Children really love outer space and it is such an activity rich theme. To create the Moon on Earth we started with our black paper. The kids painted mural paper and once dry we hung it on the wall. We also hung some large black garbage bags from the ceiling (like a tent) to add to the darkness of space. The kids added their planets and stars when they were dry. (for instructions on these see the creative section)
The children chose the black, white and grey afghan as the surface of the moon although any white, grey or black sheet would do.
We addded the tent in as their space ship (after all, how else would you get to the moon?) The control board is a felt board that I taped paper onto and drew buttons and lights onto.
To complete the moon visit, we added backpacks (oxygen tanks), tin foil covered hats (hard hats from the dress up area) and spare peices of tin foil to wrap around legs for space boots. We also took some items from the science area, magnifying glasses, binoclulars and some white garden stones (moon rocks.)
The children really enjoyed their trip to the moon and it provided many opportunities to learn about life "outside" of Earth
