During a time when young children may feel that their worlds have become much smaller, it could be helpful to remind them that they’re part of something so much bigger. Children learning about space and the solar system increases their appreciation and curiosity about Earth. They begin to wonder about the unknown and it prompts the ‘what if?’ and ‘how does?’ trail of questions. Learning about space sparks a child’s imagination and ignites their curiosity, building their creative and critical thinking skills. It inspires children to confidently ask questions about their uncertainties so they can broaden their knowledge.
Through intentional teaching, social interactions and various activities, children can describe and articulate what they have learnt about space and our solar system. A planned activity allowed children to use their imaginative, creative and fine motor skills to not only illustrate what they had learned, but confidently communicate their reasoning and decision making behind the creative choices they had made. This creative activity solidified the children’s knowledge from the previous intentional learning of space and the solar system.
Theorist, Gardner, believed arts and creativity as playing major roles in children’s learning and that children were able to explore many cognitive concepts through their play and creative explorations. Us educators at KOTA strongly believe in this theory and it was evident that the creative activity played a massive role in our children understanding space and the solar system.