A child’s imagination is the best tool for his or her future education. Parent’s need to take advantage of the creativity and inventiveness of their child. This will help the child be better at problem-solving and to be more eager to succeed. One of the best ways to engage a child’s imagination is by learning about planets and the Solar System since it’s a topic that requires lots of creative thinking to be learned. These activities to learn about the planets will boost your child’s imagination and will help him or her start learning more about science in a fun, engaging way.
1. Build your own Solar System model at home. There are tons of ways in which you and your child can build your own Solar System at home. You will need some simple materials: one big polystyrene ball for the Sun, eight smaller polystyrene balls for the planets (you can pick different sizes, taking into consideration the sizes of the planets), a polystyrene sheet (choose a size that’s big enough for all the planets and the sun to be there), nine wooden sticks, paint for kids, cotton balls, and brushes. First, paint the polystyrene sheet black. When it’s starting to dry, ask your little one to take a cotton ball and dip it in blue paint, then lightly tap the sheet with it, until there’s a blue hue on it. Repeat this process with a cotton ball dipped in purple paint. Once this has dried, sprinkle the sheet with white paint, these will be the stars. Then, start making the planets and the Sun! First, insert one wooden in each polystyrene ball Next, along with your little one, look at some planet images for reference and start painting the planets. Let them dry. Finally, take the Sun and put it on the center of the sheet. Now, stick the planets around it, but make sure to do it in the right order. Ta-da! You have your own Solar System! Use it to explain to your little one about space, and enjoy playing with this fun creation!
2. Create your own constellations. If your little one is learning about space, planets, and the constellations in English, this activity could be very helpful! All you need is black or dark blue construction paper, small pompom balls for crafts, a white crayon, and glue. Ask your little one to pick one of his favorite constellations, and help him or her trace it on the cardboard. If your using black cardboard, grab your white color and help your little one trace the basic form of the constellation, and mark with a big dot the stars that are in it. Then, ask your little one to glue the pompom balls where the stars are to form a 3D constellation. You can try this technique to make your own star map by using a bigger cardboard as well!
3. Play-dough planet. Play dough is a great toy for children! They love getting creative with it, and it’s a good toy to help them with their motor skills. Encourage your little one to make a planet using play dough. For this, you will need just a few different colors of play dough and lots of imagination! If you want to, start by showing your little one how to make some of the real planets in our Solar System. Then, ask your little one to create his or her own planet. You can tell your little one to use blue to indicate the presence of water on the surface, or brown to make the earth. Your little one can also add some craters and even volcanoes!
