Space!

The Plan

Books

Higher, Higher! by Leslie Patricelli
I Want to Be an Astronaut by Byron Batron
The Way Back Home by Oliver Jeffers
Zoom! Zoom! Zoom! I’m Off to the Moon! by Dan Yaccarino

Extension Activities

Flannelboard: “Four Little Rockets”
Four little rockets winking at me
One shot off and then there were three!
Three little rockets with nothing to do
One shot off, and then there were two!
Two little rockets afraid of the sun
One shot off, and then there was one!
One little rocket alone is no fun
It shot off, and then there were none!

Flannelboard: “Five Little Men in a Flying Saucer”
Five little men in a flying saucer
Looked around the world one day
They looked left and looked right
But they didn’t like the sight
So one man flew away

Action Rhyme: “Moon Ride”
Do you want to go up with me to the moon? (point to friend, then sky)
Let’s get in our rocket ship and blast off soon! (climb in, blast off)
Faster and faster we reach to the sky (jump and reach)
Isn’t it fun to be able to fly? (spread arms)
We’re on the moon, now all take a look (look)
Sit back down, and I’ll read you a book (sit)
Credit: SurLaLune Storytime

Action Song: “If You’re Going to the Moon”
If you’re going to the moon, wear your boots
If you’re going to the moon, wear your boots
If you’re going to the moon, this is what you have to do
If you’re going to the moon, wear your boots
(gloves, helmet, suit, etc.)
Credit: Mel’s Desk

Craft

You might be able to tell that I was getting tired of thinking of crafts by the end of summer, since this session’s craft was simple foam stickers to make a solar system. But the kids LOVE stickers, so it was definitely well-received even if I didn’t make an amazing creation for them to do.

How It Went

This was a great storytime session. I am a giant space NERD and get so excited about it — the kids just feed off of that excitement. Their favorite books were “Higher, Higher” and “I Want to Be An Astronaut.” I also snuck in a lot of learning during these books, all about how there’s no gravity in space and that the food has to be packaged funny. I hope that I now have little budding astronauts running around the library!