astronomy for kindergarteners

[jeweleigha]

Hello! I am looking for ideas for teaching about outer space to kindergarten students. I would also like to include the effect the sun/earth have on the seasons. Any ideas for practical and fun lessons?
THanks!

 

[ally513]

What a coincidence! I never post on here

I never read or post on the math and science board and tonight I just clicked on here and what do I see - astronomy for kindergardten! I have been looking looking and looking and this has been my mission for 2 weeks - everything seems made for the upper grades. I've had to do my own thing -

Here are some things I'm doing -
The first thing I did was ask them "what do you know about outer space" and I made a chart paper of their responses.
there answers surprised me - they were knowledgable about some things and new nothing about other things. Oh, and they think aliens are real and travel around in space -- I had to explain that was make believe!

I bought a bulliten board set that has a cut out of each planet with a sun. We've been doing movement where we line up in order from the sun.
Then we do an orbiting movement where the student holding the cut out of mercury walks in a circle around the student with the sun... the student holding venus walks in a circle a little further out... and so on until pluto is walking around the sun but is wayyyy out.

I'm doing a planet a day and we focus on the color and how big it is and whether it is hot or cold and if it has a moon or not and far from the sun it is using words like close or far not actual mileage. We usually do a poster after the lesson to show what we learned.

When i do the planet earth we'll learn about the moon and I will make salt playdough and we will use our thumbs to make craters. I will show pictures of neil armstrong and other astronauts.

I might do some kind of moon cookie for fun.

Hope that helps.

 

[Lorelei]

song for movement

In my 4th grade class, we sing a song about the earth's movement. They have to know about rotation and revolution in 4th. Anyway, I think that K students could sing this song...I got it out of a book or science songs and poems. It is a great book. If you want the name of the book let me know and I will look for it when I go to school. Here is the song. (tune of the farmer in the dell).


The earth goes round the sun
The earth goes around the sun
Once a year, every year
the earth goes around the sun.

The earth turns around
The earth turns around
Once a day every day
the earth turns around.

(we also sing this last verse)

The Moon goes round the earth
The moon goes around the earth
Once a month, every month
The moon goes around the earth.