Early Lit Bits: Learning with Crafts — Starry Sky Craft

One of the joys of summer in West Michigan is experiencing the great outdoors. It gets dark later here on the Western edge of the Eastern time zone, but if little ones manage to stay up after dark they have a wonderful opportunity to learn about the beauty of the night sky. Talk about the concepts of day and night with your child. Observe the phases of the moon and the patterns of constellations. Can you can find the Big Dipper in the night sky? Check out a book about stars from the library such as Stars by Mary Lyn Ray and Marla Frazee or Zoo in the Sky: A Book of Animal Constellations by Jacqueline Mitton. When you are finished learning about the night sky, challenge children to make their own constellations using the materials below.

Materials

glow-in-the-dark star stickers or foil star stickers
black paper
white colored pencil or white chalk
mini marshmallows
toothpicks

Directions

Arrange the star stickers on the black paper to form a pattern.
Use the chalk or colored pencil to connect the stars to form a constellation.
Use the marshmallows as stars and connect them together with the toothpicks to form a constellation.
Name your constellation and make up a story about how the constellation formed.

 –Anjie G. at KDL’s Walker Branch

 

 

This article originally appeared in our Early Lit Bits eNewsletter. Read the most recent issue online or sign up to receive this monthly update highlighting early literacy tips and resources for parents and caregivers.