Description
Participants will craft a Sun, Earth and Moon using paper and craft sticks. The crafts can be used to model the motion of these three planets.
Number of Participants
For any number of participants
Space Considerations
An indoor or outdoor space with room for children and their caregivers to do a craft
Competencies
- Body awareness
- Eye-hand coordination
- Following directions
- Social interaction
Materials
- Craft sticks
- Liquid glue
- Scissors
- 3 different sized circles for tracing: Tupperware lids, empty containers or circle templates will all work
- Construction paper: white or grey, blue, yellow
- Crayons or markers
Preparation
- Prepare the room for participants and their caregivers to complete the craft. Clear an open space for them to take turns walking around the room and modeling the motion of these three planets
Implementation
1. Participants will begin by tracing three circles: the largest on the yellow paper (Sun), the second largest on the blue paper (Earth) and the third largest on the grey or white paper (Moon).
2. Then, they will cut out their planets with assistance, if required.
3. Participants will decorate the circles to make them more recognizable. For example: rays on the Sun, green land masses on the Earth, and craters on the Moon.
4. Once decorated, each paper circle will be glued to a popsicle stick.
5. Now, the participants can model the motion of these planets.
- One person will hold a Sun craft and stand in the middle of the open area; they will be the center of our solar system.
- A second person will take an Earth and walk around the Sun in an elliptical (oval) shape.
- If the participants are old enough, they can try spinning the Earth craft in their hands while walking to mimic a rotation. Explain to kids that it takes 24 hours, or one full day, for the Earth to complete a single “spin” or rotation. It takes 365 days to finish revolving around the Sun.
- A third person will take a Moon and walk around the Earth in an elliptical (oval) shape. Explain that the moon’s position around the Earth is what creates the different phases of the moon.
Hint: if you are outside, you can draw orbit lines out of chalk for kids to follow on the ground. If you are indoors, then you could create tape lines on the floor for kids to follow.
Accessibility Considerations
- Offer kids a variety of instruments to colour their image, and encourage them to choose what they feel most comfortable with
- Pour glue into a shallow container with large craft sticks for kids to share
- Offer tactile elements for kids to decorate their crafts
- Offer pre-cut templates
- Offer larger craft sticks
Book Suggestions
Eleanor's Moon by Maggie Knaus
A Few Beautiful Minutes: Experiencing a Solar Eclipse by Kate Allen Fox and Khoa Le
Little Moar and the Moon by Roselynn Akulukjuk and Jazmine Gubbe
Download Links
Images