Welcome to Science & Space Week at Camp Khan Kids. This week, kids can discover fun facts about the solar system, test their scientific knowledge, stimulate the senses, and explore the Earth. Grab your notepad for observations, download the printable pack at the bottom of this page, and let’s get started! For play materials, you will need cardboard tubes, markers, scissors, dirt, water, vinegar, and baking soda. Ready, set, blastoff! 🚀
[Click here to download this week's printable pack]
[Click here to view Science & Space Week in Spanish]
See the chart below for this week’s schedule, and scroll through the article to find details and links. Feel free to mix and match activities to fit your family's needs.
Having fun during Camp Khan Kids? Share your photos and stories with us on social media. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram, and include #CampKhanKids on your posts! You’re also welcome to submit your child’s artwork here.
Monday
Watch: Circle Time Out of Orbit
We’re kicking off Science & Space Week with a special episode of Circle Time. Let’s launch our space adventure by joining Caroline and the Khan Kids crew to read stories about meteors, comets, and asteroids! The show starts with the book Space Rocks followed by Out of Orbit.
Read: The Solar System
It’s time to expand our universe of knowledge by reading books about planets in Khan Academy Kids. Find the book The Solar System by Bellwether Media in the New Non-Fiction section of the Khan Kids Library. Pore over the pictures of each planet and its unique characteristics. Ask children which planet they’d like to travel to if they could choose a trip to space. As the kids warm up to reading, check out The Sun book too!
Write: Pick a planet to explore
After reading The Solar System, kids can color in the planets on the solar system coloring page. This page can be found in the Create tab of the Khan Kids app under New Science Coloring, or it can be printed from this week’s printable packet. Let kids write the names of the planets they can identify. Children with a creative writing urge can use the lined paper in the printable packet to write a story about a trip to their favorite planet and what they might discover there.
Learn: Group and compare numbers
The universe is full of fun numbers. While reading through The Solar System and The Sun, did kids notice that the surface of the sun is 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit, that Mercury zooms through space at 100,000 miles per hour, or that 1,000,000 Earths could fit inside the sun? Let kids crunch more numbers in the Math section of the Khan Kids app. Every age group has lessons for grouping and comparing numbers. Older learners can jump into big number territory with our activities for ten frames and base 10 blocks!
Play: Cardboard tube rocket ship
Save a few cardboard tubes from paper towel or toilet paper rolls. This can become the body of a rocket ship. Cut out three cardboard triangles. Then, cut a semicircle out of paper to shape into a cone. Tape or glue the triangles to the bottom of the ship, and the cone to the top of the ship. Decorate the ship with markers to add doors and windows. Share your creations by tagging #CampKhanKids on social media. [Activity and image from Kids Activities Blog ]
Tuesday
Watch: Explore the night sky with Caitie’s Classroom
Look up at the stars during Caitie’s Classroom as she explores the magnificent night sky. Draw constellations, sing songs, and make a moon craft. Shine on, little learners! 💫
Read: Astronauts
We love the Astronauts book by Bellwether Media. Find the title in the New Non-Fiction section of the Khan Kids Library. Inside, curious readers will discover where astronauts train, what astronauts do, and how astronauts move and float through space. If kids are fascinated with astronauts, don’t stop there. Pick another book to read to find out where astronauts go, like The Moon!
Write: A story about space travel
Are your kids daydreaming about a trip to outer space? Keep the dream alive by coloring in the astronaut and space pages in the Create tab of the app (which can also be found in this week’s printable packet). Invite children to give their astronauts a mission. Older learners can use the lined paper in the printable packet to describe the mission in detail, including the exciting countdown on rocket launch day!
Learn: Rules and directions
Space travel is sophisticated. Astronauts must pay attention to details and directions to reach their destination safely. Let kids build their memory muscles by heading to the Logic+ tab in the Khan Kids app. There, they will find lessons for memory matching, flexible thinking, sorting objects, and following directions. Or, print extra copies of the Math Counters page in this week's printable packet to play a hands-on game of memory matching. Children can color and cut the objects, and then lay them out to match them up.
Play: Stargaze at night or play with flashlights
Venture outside at night with kids to observe the night sky. Make a cozy space to lie down, look up, and watch the stars come out. Can you find any constellations, airplane lights, or the moon? If the kids go to bed before it’s dark out, create a stargazing game indoors with flashlights. In a dark room, poke holes in a piece of paper, and hold it over the flashlight to make stars and shadows.
Wednesday
Watch: Sink or Float Circle Time
Today for Space & Science Week, we’ll be testing our scientific knowledge by conducting experiments! Start by joining Caroline and Sophie on Circle Time as they read the book That Won’t Float by Cynthia Platt. Watch Caroline experiment with objects that sink and objects that float in a bowl of water.
Read: Books about science
Learn about scientific topics like electricity, energy, light, gravity, and sound from the New Non-Fiction books in our Khan Kids Library. Kids can read or listen to these books, and then surprise their parents with scientific facts and discoveries. Help younger children grasp these concepts with simple activities like creating an echo to hear sound reflections, or by creating a shadow to experiment with light.
