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Share your ideas too. E-mail me at stormie@preschoolbystormie.com
SPECIAL DAYS:
Space Day 
I'm
very proud to kick off the space section of my website with the following ideas
from Donna Allen in West Virginia: Solar System: Go to a craft store and buy small cake cardboard circles and let children each pick a "planet" from them to paint. We use them to make our "Solar System" bulletin board (you need various sizes).
Moon Walk: Last year my husband gave me an old blow-up type air mattress. We blew it up and covered it with an old sheet. It worked great for a moon walk! I use large elastic ponytail holders to strap large sponges to the children's shoes (I don't like giving kids the idea that it's ok to wear rubberbands on body parts). Two at a time, they walked on the moon. It was a blast! I always get an appliance box to paint as a group for a terrific spaceship."
Lift-Off: Get a sponge and cut the two corners off at the top creating a point. Hot glue the two triangle corners (that you just cut off) to the opposite end of the sponge. It should now resemble a rocket. Cut a fairly large slit into the middle of the bottom of the rocket. Into that slit, slip a Fuji film canister with the opening end facing out of the rocket. (By the way, Kodak doesn't work as it leaks.) We call the film canister the "fuel tank." Now, on a towel covered table, turn the sponge rocket over and fill the canister 1/2 full of water and add 1/2 of an alka-seltzer tablet. Place the lid on the cansiter and immediately set the rocket upright and do the countdown (10...9...8...etc). By the time you get to ten, the rocket will have blasted off. The children absolutely love this project, and by the end of the morning all of them have counted backwards over and over again -- begging for more! Try it -- even Dads love it! One Dad told me if you put a whole tablet in, it will go higher but two didn't work so well.
Note from Stormie: I recently tried this with two different sized rockets. I cut a short stubby rocket from a thick sponge resembling the space shuttle, and a tall skinny rocket from a thin sponge resembling unmanned rockets, both of which are launched from our space coast here in Florida. The short stubby one worked better and blasted higher but it's a neat little science experiment for children to see how both work. The lesson can be extended by providing books in the Science Center showing both types of rockets.Astronaut Food: Make pudding with the kids and put it in individual ziploc bags (one per child). Cut a small hole in a corner of the bags and let children suck out the pudding like the astronauts do. What a great time! The kids loved it and there was only one mess -- not bad.
Kathi,
from Maryland, sends this great idea:
Classroom
Space Shuttle: We created a "Space
Shuttle" from a box and even put flashing white Christmas lights around the outside.
Inside we had lots of dials and buttons.
From
Raquel Gosser, Greenwood, Indiana:
Father's Night With a Space Theme:
We have a special night during which the children and their fathers come to school
for food and fun, centered around a "Space" theme. Here's some
of the things we do in advance to prepare for this night:
*Create
a "star room": Children paint one side of a bunch of big boxes (refrigerator
size) black. We then connect the boxes together, creating a nighttime sky
"room" and we hang glow in the dark stars, moons, etc. Using "glow
in the dark" paint, the children put their handprints on the wall. Next
comes fluorescent lighting to help everything glow.
*Goodie
bags for dads: The children put blue shredded paper in a Ziploc baggie along
with Milky Way candy bars, foam spaceships (from a craft store), and airplane
gliders (from Oriental Trading). (To introduce the children to modern technology,
I like to supervise them in using our school's paper shredder to shredd the blue
paper. They love it!)
*Contest:
Have a "Moon Pie" eating contest for the dads.
*Robots
and Moon Rocks: Have the children make robots out of boxes (Kleenex or shoe
box sizes) and paint rocks (moon rocks).
*And
we serve a "moon rocks" snack: This is really "Rice Krispie
Treats" which kinda' resemble moon rocks or the moon. Here's the
very simple familiar recipe:
You need:
6 cups of Rice Krispies (an off-brand will also work though), 2 cups of miniature
marshmallows, 1 & 1/2 tablespoons of butter or margarine, plus butter or margarine
for greasing the pan.
Procedure: First, grease a 10 x 13" pan.
Melt the marshmallows and butter together in a microwave oven for 2 minutes.
Remove it from the oven, stir well, and then return it to the microwave for another
30-40 seconds. (In the meantime, get the Rice Krispies close at hand.) Remove
the marshmallow mixture from the microwave and stir again, and then immediately
add the Rice Krispies, stirring until the cereal is thoroughly coated. Pour
the mixture into the pan and smooth it out (pat the top down flat with the back
of a buttered spoon). Keep the "treats" in a cool place for
at least 1 hour, and then cut them into squares with a buttered knife.
