Space-themed kindergarten activities: a week exploring the universe

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Games and activities on the theme of space are always a big hit with children... even in kindergarten! Far from being the preserve of older children, this fascinating subject stimulates the natural curiosity, imagination and wonder of toddlers. At Esclaibes international schools, this theme is regularly addressed during Holiday Workshops, bilingual workshops organized during the school vacations.

For a week, children discover the Universe through an active, sensory and creative approach: creation of galaxy jars, exploration of the solar system, constellations in visual arts, observation, cooperative games, stories... Every day becomes a space adventure on their own scale.

But is it really worth talking to them about astronomy from the age of 3? Can such a complex subject interest them? Can they retain anything? In fact, there's no age at which to marvel and begin to understand the world. What's more, when a theme is revisited regularly, as part of a spiral learning process, knowledge becomes more deeply rooted.

Let's discover how a course on space can nurture the joy of learning, cooperation, creativity and scientific reflection from an early age.

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Why introduce space-themed activities in kindergarten?

Space fascinates. It intrigues, amazes, questions... and it is precisely this fascination that makes it a formidable educational lever from the earliest age.
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Wonder: a powerful driver of learning

Catherine L'Ecuyer, in her book Cultiver l'émerveillement, reminds us that this profound feeling is the natural starting point for all authentic learning. We spoke to you about this in the article on family cultural activities.

From kindergarten onwards, children are spontaneously curious: they want to understand the world around them - and beyond. Looking at the stars, wondering about the Moon, imagining life elsewhere... These questions open up an immense field of exploration and reflection.

André Stern speaks ofchild's enthusiasman inner disposition that activates all the child's powers of attention, concentration and memorization. When a child is filled with wonder, he learns with pleasure, without apparent effort. The theme of space nourishes this enthusiasm with a rare power.
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A natural curiosity to cultivate from age 3

Contrary to popular belief, there's no age for talking about the universe, planets or stars. Children as young as 3 or 4 often ask profound questions about the sky, day and night, the Moon, the stars... These are valuable entry points for meaningful discoveries, adapted to their level.

Visit Holiday Workshops offered at Esclaibes international schools harness this curiosity with simple, fun tools: sensory activities, manipulations, artistic creations, stories, games... Each child explores at his or her own pace, according to age and interests.

A spiral approach to learning

If a theme is programmed every year, isn't there a risk of children getting bored? Yes, that's the feeling we can get from our perception as adults who have memorized all the learning content on offer. But a child retains only a small part of it each year. Year after year, they measure the progress they've made, remembering certain notions from previous years. They're proud to be able to share their answers with younger children. He gains in confidence.

Far from being redundant, this regular return to the same theme is part of a spiral learning approach: each year, children return to familiar concepts, but approach them from a new angle, with evolving knowledge and maturity.

This principle ofgradual deepening is at the heart of the open educational approach proposed in the Esclaibes network schools. The aim is not to understand everything at once, but to sow seeds of knowledge that will germinate over time.

A 3-year-old discovers the Moon as a mysterious star; at 5, he understands that the Earth revolves around the Sun; at 6, he can name the planets and think about distances in the solar system. This learning takes place naturally, because the subject is dealt with repeatedly in a playful, sensory way.

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Space: a cross-disciplinary, sensory and inclusive theme

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What makes the theme of space particularly well-suited to kindergarten is its pedagogical versatility. It mobilizes a wide range of skills:

• in oral and written language: telling, naming, imagining;
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• in mathematics: counting planets, ordering, comparing sizes, getting to grips with notions of magnitude and measurement;
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• plastic arts: create galaxies with different mediums, paint constellations, reconstruct a rocket, etc. ;
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• in science: observe, question, experiment;
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• motor skills: astronaut course with various challenges...

What's more, space is an inclusive theme, requiring no cultural or language prerequisites. Every child can imagine, dream and participate according to his or her abilities. And thanks to our active pedagogy, each child is an active participant in his or her own discoveries.

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Multi-age group dynamics

Finally, this organization of Holiday Workshops into multi-age groups encourages a real dynamic of mutual support. Younger children observe, marvel and imitate. The older ones consolidate what they've learned by explaining, coaching and taking responsibility.

This natural cooperation between children of different ages strengthens their autonomy, their confidence and their ability to learn together. A 6-year-old who shows a younger child how to place the planets on a frieze, or who tells the legend of the Great Bear in his own way, takes full ownership of his knowledge while developing his empathy and ability to pass on.

Space then becomes a pretext for growing together, for thinking about the world in all its complexity, for linking science, imagination and poetry - everything that active pedagogies, like that of the Esclaibes schools, seek to cultivate every day.
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-> Contact us to register your child for a Holiday Workshop or Wednesday Workshop.

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A week of space-themed activities in Esclaibes schools

But what actually happens during a week ofHoliday Workshop at our bilingual Esclaibes schools in Paris ^15th or Paris ^16th, Clichy or Marseille? Here we go for a week of immersive, bilingual and fun workshops, open to children aged 3 and upwards, as well as to children who are not pupils at our schools!

