Space Crescent Black Space: Sub-themes

Week 1: Black/Crescent EVERYWHERE! Introduction to the Milky Way/Parts of the (8 , 1 dwarf and ) 2: Continue with Planets Sun and Week 3: //meteors/stars Week 4: Space travel/Exploration/Astronaut Week 5: Review

Cooking

Week 1: Cucumber Sandwiches Week 2: Alien Playdough Week 3: Sunshine Shake Week 4: Moon Sand Week 5: Rocket Shaped Snack Cucumber Sandwich Ingredients 1 carton (8 ounces) spreadable cream cheese 2 teaspoons ranch salad dressing mix (dry one) 12 slices mini bread 2 to 3 medium cucumbers, sliced, thinly Let the children take turns mixing the cream cheese and ranch salad dressing mix. The children can also assemble their own sandwiches. They can spread the mixture themselves on their bread with a spoon and can put the cucumbers on themselves.

Sunshine Shakes

Ingredients and items needed: blender; 6 ounce can of unsweetened frozen orange juice concentrate, 3/4 cup of milk, 3/4 cup of , 1 teaspoon of vanilla and 6 cubes. Children should help you put the items in the blender. You blend it up and yum!

Moon Sand

Materials Needed: 6 cups play sand (you can purchased colored play sand as well!); 3 cups cornstarch; 1 1/2 cups of cold water. -Have the children help scoop the corn starch and water into the table and mix until smooth. -Add sand gradually. This is very pliable sand and fun! -Be sure to store in an airtight container when not in use. If it dries, ad a few tablespoons of water and mix it in.

Rocket Shaped Snack - see sheet

Saturn:

How much would you weigh on ? Because Saturn is bigger than the , you would weigh more on Saturn than you do here. If you weigh 70 (32 kg) pounds on Earth, you would weigh 74.5 pounds (34 kg) on Saturn.

The Planet In many ways, Saturn is similar to , but it is much smaller. It is the second largest planet in our Solar System and it is a like Jupiter. Under the clouds of , hydrogen and helium, the sky gradually turns into liquid until it becomes a giant ocean of liquid chemicals. Saturn is the least dense planet in our Solar System. It is made up of mostly hydrogen and helium, which are the two lightest elements in the universe and thus make Saturn the lightest planet that we know of. This is why you wouldn't weigh as much on Saturn as you think you would because of its size. And because Saturn is so , it does not have as much . Interestingly, it is believed Saturn would actually be able to float in water because the hydrogen and helium that make up the planet are so lightweight. Because Saturn is such a lightweight planet and it spins so fast, Saturn is not perfectly round like most of the other planets. Like Jupiter, Saturn is wider in the middle and more narrow near its top and bottom. The Rings Saturn is most well-known for its rings. However, it is not the only planet with rings. Jupiter, and also have rings.

Mercury

Mercury means: In mythology, Mercury was the Roman version of the Greek god . He was the messenger for the other gods, and for this reason Mercury is often depicted in pictures with winged sandals. In addition to delivering messages, he was also the of travelers and merchants.

How much would you weigh on Mercury? If you moved to Mercury you would not weigh as much as you do on Earth. Not because you would lose weight on the spaceship, but because Mercury is smaller, and so has less gravity. If you weigh 70 pounds (32 kg) on Earth, you would weigh only about 27 pounds (12 kg) on Mercury.

The Planet The planet Mercury is the closest of the planets to the Sun. Because this planet lies so close to the Sun, and as a result somewhat near to Earth, it is visible to observers on Earth in the late evening or early morning sky. Because of this, Mercury has become a part of the mythology and legend of almost every culture throughout the history of the Earth. This planet is often called a morning star. This is because Mercury shines brightly in the early morning just before the sun rises. It has also been called an evening star for the same reason. Mercury is often visible for a brief period of time just after the Sun sets. Mercury is Heavy Because of its proximity to the Sun, Mercury's evolution took a slightly different course than that of the other planets. As the Sun formed, it pushed much of the lighter gas and dust out of the inner Solar System, leaving behind only heavier elements. As a result, Mercury is made out of a large percentage of heavier elements, mainly iron. It is essentially a large metal ball of iron with a very thin silicate crust. Mercury's core makes up about 75% of the planet. Its thin , or crust, is only about 300 to 400 miles thick (500 to 600 km). Next to Earth, Mercury is the second most dense planet in our Solar System.

