Are you looking for an incredibly easy way for kids to learn the shape of constellations? Check out this simple constellation activity with natural loose parts. Children will love rearranging sticks and stones to make different constellations.
I love watching my boys play at the beach. They are instantly drawn to all the beautiful stones They love stacking, throwing, and rearranging them over and over again.
These natural loose parts provide hours of entertainment for the whole family. While playing alongside my children, I got hit with inspiration!
As they moved around the sticks and stones, I noticed the formations resembled constellations. I showed my four year old this discovery and he thought it was so cool!
Here’s what you’ll need for this constellation activity:
Supplies
•Sticks
•Stones
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Related: Nature Constellation Matching Game
The Constellation Activity:
If you don’t happen to live near a beach with a large amount of sticks and stones, then collect them on your nature walks or in your yard! You could also try seashells, acorns, dandelion heads, or any other piece of nature that is small and easy to manipulate.
Once you have your supplies, you can add star stickers just for fun! Nature is beautiful on it’s own, but the addition of the stickers make this just a little more inviting!
Next, look at different constellations in an astronomy book! My boys love looking at the pictures in Night Watch. Check out different constellations in your book and try to make a couple of them. My boys had the most fun making up their own constellations and giving them interesting names!
The best thing about loose parts play, is one activity will often lead into another, which means more play! My boys spent the rest of the afternoon organizing, counting, and creating different pictures with the sticks and stones.
This incredibly simple constellation activity was a huge hit with my kids and the sticks and stones made a great addition to our loose parts collection!
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