a is for astronaut

In addition to vehicles, I like the idea of Jonathan learning about community helpers. So for a, we focused on astronauts. Granted, you don't see astronauts walking around, at least not here in Illinois, but it's something I thought Jonathan might learning more about...  Overall, it was a fun lesson but I was somewhat surprised that astronauts didn't capture his attention more. Maybe outer space was a little too abstract to a two year old. We still had fun, and I think he may be more interested in space as he gets older.

Books

I Want to Be an Astronaut by Byron Barton

In this book, a young girl imagines what it would be like to be an astronaut- from being on a space shuttle and wearing a space suit to walking in zero gravity. The text is very simple and Barton's cartoon illustrations appeal to Jonathan. He liked looking at this book. It was a good introduction to what astronauts do.

On the Moon by Anna Milbourne

This is such a fun book! It's features a little girl wondering what it would be like to be on the moon. It's very simple yet informative. The illustrations combine both NASA pictures of the moon's surface and cartoon drawings. It is engaging, easy to understand-- just perfect for a toddler. This was by far our favorite astronaut book!

We Work in Space by Angela Aylmore


I chose this nonfiction book for its real pictures of astronauts as well as its simple text. It is a great introduction to who astronauts are and what types of research they do. We liked looking at the pictures of the special spacesuits astronauts wear. I'm glad I chose this book- it was very informative without being too over Jonathan's head. I'd definitely check it out again.






Find These Books in Your Local Library:

I Want to Be an Astronaut
On the Moon
We Work in Space


Puppets


We made an astronaut puppet using Jonathan's picture:

I got the idea from a book my mother gave me: How to Make Puppets with Children. I adapted it a little bit to make it more simple for Jonathan. We folded white construction paper in half and rounded the top to make a helmet. Then we glued the side together to make a mitt. We glued a picture of Jonathan to the front and I cut out a black frame to put around it for a window. Then we took a strip of black construction paper and folded it accordion style to make an air hose. All in all, it was pretty quick and gave him some practice with a glue stick.

He wasn't too interested in the puppet when it was over though and I couldn't get him to pose with it because he had too much fun letting the puppet drop from his hand and saying "Blast off!". Oh well-- maybe puppets will be a bigger hit in the future. :)

Art


Do-a-dot markets continued to be a big hit this week. We printed out the "A is for Astronaut" do a dot page from Making Learning Fun.


Games 


We didn't do any games for this one-- but next time I want to try an Astronaut Dominoes game I found at Muck Monsters.


Web Resources 


Astronaut Dominoes @ Muck Monsters
A is for Astronaut @ Totally Tots
Astronaut Preschool Pack @ Homeschool Creations
Man on the Moon Pack @ Musings of Me
A is for Astronaut Pack @ Homeschool Printables
Sesame Street: A Is for Astronaut @ YouTube
A is for Astronaut @ First School
Astronaut Costume @ Family Fun