SPACE ACTIVITIES

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Thanks for joining me as we make a Voyager Space Probe, play games, find the best websites and discover the Universe!

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Trouble Motivating Your Children?

My best selling book Homeschool Secrets of Success is an indispensable guide to help you avoid the biggest reason homeschooling fails - battles with the kids over 'school' work.

Solar Eclipse

Make A Model Solar System

Come and see how to make your own model solar system.

I have made you a FREE Planet cut out to download and print out here.

Activities And Games

NASA has this free pdf of space activities with popular hands-on projects like making

• star cookies
• a cloud mobile
• a Moon habitat
  

They also have interesting space activities and slideshows where you can do things like make a moon phase calendar and this exciting idea:

Code a Mars Sample Collection Video Game

Use Scratch, a visual programming language, to create a video game that simulates the way NASA will collect samples on Mars!

NASA's Space Place has some great free space games like Quest for a Comet where you are in charge of an orbiter and have to transmit data back to Earth.

The University of Central Florida has 5 STEM Space activities which look fun. You can try:

1.  Building a straw rocket from a template and testing how far it will fly.
2.  Making a space telescope from paper towel tubes, scissors, tape and two convex lenses. (Good for older children).
   
3. Experience walking like an astronaut with bucket stilts made from a bucket and some rope.
   

Space Videos And Activities

NASA Space Place has put together a collection of YouTube videos about space.  You can see kid friendly videos about Mars, the Moon, the Earth and the Solar System as well as a range of videos on kids activities at home.

Diana has two more great suggestions:

1. CGP Grey's Which Planet Is The Closest?
   
2. A Minute Earth Space compilation
   

Free Moon Phase Layered Printable

Thanks to Leigh for finding a fun way to learn about the moon phases with this free Moon phases layered wheel printable.

National Geographic on Space

The National Geographic is a great place to keep up-to-date on space exploration, spacecraft and what's happening about us getting to Mars.

• If you are in the US, click here - starts with lots of info. about the solar eclispe
  
• If you are in the UK, click here

Learn The Planets Song

Fun song to help you learn the Planets:

Make A Voyager Space Probe

As you can see, we had great fun making a Voyager Space Probe. 

To really get the idea, you need to have a look at the real Voyager Space Probe design.

The thing that really makes it all hang together is the dish (or 'high gain antenna' to give it the proper name!).

All you need for that is aluminum foil sprayed onto a cone of cardstock.

Solar System Exploration

Bianka found this great article from NASA about interstellar space.

SpaceX Mission To Mars

And if making a Space Probe has tempted you to visit Mars, check out all the amazing stuff on SpaceX.

It shows you all about the rocket they are making and their first mission to Mars with fantastic photos and slideshows. Enjoy.

Solar System Facts Calculator

Pam from my Courageous Homeschooling Facebook group suggests this fabulous calculator so you can build a solar system anywhere!

Space Facts Calculator And Toilet Roll Solar System

Why not use the calculator suggested by Pam (see paragraph above) to build a Solar System model with a roll of toilet paper?

Crash Course Astronomy recommended by Diana also has some great videos to help you learn astronomy.

Best Way Of Keeping Up With Space News

Scott Manley is the go-to place to keep up with the latest happenings in space.

Recommended by my homeschool son William along with over a million others, it's crammed with up-to-date videos and excellent info presented in a great way.

For teens (and their parents!), there's

• The Secrets of the Universe Facebook page with a This Week in Space update and a Physics term of the day.
• Astronomy.com with news articles on planets, cosmology, NASA, space missions, and more. You’ll also find information on how to observe upcoming visible sky events such as meteor showers, solar and lunar eclipses, key planetary appearances, comets, and asteroids.
• EarthSky, with daily updates on the cosmos and a community of space lovers.

Hit Podcast 13 Minutes To The Moon

The popular podcast 13 Minutes To The Moon has the story of Apollo 13.

Jump on-board a doomed mission to the Moon. Gripping listening for all.

Meet An Astronaut

Our family went to see Astronaut Chris Hadfield speak about his time in space and he has become one of our heroes.

Here he is performing a simple science experiment designed by High School students on surface tension in space using a wet washcloth.

Best Free Stargazing App

It makes sense that probably the best free app is the NASA space app.  It has a huge collection of the latest NASA content, including over 18,000 images, NASA TeleSolar System Exploration feature, podcasts, ISS sighting opportunities, and mission information.

Pictures Of Space

Looking at Space pictures is the way to really get inspired.

Here's a few great sites:

• NASA picture of the day
• Space images
• Top 50 Astronomy NASA Photos of All Time
  

Fantastic Websites

• Stellarium is a planetarium software that shows exactly what you see when you look up at the stars. It's free.
• Help science by looking for planets around other stars.
• Galaxy Zoo is similar to the above, where you can help astronomers explore the Universe
• Zooniverse links you into Solar storm watch, the Milky Way Project and many more.
  

Space Lapbook

All the information on this page would make a fantastic lapbook activity for your child.

You can encourage them to put together everything they find out, add facts, photos and drawings.  Fantastic.

Highly Recommended Homeschool Books

Full of reassurance from homeschool Moms who share your worries about whether you can cope and how to make things work, the Courageous Homeschooling Handbook shows you how to overcome your fears and proves that homeschooling is the best decision you've ever made.

Buy With The Second Handbook In This Series:

The second Handbook covers the nitty gritty of how to homeschool like:

• What method will you use?
• How much structure do you need?
• What about a timetable?
• Which curriculum is best? (and do you need one?)

Help With Reading, Writing, Math, Dyslexia And Autism

Our third Handbook brings together 4,000 families to share the most successful teaching ideas for reading, writing and math along with help for autism, dyslexia and anxiety.

Keep In Touch

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You can get e-mail pals for your children, enjoy free resource files and we even celebrate each other's Birthdays!

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Best Wishes

Sonya

May Newsletter

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