This unit will be broken down into 5 main categories; books (literacy), activity, craft, field trip, and music. This is a topic based unit on planets and earth. You may implement this simple plan into your weekly lives. I have broken down the plan into a two week period.
Before you start:
- This is a simple plan created for toddlers and can last up to two weeks. You can shorten or expand.
- This does not have to be perfect. The goal is to creating a learning experience for your toddler, not to make the perfect Pinterest worthy craft or sensory bin.
- Tweak things for your LO. If that is the schedule or the activities. Do what works best for you and your family.
- Have fun! Brains are shaped by experience. You want your kids to have fun AND learn. Let’s have some fun and learn about the solar system!
Click the link below for the Planets & Earth two week unit! Have fun!
The activities, crafts, and songs are posted on my Pinterest board Planets & Earth and provided the board below.
Here are the books and plastic solar system that I purchased for this unit!
https://www.amazon.com/Whats-Out-There-about-Aboard/dp/0448405172/ref=sr_1_1?crid=57RO82MBQN95&keywords=what%27s+out+there+a+book+about+space&qid=1559401428&s=gateway&sprefix=what%27s+out+there+a%2Caps%2C169&sr=8-1Explanation & Tips
- We reread the same book because these books are dense and have a lot of great information. By rereading these books during the 2-week period, our kiddos will pick up on new information every time. Even though they cannot read, they can interpret, take in, and process information that will set the foundation of future learning and reading.
- The activities can be done one day of the week or repeated every day. You pick the day and time that works best for your family. For example, we will play with the coffee bean sensory bin every day of week 1. However, the shaving cream sensory bin we might only do one or two days of the week. It’s totally up to you!
- Like the activity, you pick a day and time the craft works for you!
- The songs will be on YouTube or sang to familiar nursery rhymes. I implement these usually before or after craft or activity to help make those connections. We might sing them randomly throughout the day and what not.
- I usually read the books before we do a craft or activity to help make connections.
- Feel free to add or take away from these plans. I am setting the skeleton, but you make what works for your family. Please share any additional books, activities, songs, or more that you might find in the comments below!
- Making connections in daily conversation is also a great way to make learning meaningful! Notice the stars and the world around you and ask questions. Ask questions that start with why and how. These help develop the “upstairs” part of their brain, where higher-level thinking begins and is under construction during this age. You might get an answer that is out of this world (see what I did there?) but by asking, you are modeling a new way of thinking.