Write: Conduct an experiment
It’s science lab time! Little learners can putter with potions in this chemistry set coloring page. Older learners can pretend to be a scientist or inventor. If they could invent anything in the world, what it be? If this chemistry set represented their own unique potion, what special powers would the potion have? Let them draw or describe their ideas using writing paper or the app. In Khan Kids, find the chemistry set coloring page farther down on the Create tab under Color.
Learn: Letter sounds and sentence structures with Reya
Conducting labs and experiments requires a lot of reading in order to follow directions. Continue practicing reading skills by learning new words and sentences in the Khan Kids app. Reya’s reading videos (in the Videos tab, organized by age) are a great place to start!
Play: Make a chemical reaction
Set up a simple science experiment in the kitchen. Sprinkle some baking soda in a dish. Then pour a little bit of vinegar on top. Let kids observe what happens. Do the same thing with sugar and water. Does anything happen? Talk about the differences between the experiments and how gas was created when the vinegar was added. How do we know there was gas? Bubbles!
Thursday
Watch: Healthy Habits Circle Time
Biology is a field of science that studies living things, like our bodies! Start Thursday by learning about fun ways to keep our bodies healthy, strong, and energetic. In this Circle Time episode, kids can do jumping jacks, brush teeth, and practice healthy bedtime and morning routines.
Read: Books about touch, taste, hearing, sight, and smell
Peek inside the Khan Kids Library to find a new series of books about the senses. In the book Seeing by Bellwether Media, kids will learn about parts of the eye, such as the pupil, the iris, and the lens. The great thing about these books is that families can apply learning in real life. Let your child take a look into your eyes to see what happens to the iris with different amounts of light.
Write: Explore your superhero senses
Superheroes have superpowers, like enhanced senses for x-ray vision or supersonic hearing. Kodi and Peck want to have superpowers too! Let kids color and create a story about Kodi and Peck as superheroes. What special senses or powers could they be given? Find this coloring page in the Create tab under New Character Coloring.
Learn: Shapes and colors
Sandy’s educational videos in the Khan Kids app provide a fun introduction to shapes and colors. Head to the Videos tab in the app to find the ones with Sandy under Shapes and Measurement. What does Sandy have to say about mixing colors and identifying shapes? Or, do the shape sorting activity in this week’s printable packet. Throughout the day, help children identify the shapes and colors from the objects they see in their neighborhood.
Play: Petal potions with Tinkergarten
Let’s wrap up the day with a sensory trip outside or to the kitchen. Pick a few flowers or leaves during a nature walk, or poke around in the spice drawer for scented ingredients. Add some water in a container and let kids mash, stir, and combine the ingredients to turn it into a potion. What does it smell like? Read more about this sensory-integration activity from our friends at Tinkergarten.
Friday
Watch: Let’s Recycle Circle Time
This Friday we’re investigating Earth science at Camp Khan Kids. Watch this Circle Time episode about how to be environmentally friendly with Mother Earth. Start with the book Team Leader where Ollo cleans up the beach. Continue reading about the environment with The Problem with Plastic by National Geographic. Then, watch as we make a recycled art collage with Kodi the Bear, and enjoy more recycled art projects from friends around the world.
Read: Books about the Earth’s continents
Travel the globe by learning about each of the seven continents on Earth. Visit Europe, Australia, Asia, and more in the Books section of the Khan Kids Library under Geography. Look at world maps and read fascinating facts about life in these places. Younger readers might enjoy seeing Ollo dress up as the planet Earth in the book Planetary Play under 1st Grade Early Readers.
Write: My favorite place on Earth
Environmental scientists help us understand our changing world so that we can take better care of it. Help kids understand why it’s important to respect and protect our planet. Talk about your favorite places as kids color on the planet Earth coloring page. Then, describe your favorite places on the writing page in this week’s printable packet.
Learn: Sorting and grouping
Head to the Logic+ section of the Khan Kids app for lessons on sorting and grouping objects. We especially love Monster Sort in the 1st grade level under Flexible Thinking (the monsters are cute and could be fun for little learners, too.) Or, pull out the printable packet for the recycling worksheet where kids can cut and sort which items go into the bins. Apply this to real-life by having your child sort recycled objects at home.
Play: Water play to make mountains, rivers, and dams
The Earth’s natural resources can provide some of the best play and recreation. It’s time to take off our shoes, venture out, and construct a landscape from dirt, sand, and water. Let kids dig a hole and fill it with water. How long does the water stay in the hole before it drains into the ground? Keep filling, because this is their lake. Build mounds of mud next to the water for mountains and troughs for rivers. Decorate with rocks, leaves, grass, or feathers. Parents, feeling the earth on bare feet can be fun for us, too.
Certificate of completion
Thank you for participating in Science & Space Week. We loved hosting this learning lab with you. Don’t forget to print out your certificate to celebrate your accomplishments!
Bonus activities on Pinterest
If you're looking for even more creative activities, check out our Science & Space Week Board on Pinterest. These ideas may keep your experiments running all summer long!
Comments
0 comments
Article is closed for comments.