Science is one subject that I fail at teaching my children. It’s why I love all the curriculum out there that help in this department. I am language arts and history minded. I struggle with math and science so anything that gives me extra ideas is always welcome. In this post, I will give you some ideas on how to study the night sky with elementary ages.
The Night Sky- Unit Study
- Gather any books you have on-hand or at the library about the night sky. This can be anything from board books for littles to more in-depth books that go into more detail for older kids. It’s good to have a variety of books for kids to look through. Books with lots of pictures help my children since they are more visual learners.
- Look up crafts and activities that go along with the unit study. One of my favorites to do with the night sky is making the phases of the moon with oreo cookies. You take the two chocolate cookies apart and use a small knife to make each phase of the moon in the cream. It’s a fun activity and the kids (and you!) can eat the cookies afterward.
- Collect some games to go along with the night sky theme. There are many available: Night Sky Finder Card Game, Constellations Memory Game, Space Lab- Magic School Bus.
- Collect some fun space-themed puzzles. Maybe one with the planets, stars, constellations, etc. Doing these puzzles is such a fun way to get kids excited about space.
- Look up videos or documentaries about space and the night sky. Watch them together and talk about what you learn.
- Draw and/or paint pictures of the night sky. Look in books to get an idea of what to do. My kids love to do art projects. They could even do a series of paintings like one with the stars, one with the sun, one with each planet, and one of the solar system.
- Go outside at night and look up the different constellations. See if your kids can identify any of them. Download an app on your device that identifies the planets and stars. It’s so much fun to try to guess what the bright light in the sky is and then discover it’s Mars or Jupiter.
Whether you love science or struggle to teach it, these ideas for a unit study of the night sky will get your kids excited about science.