Mercury Has Wrinkles As Mercury's iron core cooled it contracted, or shrunk. This caused its rocky crust to become wrinkled. Scientists call these wrinkles Lobate Scarps. This scarps can be hundreds of miles long and even up to a mile high. Mercury's core has not cooled completely, however. Researcher recently found evidence that Mercury has a molten core.

Mercury is Scarred The surface of the planet Mercury is covered with craters. These craters have been created by eons of accidental encounters with asteroids and comets. All celestial bodies within the Solar System are subject to these bombardments. However, many of the planets have the ability to heal themselves through natural geological processes. Because Mercury's crust is so thick and hard, no volcanic activity can make its way through to the surface of the planet. Since this surface volcanic activity cannot happen, Mercury will forever retain its scars.

Mercury Has No Atmosphere The planet Mercury is too small and has too little gravity to hold onto an atmosphere. Any gases released from the planet quickly escape into space. Also, Mercury is so close to the Sun that any atmosphere is quickly blown away by the Sun's solar winds. That means that there is almost no air on Mercury. Extremes Mercury is just a little bit larger than Earth's moon. The surface of Mercury that faces the Sun can reach about 800 degrees Fahrenheit. On the other hand, the temperature on the nighttime side can plummet to almost -300 degrees Fahrenheit. This is because Mercury has little to no atmosphere to help regulate temperature.

Time on Mercury Because of its close location to the Sun, the planet Mercury has become tidally locked to the Sun, or nearly so. The tidal forces of the Sun have over eons of time slowed down the rotation of Mercury to match its revolution around the Sun. The result is that Mercury rotates very slowly. One on Mercury is about 58-1/2 Earth days long. But while Mercury's days are very long, its revolution around the Sun is rather fast. Mercury can complete one around the Sun in only 88 Earth days. That's just about 3 here on Earth. This is why Mercury's name is so appropriate. In mythology, Mercury was a speedy messenger, just like the planet's speedy revolution around the Sun.

Moons: Mercury has no .

Did you know? Mercury's orbit is not a perfect circle like most of the other planets. It's actually egg-shaped. At times, Mercury's orbit brings it closer to the Sun than other times, while all the other planets that have circular are always the same distance from the Sun.

How much would you weigh on Venus? Because Venus and the Earth are almost the exact same size, you would weigh almost exactly the same on either planet. If you weighed 70 pounds (32 kg) on Earth, you would weigh 63 pounds (29 kg ) on Venus.

The Planet The planet Venus has long been one of the most misunderstood of all the inner planets. Like the Earth, Venus has an atmosphere. However, Venus' atmosphere is far thicker than that of the Earth, making it difficult for modern to penetrate. Interestingly, scientists have recently been able to peek through the thick clouds and get a few glimpses of the surface. There are numerous volcanoes and many mountains that appear misshapen.

There is much we still do not know about how this planet looks and what it is like. However, using special instruments and probes scientists have in recent years unlocked many of the secrets long hidden by this mysterious world. In the 1970s, the Soviet Union actually was able to land more than one probe on the surface of Venus. These scientific probes only lasted a few before they were destroyed by the intense heat of the planet. These probes were able to take several pictures and send them back to earth for scientists to study.

The Earth Has a Sister Venus is in many ways Earth's sister planet. It is almost identical in size, chemistry, gravity and as the Earth. In other words, Venus is made up of almost the exact same types of materials as the Earth and in about the same amounts. Venus has volcanoes, mountains and sand, just like Earth.

However, if they are twins, then Venus is the evil twin; she is the Earth gone wrong, very wrong. Venus is a deadly world where the surface temperature is hot enough to cook a meal in mere minutes. There is nowhere to hide from this ever present furnace. And with the atmosphere containing mostly dioxide, it makes Venus a highly toxic place. No living thing would ever be able to survive on Venus.

Global Warming In the early days of Venus' 4 billion year long life, it would have appeared very similar to the Earth. The two would have been almost identical. However, over a period of a few million years, forces on Venus caused it to take a very different course than the Earth.

