Learn Together
Sensory activities are a great way to help children develop science and language skills as children make observations, test predictions and ask questions.
Materials
- Paper plates
- Scissors
- Fresh or frozen fruit
- Markers, crayons, colored pencils, or paint, paintbrush (optional)
- Blanket, chairs (optional)
- Cutting board and knife (optional)
Make Together
Astronauts need to exercise two and a half hours a day for six days a week to stay physically healthy in space. They use special equipment to run, bike and squat. You can do this at home. Together create an astronaut obstacle course!
- Set up small stations on the floor using paper plates.
- Cut paper plates into different sizes to represent the different planets.
- Color or paint the plates to represent the Sun and each planet: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.
- On the other side of the plate write down a different exercise like run, jump, or squat. Add a number between five and ten and add a speed like, fast or slow.
- Place your sun in the center of your room and the planets in order from the Sun: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.
- Now you can space jump from planet to planet and to the Sun! At each station complete the short exercise.
- This activity can be timed (do 10 seconds of running in place/10 jumping jacks/10 squats in 2 minutes), or there can be no time limit, or set number goals.
- You can start this obstacle course first by pretending that your bed or couch is a ship! Or put a blanket over 2 chairs to make a pretend spaceship.
- You can sing the following while on your mission:
(Sung to the tune of ‘Itsy Bitsy Spider’)
Climb aboard the ship,
We’re going to the moon.
Hurry and get ready,
We’re gonna blast off soon! - Once the ship lands you can run your astronaut obstacle course!
- Healthy Astronaut Snack: In space you can lose body mass faster than when you’re on earth. Because of this, it is important for astronauts to eat healthy. Frozen and/or dehydrated fruit is one of the main sources of nutrition in space.
- Prepare frozen and/or dehydrated fruit for a healthy astronaut snack!
- Pick your favorite fruit.
- Slice them into thin, skinny pieces.
- Place them in your oven on the lowest setting for 6 to 8 hours.
- You can buy frozen fruit or freeze your favorite fruits yourself.