Space is one of those subjects that seems to naturally invite wonder.
The moon.
The stars.
The planets.
Rockets.
Astronauts.
Aliens.
The night sky.
For young children, space doesn't need to begin with complicated facts about the solar system.
It can begin with a question:
“I wonder what's up there?”
From that question, an entire week of stories, movement, sensory exploration, art, early science, mathematics, and imaginative play can unfold.
Space Week is not about teaching children everything there is to know about space.
It is about giving them opportunities to wonder, notice, imagine, investigate, and ask questions.
Start With a Story
A picture book can be the perfect starting point for Space Week.
Instead of introducing a list of planets first, begin with a story and let the children's curiosity lead.
Some wonderful read-alouds to explore include:
Aliens Love Underpants by Claire Freedman and Ben Cort — a hilarious rhyming story that brings together aliens, spaceships, Earth, colors, patterns, and plenty of opportunities for children to join in with repeated language. Read more..
Whatever Next! by Jill Murphy — a playful story that invites children to imagine traveling to the moon.
How to Catch a Star by Oliver Jeffers — a gentle story about imagination, persistence, and a child's fascination with stars.
The Way Back Home by Oliver Jeffers — a wonderful invitation to talk about friendship, problem-solving, and imaginative journeys.
On the Launch Pad by Michael Dahl — a simple counting story that makes a natural connection between rockets and early mathematics.
Penguinaut by Marcie Colleen — a playful story about dreaming big, persistence, and imagining possibilities in space.
Pop-Up Peekaboo! Space — an interactive choice for younger children, with simple rhyming text and opportunities to explore space vocabulary.
You don't need a different book every day.
Choose one or two anchor stories and return to them.
Read them again.
Look at the illustrations.
Notice something new.
Let children begin to know the story so well that they can almost tell it themselves.
Before the Read-Aloud: Look Up
Before opening the book, invite children to look at the cover.
Ask:
What do you notice?
What do you think this story might be about?
Where do you think these characters are going?
What do you already know about space?
What would you like to find out?
You can create a simple Wonder Wall with children's questions.
They might ask:
Can people live on the moon?
Are there really aliens?
How do rockets fly?
Why can we see the moon?
Are stars really that small?
Don't feel that every question needs an immediate answer.
Some questions can simply remain as questions.
That is part of scientific thinking.
Create a Space Vocabulary Basket
Instead of presenting a long vocabulary list, collect a few objects or images:
rocket
astronaut
moon
star
planet
spaceship
alien
Earth
helmet
space suit
Place them in a basket.
Children can explore the objects while talking about them.
“What is this?”
“What do you notice?”
“What do you think it is used for?”
“Where would you take it?”
Vocabulary becomes connected to something children can see, touch, move, and imagine.
Make a Rocket Launch
You don't need an elaborate rocket.
A cardboard box, a large tube, or a simple recycled container can become a spaceship.
Invite children to build.
Then count down:
10… 9… 8… 7…
Children can crouch down.
Get ready.
Blast off!
Jump.
Stretch.
Fly.
Move.
This simple game can introduce:
counting
sequencing
number recognition
positional language
gross motor movement
dramatic play
And it is impossible to resist doing it again.
Explore Movement in Space
How would your body move if there were no gravity?
Invite children to experiment.
Walk slowly.
Float.
Stretch.
Spin.
Jump.
Freeze.
Move like an astronaut.
Move like an alien.
Move like a rocket.
Then change the instructions:
“Move slowly.”
“Move quickly.”
“Go up.”
“Go down.”
“Turn around.”
This is a playful way to explore action words, positional language, listening, and body awareness.
Create an Alien Invitation
Aliens Love Underpants is particularly useful here because the story is already playful and imaginative, and its rhyming text invites children to participate in the read-aloud.
After reading, provide:
paper
crayons
paint
googly eyes
collage materials
playdough
recycled materials
Ask:
What might your alien look like?
How many eyes does it have?
What color is it?
Where does it live?
What does it like to do?
What would your alien bring from Earth?
There is no correct alien.
The goal is imagination.
Design Alien Underpants
If you are using Aliens Love Underpants as your anchor book, the underpants themselves can become an invitation for creativity.
Give children a simple paper outline and let them design.
Stripes.
Dots.
Stars.
Shapes.
Patterns.
Bright colors.
Then talk about their designs.
“Tell me about your pattern.”
“What colors did you choose?”
“Can you make a repeating pattern?”
“Which pair is the biggest?”
A silly story suddenly creates opportunities for art, mathematics, vocabulary, fine motor skills, and oral language.
Explore Patterns From Space
Space lends itself beautifully to patterns.
Use:
stars + planets
blue + green
circle + star
rocket + moon
Or simply use loose parts in space-inspired colors.
Invite children to create:
star – moon – star – moon
Then ask:
What comes next?
Later, let them invent their own pattern.
Patterning can remain playful while supporting early mathematical thinking.
Make a Moon Sensory Invitation
Create a simple moon-inspired sensory tray.
You might use:
flour
kinetic sand
white rice
moon rocks made from playdough
small stars
scoops
containers
toy rockets
Children can scoop, pour, bury, discover, count, and create.
Ask:
What does the moon surface feel like?
Can you make a crater?
How many moon rocks can you find?
Can your rocket land here?
The sensory experience becomes a starting point for conversation and investigation.
Make Moon Craters
This is a simple science invitation.
Create a tray of flour or another safe sensory material.
Drop objects from different heights and observe what happens.
What do you notice?
Which one made the biggest crater?