Venus lies much closer to the Sun than does our planet. That single fact has caused an unstoppable chain of events that doomed Venus to its fiery existence. Owing to its closer proximity to the Sun, Venus' temperature should have been only slightly warmer than that of the Earth. But as the planet warmed, the water evaporated. This increase in water vapor in the atmosphere began a cycle of global warming that could not be stopped. Water vapor is a very effective greenhouse gas. (Greenhouse gas soaks up hot air and prevents it from escaping into space). The increase in water vapor caused the temperature to rise further, which caused more water to evaporate, causing the temperature to climb still further.

Today it is likely that all of Venus' water has evaporated into the atmosphere. This atmosphere effectively traps the Sun's energy causing the surface to burn much hotter than it naturally would. The on Venus can reach almost 900 degrees Fahrenheit (approx 482 degrees Celsius).

Venus is Dry The Earth has a protective layer known as the Ozone Layer. This important shield protects the Earth from the Sun's radiation. Venus does not have an ozone layer. As a result, the ultraviolet radiation from the Sun finds its way directly into Venus' atmosphere. Over many billions of years this radiation has slowly broken down water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen. As a result, there is today very little water left on Venus. Geography Venus has many, many volcanoes. We don't know for sure, but it is possible that Venus has more volcanoes than any of the other planets in our Solar System. But unlike the volcanoes on Earth that can sometimes erupt in an explosive manner, the volcanoes on Venus are believed to erupt in a less violent way. In fact, it is believed that they don't erupt at all. Instead, it is thought that the lava just slowly flows out onto the surface.

Venus has a few mountainous areas along with extensive flat areas. There are craters and evidence that the surface long ago moved, much like the surface of the Earth moves today. But unlike the Earth's surface, there is no evidence that Venus has a tectonic plate system.

From West to East If you somehow found a way to survive the scorching heat found on the surface of Venus, you would quickly notice something strange about the days. Aside from the fact that Venus rotates very slowly so that a day on Venus lasts more than 100 Earth days, Venus also rotates in the opposite direction as almost all the other planets.

Instead of the Sun rising in the east and setting in the west, the Sun on Venus would appear to rise in the west and set in the east.

Moons: Venus has no moons.

Did you know? Because Venus is so close to the Earth, it appears as the brightest planet in the night sky.

Earth

Earth means: In astronomy mythology, her Greek name was Gaea. Earth was the mother of the mountains, valleys, streams and all other land formations. She was married to Uranus.

How Big is the Earth? The Earth is the biggest of all the terrestrial planets. A is a dense planet found in the inner Solar System. The diameter of Earth is 7,926 miles. The circumference measured around the is 24,901 miles. There are currently almost 7 billion people living on the Earth. About 30% of the Earth's surface is covered with land, while about 70% is covered by oceans.

The Planet Our planet is an oasis of life in an otherwise desolate universe. The Earth's temperature, weather, atmosphere and many other factors are just right to keep us alive.

Mars means: Mars was the Roman god of war and agriculture. It may not seem like these two things go together, but they do. Mars protected those who fought for their communities, and stayed home to raise crops for food. In Greek, Mars was known as .

How much would you weigh on Mars? If you weighed 70 pounds (32 kg) on the Earth, you would weigh about 27 pounds (12 kg) on Mars.

The Planet Mars excites scientists because its mild temperament is more like the Earth's than any of the other planets. Evidence suggests that Mars once had rivers, streams, lakes, and even an ocean. As Mars' atmosphere slowly depleted into , the surface water began to permanently evaporate. Today the only water on Mars in either frozen in the polar caps or underground.

You may sometimes hear Mars referred to as the "Red Planet." This is because the surface of Mars is red. If you stood on the surface of Mars, you would see red dirt and rocks everywhere.

Exploration At first, the only way modern explorers could study Mars was with satellites that would fly close to the surface of Mars and take pictures as it did so. The satellites would then send these pictures back to Earth.

As scientific technology became more advanced, scientists were able to put into orbit around the Red Planet. These types of missions allowed scientists and researchers to obtain even more information about Mars.

Then, as technology advanced even more, scientists and researchers were able to actually land spacecraft on the surface of Mars.

Moons: Mars has two moons, their names are and .

Did you know? Mars has higher mountains, and deeper canyons than any other planet. The largest canyon on Mars would stretch from New York City to Los Angeles on the Earth. That makes the Grand Canyon look tiny. It also has the Solar System's biggest volcano, Olympus Mons, which is nearly 3 times larger than Mount Everest.

Jupiter

Jupiter means: Jupiter, known as in , over threw his father Saturn to become king of the gods. He then split the universe with his brothers Neptune and .

