Last week our class just focussed on space! We were just thinking and talking about space.We read a book and learned about Neil Armstrong as the first man on the moon, and that sparked our interest to dive more into what and how this happened.We spoke about many people landing on moon after him and yet how discoveries continue to be made in space. Their excitement led us into making our own classroom rocket ship , and to take a field trip to the moon and the solar system. Since then we have been designing and adding on to our knowledge of what lies in the enchanted world of the Universe!
We began by making the Blue prints for our rocket ship where we drew and jotted down our ideas of things we need to build a rocket ship.
Designing the boxes and arranging them so that they look like a rocket ship. Friends drew a door and two windows to enjoy the space view outside. They also wanted the wings which according to them was the launch pad, and a pointy cone that goes right on the top so that the rocket ship could blast off like zoooooooom!
Friends had tons of questions in their minds and we had tons of discussions all through the week. One question that fascinated all was, "How do astronauts sleep?"
Well none of us knew about it. So it was a learning for all. Next day we came up with information to read as well as to act. We got books and the sound proof earmuffs, sleeping bag, and glasses. Yes it was overwhelming, but it could have been for anyone this age. Each one of them wanted to try and we spent a chunk of time to make them understand how it feels to sleep in a rocket ship :)
We learned how the astronauts put earmuffs on to cut off the loud engine sounds, wear glasses to cut out the lights, and to avoid floating they are tightly strapped down.
A with her costume and getting strapped to feel cozy to sleep.
Soon a child raised the point that they don't sleep with a costume on..thumbs up for getting it corrected. So now we tried it the right way :c)
D said she feels sleepy and cozy and she can't hear a thing...
Friends hugging their astronaut friend in his cocoon.....hehehehheheehehe
Children checking out how each friend feels...
Later in the week we started to work on the interiors...yes they all had their plans and designs to refer to.
L had chosen a keyboard for the radio control station...she is checking out if everything is working fine before installing it in the rocket ship.
Friends connecting the wiring of the ship.
Other friends working on the buttons of the control panel and the radio station...
Now came into picture THE MOON!
We asked them what do they think a moon is. There were answers of all ages and stages. It's a ball, its a super rock, its a moon, its round, its white, were some of the answers. We went ahead to explore this a little further. We watched some videos on the moon and the craters. Children were surprised to find out that the moon was a rock but not a smooth one. It was full of big, small, and little holes made from meteoroids and asteroids and other hard things.
And off we went to make our own moon...
We used a medium size ball, rolled it in the mixture of glue and shaving cream, and then sprinkled flour on the surface. The flour helped us to make the craters...
The texture of our moon after it dried feels awesome. It was a great science as well as sensory project :)
P adding flour...
D poking gently enough to add the surface in order to make craters...
It was funny as well as interesting that they wanted to learn more about craters and we found find a video that really shows the process. We tried to search, but it was hard to find one. If any of you have an interesting video to show in this regards or are able to find one, it will be greatly appreciated.
Other activities they got engaged with during the week...
Building rockets and space stations...
L making her unique rocket using noodles and picks...
We got a new Galvanized sheet and it has been fun to explore metals and magnets combinations since then...
We did some sensory work with corn starch (1 cup) and hair conditioner ( half a cup) creating a different Playdough which was aromatic, cold, soft, and non greasy. The children loved smelling their hands over and over again :)
We also did some tactile work with different jewelry of different materials...they saw metal, ivory, beads of wood, metal, plastic, bangles of snake skin, and many other materials. To my surprise, It was dominated by boys. They just loved checking out all the different components.
We also did sorting and sorted the mixture into different trays of bangles, bracelets, earnings, necklaces, and watches separately. Most of them were good at untangling and sorting out.
A trying out of all the bracelets that he could find...
B trying to balance earnings, necklaces, and other hanging stuff conned as a chain...
Decorating the birch tree was very interesting...we added green leaf lights, flowers, color, and some even added different jewel rises like earnings and necklaces to it...
We had been talking a lot about solar energy and the lights helped us learn a little bit about battery energy and the positive and negative placement of the batteries...
D and S designing their castle...
I think this is one of the cutest picture to share...
During the teachers in service days we put this bench together using two tree stumps from outside and nailing a wooden plank over (alright I know we are creative ;)) The are so excited to be on that and now have access to the window whenever they like.
Our interest in outer space is growing each day and we are learning so much new everyday. We had long meaningful discussions all week long and had been working to put our rocket ship together as a team. Children can't wait for the blast off!
We have a lot more in store coming next week.:)
Till then, see you all around.
Hugs,
Teacher Rashida.
