Exploring the Universe; Space Education for Toddlers

Young children are very eager to learn about the world around them. They are even more interested in learning about the world beyond Earth and wonder about things like the sun, clouds, and stars. Teaching children about space fosters their natural curiosity and wonder. And introducing conversations about things like planets and the solar system will engage and nurture their inquisitive minds.

When space education is given to children at an early age, they can learn about the planets and the solar system. Then we can realise how valuable the land we live on is. They will also learn about the ability to think and the need for nature conservation. For example, the fact that Earth is the only planet known to have water underlines how important water is to all of us. These kinds of conversations can reinforce ideas about sustainability and help them understand at a very young age why it’s important to take care of our planet.

Children can make learning easier by counting the stars, learning about the planets, reading books about space, and learning stories about them. And space-related topics can easily be linked to Science, Maths, literacy, pretend play, and other parts of your curriculum.

Activities for Learning about Space

There are many ways children can learn about space. Among them, books, videos, and art projects are great tools to help children learn and expand their knowledge about space. To introduce this topic, it is helpful to start with what children can see, such as the moon, sun, and stars. From there, explore unfamiliar topics like planets, the Milky Way, and any other concepts kids are interested in learning more about! These learning methods help find ideas for children of different ages.

• Space Astronaut Videos for Children: By reading books that interestingly describe the experiences of astronauts, children gain more knowledge about them.

• Space Songs and Rhymes: Kids love the mystery of space. They love to look up at the sky, see the stars, and ask about the planets, the moon, the sun, and aliens! Teachers and parents can teach songs and rhymes on topics related to these topics.

• Space Early Writing Activity: This fun set of activities is designed to get young children practising their early writing skills, and space writing activity has the option to write sentences from illustrations or photographs, making it a great activity for early writers.

• Space Related Games: Dive into some outer space activities for kids and turn the classroom into a mini solar system. Here are some games for students to learn about the space, space silhouette art for kids, planet match activity, bottle rocket craft, space sensory bin, space lacing cards.

• Planet Read and Colouring Activity: The plant colouring activity gives them the chance to read, find the correct colour and then colour the planets! A great way to help them to learn more about the planets in the solar system.

• Moon Phases: A lunar phase can be creatively shown to children to tell them what a lunar phase is and what the different phases of the moon are. For that, you can use food items such as biscuits or cookies for example. Through it, children can demonstrate the four main phases of the moon: new moon, first quarter, full moon, and last quarter.

Young age is a time when children develop curiosity about everything. Therefore, they rarely forget what they learned at that time. By providing such activities for preschool children, it helps them to understand more about space. Moreover, if knowledge and interests in space are developed in children at an early age if they are interested in this field in the future, they can focus on STEM education and further their studies, and choose the best career options in that field.