How much would you weigh on Jupiter? If you traveled to Jupiter on vacation, you would be very heavy. If you weigh 70 pounds (32 kg) on Earth, on Jupiter you would weigh 185 pounds (84 kg). This is because Jupiter is such a large planet and so has more gravity.

The Planet Jupiter is by far the largest planet in our Solar System. The Earth could fit inside Jupiter more than 1000 times. Jupiter is a very stormy planet. There are found throughout the atmosphere, and most of the storms seem to never end. The many different cloud formations and storms in the atmosphere also make Jupiter a very colorful planet. Jupiter's , visible in the picture above to the right, is where a giant has been raging for at least 300 years. This red spot is also called "The Eye of Jupiter" because of its shape. This storm's super hurricane winds blow across an area larger than the Earth. Jupiter is considered a gas giant because it does not have a solid surface. Under its atmosphere is a large liquid ocean of hydrogen and water. What lies in between that ocean and the atmosphere? Actually, there is no in between. The atmosphere slowly gets thicker and thicker until it becomes part of the ocean. In other words, Jupiter's ocean has no surface on which you could float a boat. The sky becomes the ocean. Rings Did you know Jupiter has rings? They are faint and are only able to be viewed when Jupiter passes in front of the Sun. This is because the light from the Sun them up for us to see here on Earth. There are three rings in all. They are named Gossamer, Main and Halo.

Moons: Jupiter has 50 official moons and 12 provisional (unofficial) moons. The four largest and most well-known were discovered by Galileo in the year 1610. Their names are , , and . Some of the other moons are , , , , , , , , , , and .

Did you know? You can see four of Jupiter's moons With a pair of binoculars at night. Also, Jupiter spins really fast; it only takes 10 hours to go from night to day on Jupiter. For this reason, its middle has been stretched out. Rather than round it is short and fat. Kind of like when someone spins pizza dough really fast to stretch it out. This planet shape is called an oblate .

Uranus

Uranus means: In astronomy mythology, Uranus was the lord of the skies and husband of Earth. He was also the king of the gods until he was overthrown by his son Saturn.

How much would you weigh on Uranus? It would take you many years to fly a rocket to Uranus. When you arrived you would weigh less because Uranus' gravity is not as strong as the Earth's. If you weigh 70 pounds (32 kg) on Earth, you would weigh 62 pounds (28 kg) on Uranus.

The Planet Like Jupiter and Saturn, Uranus is a gas giant. But Uranus is a little different. Unlike all the other planets and most of the moons in our Solar System, Uranus spins on its side. It is believed that long ago a very large object smashed into this planet. The crash was so powerful that it completely changed the direction of Uranus' planetary rotation. However, a more recent theory is that the extreme tilt of Uranus' axis may have been caused by a large moon that was slowly pulled away from the planet by another large planet long ago when our Solar System was still new. It is thought that the gravitational pull of this moon moving away from Uranus may have caused it to tilt on its side. Like Saturn, the thick atmosphere of Uranus is made up of methane, hydrogen and helium. But Uranus is an extremely cold planet. It has been called the "." It is believed that Uranus is made up of and ice and has a large rocky core. Because of the tremendous planetary pressure of Uranus, there could possibly be trillions of large diamonds in or on the surface of this planet. Scientists also believe that on the surface of Uranus there may be a huge ocean. And, interestingly, it is thought that the temperature of this ocean may be extremely hot, maybe even as hot as 5000 degrees Fahrenheit (2760 Celsius). Uranus is almost identical to the planet Neptune. Rings Uranus also has rings, though they don't stretch out as far as the . The are made up of black dust particles and large rocks.

Moons: Uranus has 27 moons. Five of these moons are large and the rest are smaller. The largest moon is , followed by , , and . Some of the smaller moons are named: , , , , , , , , , , and .

Did you know? Since Uranus spins on its side, its rings rotate up and over the planet instead of around the middle like the rings of Saturn and Neptune.

Neptune

Neptune means: At first, Neptune was only the god of water, but later on this was extended to include the when he became associated with the Greek god .

How much would you weigh on Neptune? If you weigh 70 pounds (32 kg) on the Earth, you would weigh 78.5 pounds (36 kg) on Neptune.

