens.  Stay tuned for more alien addition activities this week! Space ROCKS!