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I really like your approach, Aveen! Starting with a dramatic rocket launch video is such a great way to capture the children’s interest and spark their curiosity. Using open-ended questions and talk partners gives them a safe space to share ideas and build their thinking. The balloon rocket experiment sounds perfect for Senior Infants—it’s simple but very effective in demonstrating movement and cause and effect. I also love how you’re using the mind map to record their ideas and learning throughout the lesson; it’s a wonderful way to visualize their thinking. Encouraging the children to complete the sentence “My balloon rocket flew because…” is a great reflection tool that helps solidify their understanding. Thanks for sharing such a clear and engaging plan!
Reflection on Using “Making Mini Rockets” Activity
In my Senior Infants classroom, I would use the Making Mini Rockets activity as a fun way to explore how things move. We would start by talking about different materials—like smooth floors or soft carpets—and guess how far a rocket might travel on each.
The children would then make their own mini rockets using easy materials like paper and straws. After that, we’d test how far our rockets can fly or roll on different surfaces. This hands-on play helps the children see that some surfaces let things move faster or slower.
We’d also chat about what makes rockets move, using simple ideas like “air pushing” or “blowing hard.” The children would watch carefully, talk about what they see, and try again to see if they can make their rocket go farther.
This activity encourages exploring, talking about what happens, and having fun with science in a way that’s just right for young learners.
Hi Sarah, I’m also just learning and really like your approach to the Where do you live? activity. Using the book Home is a lovely way to introduce the topic and help children connect with their own experiences. I love how you’re incorporating 3D model-building with different materials—this hands-on element is perfect for keeping Junior Infants engaged while developing their language skills. Creating a whole village from their individual homes sounds like a fantastic way to build community awareness and teamwork. Your idea to extend learning by mapping routes or going on a local walk really brings the lesson to life and links learning to the real world. Thanks for sharing such a thoughtful and practical plan!
Reflection on Using “Weather” Activity Set
In my Senior Infants classroom, I find the Weather activity set particularly engaging and relevant for young learners. Activities like Animals in the Cold, What Clothes to Wear?, and Investigating Children’s Coats allow children to explore the natural environment and develop scientific inquiry skills through observation and discussion.
To approach What Clothes to Wear? in a fun and engaging way, I would start by having a dress-up corner with a variety of clothing items suitable for different weather conditions—coats, hats, scarves, rain boots, and sunglasses. We would begin with a group discussion about different types of weather, encouraging children to share their own experiences of what they wear on sunny, rainy, or cold days.
Next, I would organise a sorting game where children work in small groups to match clothing to weather pictures or scenarios. To extend learning, children could role-play getting dressed for a weather forecast they create themselves. This hands-on, playful approach would build vocabulary, reasoning, and decision-making skills, while making science relatable and fun.
I really like your approach, Andrea! Using The Way Back Home to spark imagination is a fantastic way to engage young children right from the start. The Design a Martian activity sounds perfect for encouraging creativity while also connecting home and school through the 3D materials. I love how you’ve highlighted the cross-curricular potential, especially around oral language and early math skills like counting and comparative language. Sharing their creations will definitely boost the children’s confidence and give them a real sense of pride. Plus, the display will brighten the classroom and inspire others. Thanks for sharing such a well-rounded, fun, and educational idea!
Reflection on Using “Stars” Activity Set
In my Senior Infants classroom, I would use the Stars activity set to blend science, art, and sensory learning in an engaging way. We could start by exploring the Milky Way—talking about how it’s a galaxy made up of billions of stars and using simple visuals or videos to spark curiosity. To make this concrete and fun, I’d have the children create their own star constellations using black paper, white paint or chalk, and stickers to represent stars. This hands-on art activity would help develop fine motor skills and introduce spatial concepts such as “connect the dots” and patterns.
To make the learning memorable, I’d finish with a sensory treat—sharing magic star-shaped snacks and Milky Way chocolates. This would create a positive association with space learning and give a playful way to reinforce vocabulary like “stars,” “galaxy,” and “constellation.” This multisensory approach supports diverse learners and helps embed new knowledge through creativity and enjoyment.
I love how you’ve adapted the Journey Through the Solar System activity for your space, Adrienne! Using coloured hoops and printed planet images sounds like a fantastic way to make the planets more tangible and memorable for young children. The questions you use to connect the children’s own place in the world to the wider solar system are a great way to build relevance and curiosity. I also really like the Planet Game — combining movement with learning is perfect for Senior Infants and helps reinforce listening skills alongside content. Your approach of showing the sun’s fixed position and the planets orbiting around it through active play sounds like a very effective way to develop spatial awareness and scientific understanding. Thanks for sharing!
Reflection on Using “The Spherical Earth” Activity
For my Senior Infants class, I would use the ‘earth mosaic’ template activity described in the module. I would distribute the templates and ask the children to draw a landscape divided by the dashed line—above the line they could illustrate houses, mountains, forests, and below it the seabed or rocks. This hands-on activity helps develop their understanding of spatial relations (above, below, on top, under), while introducing them to different parts of the Earth.
To build vocabulary, I would guide discussions about the features they are drawing, encouraging words like “mountain,” “forest,” “seabed,” and “rocks.” This also supports awareness of the environment and its layers, connecting well with early science learning goals.
Additionally, I would incorporate a discussion about day and night, linking the Earth’s rotation to the presence of the sun and moon. We would talk about how children in other places might be waking up or going to bed depending on where the sun is.
This activity also ties into SPHE by exploring diversity—talking about how children live in different types of environments and encouraging respect for those differences. The tactile, creative element helps engage young learners, making abstract concepts more concrete.
Overall, this inquiry-based activity encourages observation, language development, and social awareness, supporting my school’s SSE focus on wellbeing and respect for diversity.
That’s such a creative and engaging inquiry activity, Aisling! I love how you’ve brought the senses into it so thoughtfully—especially combining the taste and smell elements to really challenge the children’s thinking. The step-by-step investigation is so clear and manageable for younger learners, and the use of predictions and reflection supports both language and science skills. The word cloud idea is brilliant too—it’s such a fun way to build vocabulary while encouraging children to share their own experiences. I also really like how you’ve extended it into the home—what a great way to involve families and keep the learning going outside the classroom!
Hi everyone! My name is Laura and I’m currently teaching Senior Infants in a DEIS school. I have a strong interest in wellbeing, emotional development, and creative teaching strategies. I’m really looking forward to exploring how space education and STEM can be made accessible and engaging for younger learners through the Curious Minds and ESERO frameworks.
My favourite space fact is that a day on Venus is longer than a year on Venus! It rotates so slowly on its axis that it actually takes longer to complete one full turn than it does to orbit the Sun. My class would find that mind-blowing!One inquiry-based activity I would love to use in my classroom is “How does the Moon change shape?” This would tie in well with early science and oral language outcomes, and spark lots of curiosity in young learners. I’d start with a simple question: Why doesn’t the Moon always look the same? Then I’d guide the children to observe the Moon each night for a week with a take-home moon journal. In class, we would discuss what they noticed, draw their findings, and create a visual representation of the Moon’s phases using white paper circles and black card.
This activity supports child-led learning, observation skills, and scientific questioning—core aspects of the Curious Minds framework. It would also link well with literacy, as the children could write or dictate simple sentences about what they see. I think pairing science with storytelling (e.g. myths about the Moon from different cultures) would help make the topic meaningful and memorable for infants.