The Planet For many, centuries people did not know that this planet even existed. It was discovered by Johann Galle and Heinrich D'Arrest in 1846. Neptune is the smallest of the four gas in our Solar System. Much like Saturn and Uranus, Neptune's atmosphere contains hydrogen, helium and methane. Not much was known about Neptune until it was visited by the spacecraft on August 25, 1989. Voyager 2 took many pictures of the planet, and much of what we know today about Neptune came from this single visit. These pictures show a brilliant blue planet with a few thin white clouds laced around its surface. In Neptune's atmosphere, there is a large white cloud that moves around rather quickly. The "scooting" of this cloud around the atmosphere has led it to be named "Scooter." When Voyager 2 visited Neptune, its pictures showed a giant storm much like the storm on Jupiter. This storm is called the "" because it appears as a dark oval shape on the surface of the planet. We do not know how long this storm has been active or if it is still present. More recently, the Hubble Space sent pictures back to Earth and there was no sign of the Great Dark Spot. These pictures did show two other dark spots that eventually faded away. Neptune is a very windy place. No other planet in the Solar System has winds that are as strong as Neptune's. The winds near the Great Dark Spot were believed to have reached nearly 1,200 miles per (approx 1931 km per hour). Perhaps this extremely windy atmosphere contributes to the appearance and disappearance of the great dark spots. Rings Neptune has six rings which circle the planet. These rings are believed to be fairly new. The rings are more irregular than the rings of other planets. There are areas of varying thickness throughout the rings.

Moons: Neptune has 13 moons that we know of. Because Neptune is so far away, it is difficult to see any of these worlds. There are probably many more moons orbiting this blue planet which we have not yet discovered. Perhaps you will be the astronomer who discovers some of these worlds. The first moon to be discovered was . Triton was discovered by an amateur astronomer in England named only 17 days after Neptune was discovered in 1846. The names of the other moons are: , , , Laomedeia, , , , , , , , and .

Did you know? Neptune's circular orbit is offset from the Sun. At times, Neptune's orbit takes it further from the Sun than any other planet in the Solar System. In 2011, Neptune will complete its first orbit around the Sun since it was discovered in 1846.

Pluto

Pluto means: Pluto was thought to be the god to whom all men must eventually go. Romans believed him to be the god of the underworld. In Greek mythology, he is known as .

How much would you weigh on Pluto? Because Pluto is so small you would be very light if you visited. If you weigh 70 pounds (32 kg) on Earth, you would only weigh 4 pounds (2.5 kg) on Pluto.

The Pluto was the only planet to be named by a kid. After the planet was discovered in 1930, an 11-year-old girl who lived in Oxford, England, by the name of , suggested that this new planet needed to be named after the Roman god of the underworld. Venetia's grandfather sent this suggestion to the and the name was accepted. Pluto is smaller than 7 of the moons in the Solar System. It is about two-thirds smaller than Earth's moon. Because it is so small, many scientists don't consider it a planet at all. In 1999, a group of scientists attempted to re-classify Pluto as a . On August 24, 2006, Pluto's status was officially changed from planet to dwarf planet. For decades, children have been taught in school that there are nine planets in our Solar System. However, with this change, there are now only eight planets. Also because of this change, there is a new category of small planets known as plutoids. The has provided the clearest images yet of this dwarf planet for scientists to study. Studies of Pluto and its moon are still being conducted today with the Hubble Space Telescope. However, little is still known about Pluto and its moons because it is so far away. Moons: Pluto has 4 moons. The largest is named . Charon is only slightly smaller than its parent Pluto. For this reason, Pluto and Charon are often called a system. The Earth and its moon, Luna, are sometimes considered double planets. Pluto's two other moons are called and . The newest moon, only recently discovered by the Hubble Space Telescope in the summer of 2011, is temporarily named P4. It is located between the orbits of Nix and Hydra.

Did you know? Pluto revolves around the Sun in an orbit that is not exactly circular like the rest of the planets. Rather, Pluto's orbit is more of an oval or egg shape. Because of this, Pluto will orbit inside of Neptune's orbit, which makes Pluto closer to the Sun than Neptune at times. Also, its orbit does not lie flat in the same plane as the rest of the planets. Pluto's orbit is tilted so it orbits above and below the other planets' orbits in our Solar System.

The Sun

The Sun's Name Means: The Romans called the sun Sol, which in English means sun. In ancient , the sun was called .