What happens if we drop it from higher up?
Children can compare, predict, observe, and describe.
You don't need to explain every scientific concept.
Let them investigate first.
Explore the Moon Through Light and Shadow
Space is also a beautiful opportunity to explore light and darkness.
Dim the lights.
Use a flashlight.
Add small stars or objects.
Create shadows.
Move the light closer.
Move it farther away.
Ask:
What happened to the shadow?
Is it bigger or smaller?
What happens when the light moves?
This can become a completely separate investigation inspired by your space theme.
Create a Night Sky
Invite children to create their own night sky using open-ended materials.
Try:
dark blue paper
white paint
sponges
stars
chalk
foil
tissue paper
natural materials
Instead of showing them exactly what to make, ask:
“What does your night sky look like?”
Some children might create planets.
Others might create stars.
Others might simply make marks and shapes.
All of those responses are valid.
Count the Stars
Place paper stars around the room.
Children can become space explorers searching for them.
They can:
count
sort
compare
match
find hidden stars
make groups
Try prompts such as:
“Can you find five stars?”
“Which group has more?”
“Can you make a group of three?”
“How many did you find altogether?”
A simple movement game becomes early mathematics.
Make a Planet Collection
Give children different circular materials:
paper plates · cardboard circles · playdough · loose parts · paint
Invite them to create imaginary planets.
Then talk about them.
What's your planet called?
What color is it?
Is it hot or cold?
Who lives there?
What would we need to take with us?
This naturally leads into imaginative storytelling.
Create a Space Story
Once children have created their planets and aliens, invite them to tell a story.
Begin with:
“One day, a little rocket landed on a strange planet…”
Then let children decide what happens.
Who lives there?
What does the planet look like?
What does the astronaut discover?
Does someone need help?
How does the story end?
Children can tell the story orally, act it out, draw it, or build it with loose parts.
This is where literacy and imaginative play naturally meet.
Build a Space Small World
Create a simple small-world invitation with:
blocks
cardboard tubes
stones
blue fabric
stars
planets
homemade rockets
small figures
recycled materials
There doesn't need to be a finished “space station.”
Let children build their own.
One child might create a moon base.
Another might build a rocket.
Another might make an alien planet.
The environment becomes a place for collaboration and storytelling.
Sing and Move
Space is perfect for songs and fingerplays.
Try familiar songs such as:
“Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”
or
“Five Little Men in a Flying Saucer.”
You can also create your own countdown song.
The combination of repetition, rhythm, movement, and vocabulary makes songs especially useful for young children.
Create a Space Soundscape
What does space sound like?
This is a wonderful question to explore through music and imagination.
Invite children to create sounds for:
a rocket launching
a spaceship flying
an alien landing
a robot walking
a meteor
a space station
Use:
drums
shakers
tapping sticks
recycled materials
voices
Then create a short space story with sound effects.
One child narrates.
Others create the sounds.
It becomes collaborative storytelling.
Explore Earth From Space
Space Week doesn't have to be only about what's far away.
It can also help children notice our own planet.
Show a photograph of Earth from space.
Ask:
What do you notice?
What colors can you see?
Where is the water?
Where do we live?
This can lead to simple conversations about caring for our planet.
If we could see Earth from space, what would we want to protect?
Trees?
Water?
Animals?
People?
Even very young children can begin thinking about the idea that Earth is our shared home.
Create a “What Would You Take to Space?” Invitation
Place a basket of objects nearby:
a book
a teddy bear
a cup
a blanket
a plant
a toy
a flashlight
Ask:
“If you were going to space, what would you take?”
Then ask:
“Why?”
The most interesting part is not the object.
It is the explanation.
Children practice:
I would take…
because…
This simple activity can support vocabulary, reasoning, oral language, and imaginative thinking.
Make a Space Journal
A space journal doesn't have to involve writing.
Children can:
draw what they see
draw their questions
sketch a planet
make marks
dictate a sentence
record a prediction
draw an observation
You might use prompts such as:
I wonder…
I noticed…
I think…
I would like to know…
These are wonderful beginnings for early scientific thinking.
A Simple Space Week Rhythm
You don't need a different theme every day.
A gentle rhythm might look like this:
Day 1 — Read & Wonder
Begin with a space picture book and create a Wonder Wall.
Day 2 — Build & Move
Build rockets, create a launch sequence, and move like astronauts.
Day 3 — Investigate
Explore moon craters, shadows, light, or sensory moon landscapes.
Day 4 — Imagine & Create
Make aliens, planets, spaceships, or an entire small-world space scene.
Day 5 — Tell & Retell
Create a space story, revisit the week's favorite book, and share what children discovered.
And remember:
You don't need to finish everything.
If children spend an entire morning building one enormous cardboard rocket, that is Space Week.
If they ask the same question ten times, keep wondering with them.
If Aliens Love Underpants becomes the book they want to hear every day, read it again.
Children learn through repetition, play, conversation, and time.
Keep Space Week Open-Ended
Space is often presented to young children as a collection of facts:
This is the sun.
This is the moon.
These are the planets.
But there is another way.
We can begin with wonder.
I wonder what is out there.
I wonder what it would feel like to float.
I wonder who might live on another planet.
I wonder what Earth looks like from far away.
I wonder how a rocket gets into space.
Those questions can lead us into books, science, mathematics, art, music, movement, storytelling, and play.
And perhaps that is the real magic of Space Week.
We don't have to give children all the answers.
We can give them something even more valuable:
time to wonder.
space to imagine.
stories to inspire them.
and materials to discover with their own hands.
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