Gail,
from Oakville, Ontario, Canada:
Space
Rocket: The children first painted toilet paper roll tubes with sparkling
silver paint. They then cut long strips of yellow, red and orange tissue
paper which were glued onto the inside of one end of their rocket, preferably
all around the perimeter, to resemble the rocket's "fiery flames." The
tip of the rocket (at the opposite end of the tube) was created at the end of
the activity: We used a paper cone-shaped cup (which the children painted), but
you could form a cone from construction paper, or a poster board cone covered
with bright aluminum colored paper or aluminum foil.
From Stormie:
Although I'm posting ideas below as often
as I can, my very favorite "space" activities have been reserved for my
"TRANSPORTATION"
booklet (see the "Stormie's Stuff for Teachers" section
of my website).
My Trip Into Space: (Creativity Within the Limits of a Theme): After discussing "space shuttles, provide each child with a "space shuttle" cutout for gluing on paper. Instruct them to finish their "trip into space" pictures any way they wish using provided collage and drawing materials. Observe and encourage as they work. You might ask, "What do you see out the window while in space?" Have the children tell you about their completed pictures. Print their exact words on their papers.
Just to remind you, when we have children do the countdown (counting backwards from 10-0) we are teaching subtraction.
Favorite Books:
From Stormie:
*My First Book About Space,
Written by Dinah L. Moche; Illustrated by R. Z. Whitlock:This
book answers questions like, "Why does it get dark at night? Why don't we fall
off the earth? Can anybody go to the sun?"
*Me
and My Place in Space, by Joan Sweeney; illustrated by Annette Cable:
A child takes an imaginary trip into space.
St.
Patrick's Day 
This
alternative theme and idea for March comes from Kathi, in Maryland:
Pot Of Gold: Good Morning Stormie! Here's
something we always do for "Irish Day" (St. Patrick's Day). During the month
of March we have a math center that is a "Pot of Gold." I use those flower
pots that look like black kettles. Get some rocks that are different
sizes (no larger than your fist) then spray paint them gold. Every few days
have the children do something different with them: count them, weigh them, measure
them, sequence them, compare them, stack them, etc. Everyone likes gold
and they are very attracted to my "Pot of Gold." (Kathi's e-mail is:
Kathi19307@aol.com)
From
Marcia Kridner, El Paso, Illinois:
Sparkly
Shamrocks: Cut out the shape of a shamrock from a large round paper plate.
Have children paint the shamrock green with tempra paint, then sprinkle green
glitter on the painted plate while it is still wet. (I attach a clothespin
to it for the children to hold on to while painting--less mess).
From
Tonia Berry, Sunset Academy, Longmont, Colorado:
Leprechaun Visitors: Hi there! I thought
I would share something that the kids in my class really enjoy! We have
been pretending that Leprechauns have visited our classroom! I hid little
green paper shamrocks in the learning centers where the children play. I
sprinkled green glitter in the Irish/St. Patrick day books -- the kids just think
its wonderful! I also sneaked green glitter onto their mats when they were
all asleep! They woke up and were delighted that leprechauns came to visit
them but they agree that the leprechauns are quite messy! They cannot wait
to see what those leprechauns will do tomorrow!
Note from Stormie: I love this little fantasy game
from Tonia! What a great way to get children involved in creative thinking
and practicing their language skills as they discuss the antics of the never-seen
leprechauns.
From
Shawna K., Laramie, Wyoming:
Snacks/Food
Projects: Stormie, because your website has saved the day for me countless
time, I wanted to return the favor and send you these super easy snacks for posting
in the St. Patricks Day section of your website. More than likely, these are not
new ideas to your readers, but I thought I'd share the snacks we've eaten in my
classroom over the years to celebrate this fun little holiday:
*Have
children try Pistachio Pudding; practice saying "Pistachio" too and
talking about what it is, and discussing whether or not you think leprechauns
would like it
*Have
children stir a tiny amount of green food coloring into bowls of vanilla pudding
*Make
cupcakes in advance for children to frost after they have stirred green food coloring
into a white frosting
*Serve
green jello with Cool Whip that the children have turned green using food coloring
*Make
shamrock-shaped cinnamon toast with the children except tint the sugar green
From Kimerly
Gaines:
Things I do in my classroom:
*I
put a bag or two of cornmeal into the water table for a Golden Treasure Hunt (I
hide green things in it for the children to find).
*I
place a green outdoor carpet (cheap cut) on the floor in the Play Kitchen and
add green paper plates and other green stuff for an "outdoor restaurant." As
a backdrop mural, I draw a large bay window with a view of a rainbow and pot-o-gold,
and some trees.
Favorite Books:
From
Stormie:
Clever Tom
and the Leprechaun, by Linda Shute:(an
Irish folktale): Tom tries to trick a leprechaun in order to get his gold.
---------------
Reminder
from Stormie: If you would like to begin collecting ALL my current classroom
ideas (each on a 4 x 6" index card), as well as new ones that I create, you
can do so by ordering my "Activity Cards." Click here
to check them out.
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