Our Sun is not unique in the universe. It is a common middle-sized yellow star which scientists have named Sol, after the ancient Roman name. This is why our system of planets is called the Solar System. There are trillions of other stars in the universe just like it. Many of these stars have their own systems of planets, moons, asteroids, and comets. The Sun was born in a vast cloud of gas and dust around 5 billion years ago. Indeed, these vast nebulae are the birth places of all stars. Over a period of many millions of years, this gas and dust began to fall into a common center under the force of its own gravity. At the center, an ever growing body of was forming. As the matter fell inward, it generated a tremendous amount of heat and pressure. As it grew, the baby Sun became hotter and hotter. Eventually, when it reached a temperature of around 1 million degrees, its core ignited, causing it to begin nuclear fusion. When this happened, the Sun began producing its own light, heat, and energy.

Asteroids

What are asteroids? An is a large rock in outer space. Some, like , can be very large, while others are as small as a grain of sand. Due to their smaller size, asteroids do not have enough gravity to pull themselves into the shape of a ball. Astronomers group asteroids into different categories based on the way they reflect sunlight. Asteroids are left over materials from the formation of the Solar System. These materials were never incorporated into a planet because of their proximity to Jupiter's strong gravity.

How many asteroids are there?

26 very large asteroids have been discovered, which is probably most of the big ones. But there are still millions of smaller ones that we have yet to see because they are too tiny, only a mile or so across.

If we stuck all the asteroids together, how big would the new planet be? If all the materials of all the asteroids were squashed up into one planet it would be smaller than our moon.

Did you know? While most asteroids can be found in the , others are in strange orbits straying far from home. It is currently believed that at least 5000 asteroids cross the Earth's orbit, some coming very close. Don't worry though, asteroids and comets only hit the Earth every 100 million years or so.

Comet Among the most brilliant and most rare objects in the night sky. These soaring beacons with their beautiful tails come from the outer realms of the Solar System.

Imagine a place far, far away at the very edge of the Solar System. A place where millions of comets can be seen swishing around in every direction. These icy comets are orbiting the Sun in two different places, both of which are very distant. One place is called the , and the other is called the .

Why do Comets leave their home in the Oort Cloud or Kuiper Belt? A comet will spend billions of years in the Kuiper Belt or Oort Cloud. Sometimes two comets will come very close to each other, or even crash into one another. When this happens the comets change directions. Sometimes their new path will bring them into the Inner Solar System.

This is when a comet begins to shine. Up until now the comet has been among millions of others exactly the same, but as they approach the warmer Inner Solar System they begin to melt leaving behind magnificent tails.

Unfortunately, comets don't live very long once they enter the warmer part of the Solar System. Just like a snowman melts in the summer, comets melt in the Inner Solar System. Although it is the most glorious part of their lives, traveling through the Inner Solar System eventually kills them. After several thousand years they melt down to a little bit of ice and dust, not nearly enough to leave a tail. Some even melt away completely.

Would it be safe to fly through the tail of a comet? Unlike a recent blockbuster movie showing a space ship flying past giant rocks the size of houses, a comet's tail is actually quite safe. The only thing that would hit your ship would be microscopic pieces of dust. Did you know? Many people think that a comet's tail is always following behind it, but actually the coma, or tail, can either be behind the comet or in front of it. Which way the tail is pointing depends on where the Sun is. That's right, the Sun's heat and radiation produce a wind called the Solar Wind, as a comet gets close to the Sun it begins to melt. The gas and dust that melt off are blown away from the Sun by the solar winds. So if a comet is traveling towards the Sun then the tail will follow behind, but if the comet is traveling away from the Sun the tail will be in front of the comet.

Space Science Activities

Moon Rock Sorting Materials Needed: Bin of rocks of different colors, shapes and sizes; aluminum foil bowls Children sort the rocks by different attributes.

Space Theme Circle Time Ideas

Circle Time is such a great time for children to learn the social skills of being together as a large group AND to learn more about your Space Theme!

