What is the Weather like Today....On Jupiter

This week we began our new monthly unit about weather. Who doesn't love this theme? Mother Goose Time has us all prepared to delve into sensory play with all things wet and dry. We will be learning about dealing with and getting excited for personal change and change in the seasons and weathering the storms we experience.

We kicked off the week with a trip to the Adler Planetarium. If you find yourself in the Chicagoland area with a space-loving child, you should check it out! We happened to have this little trip on an exceptionally warm Fall day. All this to say, we turned our space exploration trip into a weather inspired field trip.

Prior to going on our trip, I flipped through the lesson plans for the first week and saw we would be able to incorporate our learning about the sun, wind and clouds into our trip. In the days prior to our trip, we made artwork of the sun and moon and discussed their places in our solar system and the importance that the sun has had on making our earth habitable. Then we practiced our comparing and contrasting and ordering by size with our bear manipulatives and coordinating colorful kites. This also created a great fine motor cutting practice opportunity. We made "wind-formed" art with straws, paint, leaves and more. We read one of our favorites, It Looked Like Spilt Milk and made our own cloudy art.

When we arrived at the planetarium, there were models of the sun and moon, (wind powered) rocket making stations, and an IMAX movie experience that mentioned weather on the different planets. Secretly, as I wandered about the tourists, space fanatics and coffee-fueld parents, I beamed. I had prepared to get more than just a two hour run around the museum experience from this trip. I had prompted questions, I had planted ideas, excitement and fuel to for my son to get the most out of this day with our Mother Goose Time lessons.

As we left, we walked along Lake Michigan discussing how the wind impacts the water and how my son really needed to check his pinwheel when he got home. We have been using Mother Goose Time for a year now, and this month we are lucky to receive it in exchange for sharing our experience. It has helped make so many experiences, moments and days brighter; and I am glad to have it as part of our educational experience.