Young children are fascinated with anything to do with space and the solar system. Try one or all of these three easy art projects on planets during an outer space theme.
Planet Earth Painting
Preschoolers will have fun painting their own versions of what Earth looks like from Space.
Materials
- Pictures of Earth from Space
- White card stock circle, about 8 inches in diameter, one per child
- blue, green and white finger paints or water colors and paintbrushes
Procedure
Begin by showing the children some pictures of what the Earth looks like from space. Talk about the colors they see and what the different colors are: blue - water, greens and browns - land, and white - clouds. After looking at and discussing the images, tell them that are going to be making their own earth pictures. Give each child a large white circle and some paints. You can use blue, green and white finger paints or give them water colors and paintbrushes. Let them paint their circles to show what they think Earth looks like from space.
Earth Sun Catchers
These cute Earth sun catchers make a great decoration for a sunny window.
Materials
- Two sheets of wax paper per child
- Small pieces of blue and green tissue paper
- Glue that has been thinned with water
- Paintbrushes
- An iron
- Scissors
- Hole punch and yarn
Procedure
Give each one piece of wax paper and some colored tissue paper. Show them how to cover the wax paper with their blue and green tissue paper. Then have them paint over the tissue paper with the thinned out glue. Let the glue dry for a few minutes then place the second sheet of wax paper over the tissue paper. Iron over the wax paper with a warm iron. You can also just let glue dry on its own, skipping the ironing, but you will have to wait longer to complete the project. When the glue has dried, help the children cut the wax paper into a circle to make the Earth. When the sun catchers are finished you can punch a hole in the top of the planet and tie a small piece of yarn through it for hanging if you want.
Class Solar System
Materials
- A book about the Solar System such as The Magic School Bus Lost In The Solar System by Joanna Cole
- Circles cut in different sizes to represent the planets and the sun
- Paint and paintbrushes, crayons, colored pencils or markers
- Large sheet of bulletin board paper ( black or dark blue)
- Glue or tape
- Sentence Strips or index cards
- Chart Markers
Procedure
After reading a book about space or the Solar System, create a class Solar System with your preschoolers. Give each student a circle and tell him which planet his circle is supposed to be. If you have more students than planets you can let the children work in pairs or let some students make comets, meteors or moons. Let each child decorate his planet with paints, crayons or markers whichever you choose. When all of the planets are finished, arrange them on a large piece of bulletin board paper to make a Solar System. Label them with markers and sentence strips or index cards.
Young children are sure to think that these planet art projects are out of this world when you add them to your unit about space or the Solar System.