Tell a Cooperative Story

Materials Needed: Paper, pen! I LOVE cooperative stories! They are great, and silly and fun! Tell the children that they are going to make up a story about taking a trip to a planet! You will need to prompt a lot of it, but write down everything they say and WHO says it! I usually start with: Once upon a time...... then add a prompt...... Once upon a time, some preschool children took a trip in a rocket ship to another planet. When the rocket ship was in the air...... You then ask the children "What happened when the rocket ship was in the air?" Ask only one child who has an answer to answer that question. Then prompt the next question. "When the rocket ship was in the air, a bird flew by..." Say, "what happened next?" Call on another child. Continue until all of the children have had a turn. Write down each answer with the child's name next to it. Retype the story, putting each child's name in parenthesis after their statement. Print enough copies for each child and one extra for your library! The next day, read the class copy of the story to the children. You won't have to say each child's name while reading it...trust me...they'll remember! After the story, have the children decorate a black or dark blue piece of paper with stickers for their individual book covers. You should make one, also! Yours will be for the class copy. Attach the book covers and send one book home with each student. Place the class copy in your classroom library! They will LOVE seeing their name in print!

Stars in the Sky Materials Needed: A star cut out that has lots of glitter on one side and is plain on the other side. Talk to the children about when they see stars...night time, day? Explain that the stars are still there, we just can't see them with all the light from the sun shining during the day.

Follow up with this song! Sung to the tune of Itsy, Bitsy, Spider

See the shining stars(Hold up shiny side of star facing out) Up in the big, night sky. Look at them all twinkling and blinking way up high! When the morning comes, (Slowly start turning the star around) the night turns into day And the little twinkling stars. (Show plain side of star only.) All seem to go away! Outer Space I look up from Earth and try to see. The planets looking back at me. I gaze at bright and distant stars. And search for Mercury, Venus and Mars. I squint at the Milky Way, way up high. And look for Jupiter in the sky. Where are Saturn, Uranus, Neptune? They're far away, high like the moon. A telescope would be the best. for spotting Pluto and the rest. But even with my two eyes. I look for planets in the sky. EXTENSION: Provide paper towel tubes for the children to use while you recite the poem to them.

Moon Facts

• The Moon is the Earth’s only . A natural satellite is a space body that orbits a planet, a planet like object or an asteroid.

• It is the fifth largest moon in the Solar System. Learn more about the other moons in the Solar System.

• The average distance from the Moon to the Earth is 384403 kilometres (238857 miles).

• The Moon orbits the Earth every 27.3 days.

• Mons is the tallest mountain on the Moon, it is 4700 metres tall, just over half the height of Mt Everest (8848m).

• The Moon rotates on its axis in around the same length of time it takes to orbit the Earth. This means that from Earth we only ever see around 60% of its surface (50% at any one time). • The side that we can see from Earth is called the near side while the other side is called the far side (it is sometimes called the dark side despite the fact that it illuminated by the Sun just as much as the near side).

• The effect of gravity is only about one fifth (17%) as strong on the surface of the Moon compared to the strength of gravity on the surface of the Earth.

• The Soviet Union’s Luna program featured the first successful landing of an unmanned spacecraft on the surface of the Moon in 1966.

• The USA’s NASA 11 mission in 1969 was the first manned .

• The first person to set foot on the Moon was Neil Armstrong.

• The looks quite different due to its lack of maria (ancient pools of solidified lava).

• The surface of the Moon features a huge number of impact craters from comets and asteroids that have collided with the surface over time. Because the Moon lacks an atmosphere or weather these craters remain well preserved.

• Although research is continuing, most scientists agree that the Moon features small amounts of water.

• The Moon is very hot during the day but very cold at night. The average surface temperature of the Moon is 107 degrees Celsius during the day and -153 degrees Celsius at night.

• The Earth’s are largely caused by the gravitational pull of the Moon.

• The phases of the Moon are: , Crescent, First Quarter, Waxing Gibbous, , Waning Gibbous, Last Quarter, Crescent, New Moon….

• A lunar occurs when the Earth is between the Sun and the Moon.

Outer space Gross Motor Half Moon Poses

Standing Crescent Moon Pose

Crescent Lunge Planet Bean Bag Toss

Materials Needed: Large piece of cardboard; bean bags In advance, cut holes larger than the bean bags. Paint Blue or black. Paint or attach paper stars around the holes. Let your little ones practice using their tossing and eye- hand coordination skills with this!

Getting Fit Obstacle Course

Astronauts need to be in very good physical health! Help your preschoolers train for NASA by setting up an obstacle course! Use whatever you have available: Circle mats to hop from one to the other (or precut paper circles taped to the floor), a tunnel to crawl through (chairs with a blanket over them work well!); a balance beam to walk on or hop over!