The Adventurers: Astronauts (Space)

Today  was a very busy day. It was not only our last session before the break but we also celebrated one of our friend's birthday and had yummy cupcakes in honor of her special day. We had decorations up and took astronauts pictures with the help of our astronaut poster.

We practiced being kind by creating a birthday card for our friend and designing a Thank You poster for the teachers of room 20, especially Patti, since they are generously letting us use their room after school hours.

The Adventurers: Cooperative Rocketship Race (Space)

Cooperative Rocketship Race: Today, we played an adaption of the classic cotton ball race. Put a start and finish line with the help of masking tape on the table. Attach a container (a shoe box works well), our space station, at the end of the finish line. Then, we partnered up and tried to blow a tissue rocket ship with the help of a straw from the start to finish line. The twist was that we only had one tissue rocket so we really had to work together to make it to the finish line.

Here are some ideas to promote cooperation and teamwork during the game: 

• Let the two partners negotiate who is going first.
• Encourage the team to come up with a strategy and to talk to each other during the game: Do we want to take turns blowing or to we want to blow at the same time?
• Practice good sportsmanship, e.g., cheering on the partner when it is his or her turn, high 5s when the rocketship lands in the space station.  

Topic Talk: Snack is always a lively time at Clubhouse since we can joke and talk with our friends while eating our favorite snacks. Today, we picked a topic to get the conversation going. Each of us had to come up with one thing we liked/loved about Clubhouse and one thing that was hard or not so fun for us. 

Here are some of the things the Clubhouse students mentioned:

• I liked that everyone was nice to me during the straw game.
• I like the games and to see all my friends.
• I love the space theme.
• The obstacle courses are my favorites.
• I was sad that one of our Clubhouse friends was not here today.
• I sometimes don't like 'check check' [greeting ritual], when it gets too loud.
• I didn't like that I did not get to share my comic with everyone.

The Adventurers: Rocketship Board Game (Space)

Rocketship Cooperative Relay: Have the players on each team hold on to a long jump rope with one hand to form a pretend rocketship. Place obstacles on the ground (we used big leftover pumpkins from Halloween). The players cannot let go. After each completed turn the player in front moves to the back and the team takes off again. Continue until everyone is back in their original position. This game requires checking in with each other and won't work if one of the players on the team does not follow the game rules (e.g., not holding on to the rope).

Rocketship Cooperative Board Game: Kids split into 3 small groups. The objective of the game was to move all game pawns (our pretend astronauts) across the board to the rocketships. We used a color and number dice at the same time but the twist was that we did not pick a colored pawn but all worked as a team to get to the finish. When the pawn landed on a colored circle, the player drew an action/question card. Here are some examples of the action/question cards.

The Explorers: Paper Mache Planets, Part 1 (Space)

Art Project “Paper Mache Planets”: The paper mache art project was very popular today,  We worked in small groups. First, we created the paste for our project and then we started making our planets (the first step).

Flour Paste Recipe (for paper mache)

1 cup flour
1 1/2cups water
1/2 TBS salt (optional)
1/4 cup white glue

Directions:

• Mix the flour and water together with a wire whisk or spoon until it is smooth and you have the consistency you want, should be similar to a heavy cream or a cream soup. If you want to thicken the paste, add flour. If you want to thin it, add a bit of water.
• Mix in the salt.
• Mix in the glue.
• The salt will help preserve the paste and prevent it from mold while the glue will help strengthen the paste.

Blow up balloon, tie, let kids glue on strips of newspaper until the whole balloon is covered. Layering is recommended. 

 

The Explorers: Moon Rock Toss (Space)

Moon Rock Toss: Today, we started with a moon rock toss. Crumbled up aluminum foil, formed into a ball, represented our moon rocks. Each player tossed the rocks into targets, e.g., round objects or hula hoops that represented our planets. Each player had 2 turns. We also added numbers to the planets so we could keep score. The planet that was the furthest  away had the highest number since it was most challenging to hit it with the moon rocks. Of course, we also worked on cheering and turn taking.

Art Project “Planet Printing”:  Big sheets of plexi were taped to the  table. We worked in small groups, The first step was to put small dabbers of paint onto the plexi sheets and then to spread the paint onto the plexi by using a brayer. We used block printing ink. After applying the paint to the plexi, we  created patterns with wooden sticks. Then, we placed a ‘planet’ (circle cut out of poster board) onto the plexi and made an imprint. We used squeegees or wooden sticks to help with the transfer process. Before we got going with the art project, we discussed what planets we wanted to make by studying a picture of the solar system. We had to choose the colors accordingly. It was fun working with the brayer. We were amazed how much our art work resembled the real planets.

The Adventurers: Space Adventure

Today, we went on a "Space Adventure."  We split up into small groups and then had to complete a variety of tasks and challenges. An activity like this is a great opportunity to work on teamwork and cooperation. Interesting group dynamics can also be observed. Who is taking on a leadership role? Who compromises? Who is more a follower?

SPACE ADVENTURE

1. COME UP WITH A NAME FOR YOUR SPACESHIP AND ASTRONAUT TEAM. WRITE IT DOWN HERE:

2. YOU LANDED ON THE MOON. EACH ASTRONAUT NEEDS TO FIND 2 HIDDEN MOON ROCKS BUT LIKE REAL ASTRONAUTS YOU HAVE TO WALK ON THE MOON TOGETHER AND STAY TOGETHER IN YOUR SPACE VEHICLE (HULA HOOP). COLLECT THE MOON ROCKS IN YOUR MOON BUCKETS. 

3. REAL ASTRONAUTS LOVE THEIR PLANETS. ASK YOUR FRIENDS “WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PLANET?” AND WRITE IT DOWN HERE:

4. THE ASTRONAUTS ARE BORED AND THEY WANT TO PLAY A PLANET TOSS GAME. USE YOUR MOON ROCKS AND TRY TO HIT THE PLANETS. WHEN YOUR GROUP GETS 30 POINTS YOU ARE READY FOR A SPECIAL ASTRONAUT TREAT.

REMEMBER: GOOD ASTRONAUTS STAY TOGETHER, WORK TOGETHER, HELP EACH OTHER AND ARE GREAT TEAM PLAYERS.