During this week dedicated to space, children experience a truly progressive learning experience. Each day, new notions are explored through a variety of activities: artistic, scientific, sensory, motor and language. The common thread is clear: we start by observing what we know (day, night, sky), then gradually broaden our gaze to the infinitely large, mobilizing curiosity, creativity and cooperation.
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Day 1: Observing the sky - Day and night

Skills used: observation, vocabulary, motor skills, cooperation

Key activities :

• A motor course for budding astronauts in the playground
• Group discussion on the sky, the stars, the sun
• Creation of a shutter card: day with the sun / night with the moon. The sun is created by cutting and pasting circles and strips of yellow paper for the rays. For the moon, children dab on grey paint with a ball of aluminum foil and project droplets of paint with a toothbrush.

Learning points:
Understanding of the day/night cycle, sky language, Earth's rotation. Beginning of astronomy vocabulary.
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Day 2: Exploring the universe - stars, galaxies, sizes

Skills used: classification, visual arts, spatial vocabulary, comparison

Key activities :

• Creating a galaxy with dry pastels
• Handling a sensory tray with shuttle, satellite and telescope figurines
• Associating items in the sensory tray with spatial nomenclature cards
• Memory, giant puzzle of the solar system
• A frieze of sizes (from the cell to the galaxy) to put the world around us in its rightful place and get a better idea of the infinitely large and the infinitely small. Can all that exists be seen with the eyes, and if not, what tool should we use? Telescope or microscope?

Pedagogical benefits:
Work on the scale of celestial objects, vocabulary enrichment, sensory discovery of the universe.
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Day 3: Understanding constellations

Skills required: storytelling, visual arts, spatial logic

Key activities :

• Reading the legend of the Big Dipper and the Little Dipper
• Manufacture of a constellation projector, including the use of a punch
• Painting a star cluster
• Start of a collective constellation fresco

Teaching aids:
Link between science and mythology, work on shapes, spatial location, narrative language.
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Day 4: Discovering the solar system

Skills mobilized: spatial location, memorization, language structuring

Key activities :

• European Space Agency educational video on the solar system with the Paxi mascot
• Creation of "My Universe" mobiles, ranging from the galaxy to the school, via the solar system, Earth, Europe and France, to the children's region and town.
• Individual Galaxy jars made from layers of cotton, colored with inks applied with a pipette, presented in a jam jar.
• Park outing to strengthen motor skills

Teaching aids:
Names of planets, rocky/gaseous classification, overview of the solar system. Spatial structuring (from global to local).
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Day 5: Consolidate, tell stories, marvel

Skills required: restitution, creativity, memory, oral expression

Key activities :

• Finalizing the galaxy jars
• Watch an episode of the Magic Bus about space
• Rereading the books covered during the week
• Open discussions on discoveries

Pedagogical benefits:
Reflecting on what has been learned, expressing experiences, memorization reinforced by emotion and sharing.

Each day combines scientific discovery, artistic expression, oral language and motor skills in a caring, bilingual environment. This variety encourages children of all ages and learning profiles to get involved.

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A complete educational project on space to fill you up with ideas!

This week's theme of space perfectly illustrates the foundations of active teaching: manipulate, observe and create to better understand. Through a variety of activities, children learn about complex concepts in a concrete, joyful way. Far from being passive learners, they become fully involved in their discovery of the world.

A mine of inspiration for teachers

These Holiday Workshopscan also be a source of inspiration for teachers, educators, parents practicing family instruction or organizers looking for pedagogical ideas. The theme of space makes it possible to work on all the competencies of the Common Base as early as kindergarten:

• language (discussion, specific vocabulary, mythological stories),
• thought structuring (classification, spatial location, chronology),
• motor skills (motor games, manipulation),
• artistic sensitivity (plastic creations, collective frescoes),
• and of course scientific curiosity, through sensory and documentary approaches.

With just a few materials, it's possible to create rich, accessible experiences that can be adapted for all ages.

A global approach to science and culture

Through this type of project, children discover that science isn't just for grown-ups. That they can talk about the universe and gravity from the age of 3. That a mythological tale can be associated with an astronomical observation. That a puzzle of the solar system or a simple painting of a galaxy can open the door to big questions: where do we come from? What is a planet? Can we see everything that exists?

These workshops don't aim to explain everything. They aim to open doors, ask questions and stimulate thought. They are based onwonder, that precious force in children, and on the pleasure of doing things together, in a multi-age, caring environment.

Thanks to a lively, sensitive and intelligent approach, children learn to observe, question and connect. They develop not only their knowledge, but also their imagination and confidence.

Space fascinates children of all ages. And it's by discovering it in their own way, at their own pace, through a variety of adapted activities, that children grow up... with their heads in the stars, their feet on the ground, and their hearts open to all possibilities.

Find out about upcoming Holiday Workshops organized in our schools.