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Module 3
Using ESERO’s Space and Aliens pack with Junior or Senior Infants is such a fun, easy way to mix play-based learning with a bit of science. Young kids are already obsessed with the idea of space and funny creatures, so using aliens as a hook instantly gets them hooked!
- Hands-on & Math Skills: Getting them to build aliens out of playdough or junk art is awesome for fine motor skills and early math. You get them counting without even realizing it (“Look, my alien has six eyes and three legs!”).
- Sparking Big Questions: It naturally opens up lovely, simple chats about what living things actually need to survive—like food, water, and air—without getting bogged down in heavy science terms.
- Building Language through Play: Turning the role-play area into a space station gets them talking, making up alien languages, and acting out stories together, which is brilliant for oral language.
Combining creative imagination with real space facts works like a charm for this age. It keeps things fun and builds that early interest in STEM. Next time, I’d love to do a mini “Alien Parade” where the kids can show off their creations and tell the class all about their alien’s home planet!
Link to Mind map
I love your idea to use the sand analogy to explain how many stars are in the universe! It is such a clever, tactile way to help young kids wrap their heads around an absolute mind-blowing concept.
<p data-path-to-node=”1″>The whole plan flows so naturally—starting with Peppa Pig to get them hooked, letting them draw their initial ideas, and then having them revisit those drawings after exploring the ESERO pictures is top-tier teaching. Plus, those DIY toilet roll star lanterns are going to be such a hit at home. You’re going to have a room full of wide-eyed, mini astronomers!</p>Love this approach! It’s such a brilliant, super hands-on way to get 1st Class hooked on inquiry learning. Integrating Night Monkey, Day Monkey is a lovely touch for literacy, and the teddy tracing is so thoughtful and inclusive. That video call to Australia is absolute gold for bringing global time zones to life, too! Fantastic stuff.
Love this approach! It’s such a brilliant, super hands-on way to get 1st Class hooked on inquiry learning. Integrating <em data-path-to-node=”0″ data-index-in-node=”119″>Night Monkey, Day Monkey is a lovely touch for literacy, and the teddy tracing is so thoughtful and inclusive. That video call to Australia is absolute gold for bringing global time zones to life, too! Fantastic stuff.
Space Module 2 Assignment
Integrating the ESERO Planets and the Moon activities into a Junior and Senior Infant classroom offers a fantastic bridge between early STEM learning and play-based pedagogy (Aistear).
- Play-Based Engagement: Infants learn best through multi-sensory experiences. Adapting the ESERO activities using playdough to model planetary sizes or creating a “space station” sociodramatic play area helps abstract astronomical concepts become tangible.
- Musical & Sensory Engagement: Combining hands-on tasks with interactive music—such as teaching A.J. Jenkins’ classic “The Solar System Song” or The Kiboomers‘ “Planets Song“—gives infants a catchy, rhythmic way to remember the order of the planets (<em data-path-to-node=”5,0,0″ data-index-in-node=”249”>Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars…). Using playdough to model planetary sizes alongside these tunes keeps abstract astronomical concepts visual and tactile.
- Curriculum Integration: The resource naturally blends Science (exploring Earth, Moon, and Sun) with Mathematics (positional language like above, behind, next to) and Language (introducing vocabulary such as orbit, crater, and reflect).
- Movement and Expression: Activities that encourage children to move like orbiting planets or dance to represent Moon phases cater directly to young learners’ developmental need for kinesthetic learning and physical rhythm.
Reflecting on this implementation, the greatest strength of ESERO’s material is its capacity to spark curiosity. While young infants cannot fully grasp the scale of the universe, using hands-on exploration builds a foundational wonder for science. In future lessons, I would place even greater emphasis on open-ended artistic responses—such as marble-painting planets—to give pupils additional space to express their individual understanding.
Link for mind map below:
“Space Explorers and Gravity Adventures”
Objective: Introduce space and gravity concepts while fostering creativity.
Materials: Large paper, crayons, star stickers, a ball, and space-themed storybooks.
Steps:
Introduction (10 min): Discuss space and gravity, asking questions about planets and stars.
Story Time (15 min): Read a space-themed book. Encourage kids to share their favorite parts and learning.
Gravity Experiment (10 min): Drop a ball to demonstrate gravity, asking, “What happened?”
Creative Drawing (20 min): Kids draw their own space scenes, considering gravity’s role.
Group Sharing (15 min): Each child presents their artwork, explaining their ideas.
Reflection (10 min):In a circle, discuss what they learned about space and gravity.
Mindmap link below:
https://coggle.it/diagram/anDZpTPZyxwusG3c/t/space/2RvcIPKShpMsMzLaTB7cyAynJl0qQaVt91NOYpkMKgI