At San Diego Children's Discovery Museum (SDCDM), we offer many Daily Programs that are available to the public each day. We offer a twice daily Storytime that caters to children of all ages. SDCDM prioritizes 3 major areas: Art, Science and World Cultures. SDCDM alternates Storytime each month between science and world culture-themed stories. This month, November 2017, is an exploration of SPACE!
Space is one of my FAVORITE topics to learn about. As something we normally only see from afar, the mysteries and beauty of space are enchanting and the constant new discoveries are incredibly exciting!
There are infinite benefits to engaging groups of children in stories, particularly stories about science! Reading aloud introduces our youngest learners to the basics of print concepts, helps enhance language proficiency, and provides an introduction to academic learning expectations!
In addition to each week’s story, a developmentally appropriate activity is available as a supplement to Storytime. Below you can see each week’s story and connected activity!
There’s No Place Like Space!
Join Dr. Seuss' famous Cat in the Hat on a fun journey through space and our amazing solar system!
This fun tracing activity allows children to get creative by choosing, tracing, and designing their favorite planet. Tracing the planets helps develop their fine motor skills. The different size planet stencils also provide an opportunity for them to develop their math skills, problem solve, and experiment with what sizes and/or materials are the best to sort and use to trace!
The Way Back Home follows the journey of two strangers lost in space. They may be from different places but that doesn’t stop them from becoming friends and helping one another to find their way back home.
I love this book because it helps children to understand that although someone is new and different, they can still be great friends and allies! And sometimes those differences can even make us stronger and help us to overcome obstacles. The activity compliments the book by having children identify the items from the book and seek them on their activity sheet. The activity will help kids focus on the task at hand and enhance their problem-solving and exploration skills.
Twinkles and Luna is an adorable tale of the stars and moon and what they do up in the night sky while we are all fast asleep! Learn about what they are and how they get their beautiful light.
The educational activity highlights a number of areas for learning and development. Color-by-number activities help children to learn and recognize numbers. This can help them when learning how to count and perform simple math problems. This activity will also help children to learn and recognize colors. Older children can improve their writing skills by using the key to see how each color is spelled. Finally, coloring in the specified areas will help young children to develop their creative and fine motor skills.
Crinkle, Crinkle Little Star takes readers on a journey through the night sky. Learn about the stars and the constellations through beautiful illustrations and descriptions!
While learning about the different constellations in our night sky, children will get to make a connection between storytelling and science! This connect-the-dots activity will help children to identify and learn their numbers, and even learn to count! Drawing lines to connect the stars will help develop fine motor skills.
San Diego Children’s Discovery Museum strives to teach children about cultural understanding and appreciation through the use of Storytime and Art Activities. Join us daily in the month of November at 11:00am and 2:00pm to hear stories about space!
Elyssa Scheck is an Educator. She earned a BA in Biology and Environmental Studies and has an MS in Wildlife Conservation. Science education is a passion of hers and she has been working in this field for a number of years. She is very excited to be able to share these activities with the SDCDM community and go on a great space exploration adventure together!
Resources:
http://www.parents.com/toddlers-preschoolers/development/physical/child-...
http://ncac.acecqa.gov.au/educator-resources/pcf-articles/Supporting_chi...'s_development_fine_motor_skills.pdf
http://www.rif.org/blog/ten-benefits-of-storytime/
https://ed.psu.edu/goodling-institute/professional-development/judy-macl...
https://creativeplayuk.com/5-key-benefits-sensory-play/
http://www.corestandards.org/