Marble Painted Planets

Lesson Plan:

Activity:

Lesson plan developed by Ms. Erika Geelhoed, BA Ed

Age Group:

Preschool

* Lesson plan objective and assessment can be adapted to use this activity with school-age children.

Objectives:

Children will:

create a piece of artwork using a new technique.
tell about their work and the creative process.
practice fine motor skills.

CDA Competency Standard:

II.7.4b

Candidate promotes individual expression and creativity
- b) Facilitates child-directed and progress-oriented creative experiences

Marble Painted Planets

Click on the photos to enlarge.

Materials:

marble
paint
paper
spoon (optional)
cardboard box
scissors
tape

Procedure:

Begin the activity by having the children cut out a large paper circle (older preschoolers can cut out rings that will be put on at the end of the lesson).
Place the paper circle in a small cardboard box to prevent the marbles from rolling on the table or floor.
Provide the children with different colored paints and marbles to make their planet.
Children can tilt the box and use gravity to roll their marbles, or roll them using a spoon.
Allow the circles to dry and tape the rings on to make them look like planets.
Display children’s art in an area where they can easily see it.

Assessment:

Observe the children during the activity and take anecdotal notes. Be sure to record any conversations about the creative process and their finished piece. How are their fine motor skills developing? Were they able to control the spoon and push the marble around? When finished, put all this information in the children's portfolio for future reference.

Online Early Childhood Education

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Space Classroom Fun!

Telescope
Put two pieces of black tissue paper at the end of a paper towel tube and fasten it with a rubber band. Using a small object (pencil, pen, paperclip, etc.) punch several small holes in the tissue paper. Next let your children decorate their telescope however they see fit. When your children look through the telescope and hold it up to a light they will see stars!

Moonwalk
Listen to slow music and pretend to be on the moon, moving in slow motion.

Astronaut Pudding
Put 1 tablespoon of chocolate (or any flavor) instant pudding in a Ziploc bag. Add 1/4 cup of milk. Close the bag. Squish up the pudding mix. Poke a hole in the bag and suck it out. Eat just like the astronauts with no utensils!

Space Shuttle
Make a space shuttle in your dramatic play area. Get a large box (refrigerator) and two smaller ones (oven). Put them together to form a space shuttle. You can use a third box to form the point of the shuttle. Paint the boxes white or drape white sheets over them (cheaper). Finally, cut out a place for the children to get into the box on the bottom of the box. You can cut stars out of the top of the box so that the children will see stars when they look up. For added effect give the children space uniforms (white sheets and helmets (5 gallon ice cream buckets)).

The Astronaut Song
Outer space is where I really like to go
I ride inside a spaceship, don't you know
I like to travel near the stars
Wave to Jupiter and Mars
Outer space is where I really like to go

The Planets Zippidy Doo
Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars
Then comes Jupiter, oh my stars
Saturn, Uranus, Neptune too.
Then comes Pluto zippidy doo