Learning about space has become a significant focus for my kids lately. They love finding the moon during the day and reading books all about planets. So we decided our space-themed inflatable tent would make for the perfect setting for our read-aloud and sensory play activity today.
Space Sensory Play Activity Materials
- Inflatable tent/ square fan
- Tray
- Black beans
- Star beads (Michael’s)
- Pipe cleaners
- Books about space
- Light Table or Tablet
Favorite Primary-Age Space Read- Aloud Books
- Hello World! Solar System by Jill McDonald
- Moon! Earth’s Best Friend by Stacy McAnulty and illustrated by Stevie Lewis
- Space For Kids Who Really Love Space! by Sarah Powell, Nicola Friggens, and Katherine Radcliffe
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Space Sensory Activity
I filled a round tray with glow-in-the-dark star beads and covered them with black beans. We set up our star-covered inflatable tent and organized our area with the tray, pipe cleaners, and read-aloud books. The kids mixed around the sensory tray to pretend to have stars moving around. Then they picked some out and placed them on a light tablet to form patterns. Next, they used pipe cleaners to create bracelets while reading books.
Math Connection Activity
We stayed in the tent and completed a mini math lesson about ABC patterns using the beads on the light tablet. Then, children made bracelets with their completed patterns.
Phases of the Moon with Oreos Activity
For a follow-up activity, I let children have an oreo as part of snack time, and we used phases of the moon chart and demonstrated how the moon goes through its one-month cycle while biting their oreo moons.
Follow-up Earth Rotation Around the Sun Activity
My kids love playing with the Orboot app and its globe. While using a flashlight, your child can rotate the world, and another child can pretend to be the sun and stand still with a flashlight pointing at the globe. My kids loved how dark the room was when we did this activity. We then talked about how this demonstrates how we go from day to night and back again. I let the kids watch Blue’s Clues song about the planets afterward to make one more brain connection before moving on to the next activity.
Amazon Products Used for these Activities
I earn from qualifying purchases as an Amazon Associate, but also I just love these products and use them with my kids.
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I hope you found this activity helpful. Please see my other posts for more ideas of educational activities with young learners. Thank you again- Chrissy