Outer Space Busy Box for Preschoolers
Sun, Moon, Stars, and Planets are great teaching tools. If your kiddos have an interest in any of these things- this is the busy box for you. Rocket Ships, Astronauts, and Aliens can be fun to learn and play. Getting kids excited about Space and its mysteries is a great way to model an idea for learning about the unknown. Even teachers and parents don’t have all the answers about space. We can lead by example in wonderment. The Outer Space Busy Box for Preschoolers will be fun and still get your kiddos working on those same skills for school readiness. If you want to learn more about the skills I mention in this busy box read- Preschool Education Based Skills
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Pre-Reading Busy Box Activities
Print Awareness and Print Motivation
Learning what a book is, the parts of a book, how to look and notice illustrations, the right way to turn pages, and how to follow the text. Here are some of our favorite space books from Amazon! The sequential order of the planets can be very repetitive in many of these books. Reading them with your kiddo you may find them repeating them back to you after a few reads!
Fiction Books
Non-Fiction Books
Letter Knowledge
Recognizing the size and shape of letters uppercase and lowercase is one of the first steps of letter knowledge. I have created a set of uppercase and lowercase flashcards. They are Stars!
Another one of the staple learning tools I always create for my busy boxes is the word/ letter wand. They can be used to search for letters or words when reading, playing, and learning! (Rocket Ship and Telescope)
Phonemic Awareness
Letter sounds are the next step in the learning-to-read process.
I created a letter sound matching game using the planets and other space objects. You can match the star letter flashcards to the objects with the matching beginning sounds. Print, cut, and laminate. Then you can match the planets with their letters.
This is a fun CVC (consonant, vowel, consonant) word-building mat to line up those letter stars and start learning to make words.
I also made a star shape game board that can be used to write letters for matching and gameplay. Here are some photo examples. You can practice letter knowledge and phonemic awareness. Just add letters, or sit words! The blank spinners you see me using in these photos can be found in the busy box download library already!
Pre-Writing Busy Box Activities
Fine Motor
For preschool learning, many of the fine motor skills practice doesn’t actually even involve writing! Any toys and games that get kids working with those little muscle ground in their fingers and hands are the beginnings of writing!
Puzzles
Play Dough
Beads
Peeling Stickers
Rocket Ship Crayons! I created a “trace the trail” through the Outer space sheet. Use crayons for one use or laminate and use dry erase for multi-use.
Pre-Math Busy Box Activities
Sorting, Patterns, Set Creation, and Counting
When preschoolers are starting to learn the basics of math it’s not always about numbers. We start with colors and shapes, recognizing patterns and sizes, and grouping objects. Next, we practice counting the objects and then recognizing the numbers that match those sets or groups of objects.
Here are some great Pre-math learning games and tinker toys I found on Amazon!
I also created this planet spinner and star spinner to use with the star board game. You can spin and write the number or letter that matches the set or spin and move your game piece to the number or letter that matches the set.
Space is so huge there will always be things to measure and count!
The Importance of Modeling and Set Creation
Showing our children what we are interested in is a great way to help grow their interests. They love it when we give our time and attention. It is the most fun to share attention when we are teaching about things we love and are interested in. Space is the future! Hopefully, when our children are older their interest can lead to more exploration. We never stop learning! This preschool learning can one day turn into ROCKET SCIENCE!