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Space Craft Ideas For Early Years – My preschoolers love making these coffee filter planets! It’s just the thing to add to your preschool space theme.
These coffee filter planets are one of my favorite space activities to do with them. Best of all, they are full of leather.
Space Craft Ideas For Early Years
I still call it a preschool craft since it has an end goal in mind. However, it is more of a mix of craftiness and process art.
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The kids don’t have to make their coffee filter planets the same as us, and they can explore what happens when water is absorbed by colorful coffee filters.
One of the best things about these coffee filter planets? You can make them with just a few simple materials!
Cut the eight planets out of coffee filters. I did it freehand, and of course the planets are not scaled correctly!
I left Jupiter, the largest planet, as an intact coffee filter. Then I cut out the rest of the planets in descending order of size. I wanted them to be a different size to help the kids see how the planets compare to each other.
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I like to read lots of fun planet books to the kids before we make coffee filter planets, so they have a basic understanding of the solar system first.
Real photos of the planets are also a must! This craft is a fun way to expand their knowledge and help them order the planets.
My son really enjoyed testing out the coffee filter planets, and he had so many plans for more ideas to teach the toddlers about space!
Here are the colors we went with for each planet (based on observations made from books and photos):
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Remove the coffee filters from the paper plates and place them on a rack to dry. Of course, if you don’t have a rack, don’t worry! Place them wherever you have room.
Once all the coffee filter planets are dry, put them in the windows! They make pretty sun catcher, if I do say so myself.
At first we taped them up in the windows, but they didn’t stay as well as we had hoped.
So we placed the planets on a piece of contact paper taped to the window, sticky side out. I made sure the planets were labeled too, of course!
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(Please note that we did not include the dwarf planet Pluto when we made our space suncatchers. We usually talk about Pluto, and I personally love this interactive website from NASA about it! If my toddlers want to include Pluto when doing this activity , they absolutely can!)
Save time and get right to the playful learning with Preschool Teacher 101’s printable lesson plan kits. Each set contains over 30 playful learning activities related to the theme, along with related printables.
Join our waiting list while you’re there so you can be the first to hear when our membership is next open!
If you and the kids loved the coffee filter planets, here are even more ideas for your preschool space theme: Do you have toddlers looking at the moon and stars? Or do you want to know more about the sun? As preschoolers get older, they begin to think about things as their own experiences. They wonder about the sky and what is in it. You can help toddlers start thinking about planets and stars and astronauts with these space-themed activities. Check out these activities to help you plan space-themed adventures for your explorers.
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Making Craters Science Exploration (Pre-K Pages) – For this science experiment, we were very interested in learning all about the moon.
Space and Astronaut Sensory Play (Pre-K Pages) – Do your kids love learning about rockets and outer space? Try this sensory bin at home or in the classroom. It is very easy to make and will provide many opportunities to develop oral language, vocabulary, communication skills and more!
Space Station Dramatic Play (Pre-K Pages) – You won’t believe how easy it is to turn your dramatic play center into ground control! All it takes is one piece of foam board and some materials you probably already have on hand. I made a free space theme printable for you too, keep reading to get your copy!
Nighttime Sky Process Art (Pre-K Pages) – his simple night time process art activity not only allows them to freely explore their creativity, it also helps them think about this science question.
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Moon Math Activities (Pre-K Pages) – These moon math activities can be fun for a night or space theme.
Moon Crater Gross Motor Activity (Pre-K Pages) – This gross motor space activity will engage students in creating their own craters!
Planet Sun Catchers (Pre-K Pages) – Making this sun catcher is a great way to help toddlers visualize the planets and our solar system on a smaller scale. This can lead to discussions about comparing and contrasting the planets while children get a hands-on opportunity to make the planets themselves.
Smashing Moon Rocks (Pre-K Pages) – Today’s activity uses homemade moon rocks, and kids will love this activity because they can smash them!
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Moon Sand Writing Tray (Pre-K Pages) – This writing board allows children to explore concepts about the moon and develop writing skills.
Star Gazing Discovery Bottles (Pre-K Pages) – Discovery bottles offer toddlers the opportunity to learn through hands-on, open-ended play. You can make distant concepts that would otherwise be beyond their reach, such as outer space, literally fit in their little hands. These Star Gazing Discovery Bottles let my toddler and preschooler explore stars, star formations and also inspire a lot of awe.
Space Visual Discrimination Game (Prekindergarten) – This space same and different game will help your preschoolers and kindergarteners practice visual discrimination skills.
Space Play Dough Math Mats (Pre-Kids) – These Play Dough Math Mats will help your aspiring young astronauts count while playing with play dough.
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Space Picture Word Cards (Prekindergarten) – Print these Picture Word Cards for your writing center during a Space theme. Words included are astronaut, spacecraft, telescope, meteor, asteroid, satellite, Earth, moon, sun, Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, Neptune, Saturn, Uranus, Venus and Pluto. (Pluto is now a dwarf planet.) This set has 17 word cards.
There’s No Place Like Space (Teach Preschool) – Read the Dr. Seuss book, “There’s No Place Like Space” and then explore a space theme with these activities.
Planets in a Bottle (Teach Preschool) – Make these simple planets in a bottle to explore the solar system!
Negative Space Moon Collages (Brick by Brick) – Explore what negative space is by having your preschoolers create these fun paper moon collages.
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Nebula Painting (Brick for Brick) – With a little paint and creativity, your little ones can explore nebulae and paint their own.
Fizzy Planets (fun-a-day) – With a few simple ingredients, like baking soda and vinegar, you can make these fizzy planets that your preschoolers will enjoy working with.
Space Play Dough (Learning 4 Kids) – A little black food coloring and gold glitter will turn ordinary homemade play dough into this exciting space play dough!
Space Wreaths (3 Dinosaurs) – Grab some paper plates and make these fun space wreaths to decorate your home with.
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Name Rockets (Things to Remember and Share) – Your preschoolers will love spelling out their names in these rockets.
Outer Space Sensory Bin (Fun-a-Day) – Your little ones will love this sensory bin with colored rice and toy astronauts.
Moon Observation Printable (Things to Remember and Share) – This binder is a great way to get parents involved in your classroom with this moon observation printable.
Make a Telescope (Things to Remember and Share) – Recycle those paper towel and toilet paper tubes and then paint them to make a DIY telescope!
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Galaxy Process Art (Things to Remember and Share) – There is no right or wrong with this galaxy process art activity. Your preschoolers will love painting with the glitter paint and creating their own galaxy art.
Space Ice Melt Science Play (Little Bins for Little Hands) – Creating this space ice melt activity is easier than you think!
Space Sensory Bottle (The Chaos and the Confusion) – Create this sensory space rock bottle with some black gravel and some other materials.
Glow in the Dark Puffy Paint Moon (No Time for Flash Cards) – Just two simple ingredients are all you need to make this super cool glow in the dark moon!
Easy Crafts For Teens & Tweens
Sandpaper Sun (No Time for Flash Cards) – Use sandpaper and paint to create a sensory sun for your toddlers to enjoy.
Letter Constellations (No Time for Flash Cards) – This simple alphabet activity is easy to put together and combines fine motor development and letter recognition.
Paper Plate Planets (No Time for Flash Cards) – Creating your own planet can be a quick art project or a much more involved one with reading and writing too.
Astronaut Training Course (Kitchen Floor Crafts) – It’s a great way to test their gross motor skills, and the Astronaut Training Course we’ve put together is a perfect activity to do just that!
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Star Color Matching and Sensory Tub (No Time for Flash Cards) – This star sensory tub is easy to set up with black beans and star buttons!
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