Studying about space is such an astonishing concept. It is awe-inspiring and it certainly puts us in our rightful place when it comes to our smallness in comparison to the vast universe all around us. It has been such an out-of-this-world experience watching the videos of the planets, our galaxy and the universe. So vast. So beautiful. So perfect.

Join us as we show you what we did to learn about space. In this post, you will be inspired to invite your children to embark on a space explorer adventure, to capture the beauty of the universe with you and to “bring space home” with hands-on activities, lessons, crafts and video excerpts. Take a look and watch your children’ eyes brighten with wonder.

Take a look at our setup. Doesn’t it look inviting? I know it is small, but it contains everything we needed for our space adventure. We covered so much! You will see just how awesome this unit was. We are studying Astronomy this year in our co-op, so when I was asked to review the Space Explorer kit by Montessori by Mom, I was very excited. This is our first time using a kit by them, so I was very eager to give it a try.

First of all, I was impressed how Montessori by Mom sets up tutorial videos for ever activity in the kits. This is a very reassuring bonus for moms that are either new to teaching their little ones at home or that are new to Montessori. The videos were very comprehensive and easy to understand (and implement).

I was glad to find the pamphlets and written information just as helpful. I mean, really, with this kit, I felt prepared and ready because I had everything I needed and I knew exactly what to do with everything. I will show you some of the activities we did. I can’t show you every single thing because this post would be extremely long.

The first part of the unit was cool. I loved how we started out learning about the difference between a square and a cube, a circle and a sphere. It is important for children to understand that planets are spheres and not just circles on a sheet of paper. We also learned about the word “scale” and how Earth and the moon look next to each other. And lastly, we learned the word “orbit” and talked about the moon, it phases and how it orbits the Earth.

I got little wooden wings to hold our solar system replicas. Not only do they look awesome, but they don’t get lost or roll around. My children had a great time learning about each of the planets. We learned some interesting facts and we also learned the order of the planets as the appear (from closest to farthest from the sun).

Next, we made the solar system craft. Now, this craft was definitely one of my children’s favorite activity. They enjoyed telling me the order of the planets as they arranged them to glue them on the black paper and they thought that their solar systems looks great. They were truly proud of this craft and they wouldn’t let me hang them up in our homeschool room. They each wanted their within view in their bedrooms.

This part of the Montessori by Mom Space Explorer lesson was intriguing to my children. Stars and constellations. They are fascinating on their own, but studying them truly sparked that sense of wonder and imagination. You should’ve seen my children’s faces when we talked about what stars are and how constellations are found in the night sky.

We used the looking glass from the kit as well as constellation postcards. We used a pushpin to poke holes in the stars and, when placed again the light, we could see the constellations come to life. The kit comes with doubles of the constellation postcards to be matched up. I am telling you: there are so many skills that are practiced through the Space Explorer kit!

Take a look at our fine motor skills activity and craft. We made constellations using a star paper punch (also included in the kit). They kept my little ones focused and interested until they each completed two constellations, beginning to end. It was a simple craft, yet it required practicing fine motor skills, eye-hand coordination, spatial discrimination, a steady hand and knowledge of constellations and what they look like (to replicate).

And last, but not least, what is a full and complete unit with a related snack? We loved baking our favorite homemade gluten free strawberry shortcake muffins in the shape of a star (mold was included in the kit). It was a great way to wrap up the unit after reading books, watching videos, making crafts and several activities and having engaging conversations about space.

In the end, I want to say that I definitely recommend Montessori by Mom kits. They are very complete and very easy to use. Wha impressed me the most about Space Explorer is that I literally got everything that I needed for the unit (except for the laptop). The lessons, activities and information given were thorough and very complete. Give Montessori by Mom a try. You won’t be disappointed.

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