Category

4-6 years

Jun 09
0

HELPING YOU CELEBRATE EMPATHY DAY

By | 4-6 years, 6-8 years, 8+ years, Advice for Parents, Teaching Resources, Visual Literacy, Worksheets

June 9 is Empathy Day! Empathy is the crucial skill we need to better understand others. Here are some ways you can help children develop empathy.

Stories are portals to other times and places. But perhaps most importantly, they’re doorways to other people’s hearts. When we engage with stories by listening to someone else’s experiences, reading books or studying artworks, we gain insight into how life looks and feels from a different point of view.

Practising empathy connects us so powerfully with our humanity that it can inspire social change. By broadening our perspectives, we begin to understand how we can support others in meaningful ways.

Empathy Lab have an impressive programme on June 9, to help us train our brains so that we can become more empathetic. All their events – from poetry writing to poster making – are perfect for home learning. Check out their free Family Activity Pack too.

Before June 9, you might like to warm-up your empathy neurons with this simple visual literacy activity. Using the worksheet below, can you create a portrait of someone expressing an emotion? Can you make this face happy? Sad? Confused? Send us your completed illustrations by tagging @curvedhousekids on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, so we can guess which emotion you drew.

You might also like to explore Empathy Lab’s Read for Empathy Book Collections, which include Mum’s Jumper. This touching story by Jayde Perkin and published by our friends at Book Island, explores loss and grief in a way that’s accessible to children. Since difficult emotions are often the hardest ones to express and understand, books like this one are especially useful in building our empathy toolkits.

We look forward to hearing about how you celebrate Empathy Day. Get involved in the conversation online by using #readforempathy.

Image by Jude Beck

May 19
0

Mental Health Awareness Week

By | 4-6 years, 6-8 years, 8+ years, Advice for Parents, Teaching Resources

May 18-24 is Mental Health Awareness Week. This is a great opportunity to explore the importance of self-care.

Astronauts and space travel can be hugely effective (and non-confronting) themes for discussing mental health, wellbeing and mental self-care. Here are two space-themed activities to try this week.

Activity One: Astronaut Workout

Suitable for all ages

Kick off the week with a mini mind and body workout. This activity ends with a mindful breathing exercise – an important reminder that, when you’re facing a big challenge, mental fitness is just as important as physical fitness.

Download the activity and lesson plan.

Activity Two: Astronauts and Isolation

For older students

Tim Peake spent six months living and working in the small confines of the ISS.

The job of an astronaut comes with many big challenges – from the physical and psychological pressure of a rocket launch, to dealing with long periods of time away from home (and family) and the stress of physical isolation. Astronauts have a lot to take on and they work hard to manage mental health in space. But what about when they are back on Earth? What then? Space travel is a unique and intense experience and having few people to truly connect with about it can evoke feelings of isolation.

Use this topic and the questions below as conversation starters, research questions or creative writing prompts:

  • Why might an astronaut feel isolation when they are back on Earth?
  • What other things (other than going into space!) might cause a person to feel mentally isolated?Can you think of other experiences, people or professions?
  • Is it possible to experience isolation in the company of others? How? Why?
  • What do astronauts do to cope with isolation?
  • How do astronauts manage their mental health in space and on Earth?
  • With the experience of lockdown, what can you learn from astronauts about dealing with isolation? Are there things you can do to keep a healthy mind?

You can find more free resources to explore during Mental Health Awareness Week here.

Photo credit: ESA/NASA

May 01
0

Celebrating National Share-a-Story Month

By | 4-6 years, 6-8 years, 8+ years, Advice for Parents, Teaching Resources

Happy National Share-a-Story Month! May 1st marks the beginning of a whole month of creating and celebrating stories, in all different ways!

At Discovery Diaries HQ, we’re passionate about this year’s theme: The Planet We Share. While our space missions take us far from home, looking at that small blue dot from beyond our atmosphere both humbles and inspires us. We see how interconnected we are, not just on an intergalactic scale but as members of our world and our communities. Stories help us learn more about that world and the people in it.

Stories can be told in all kinds of ways. Long before the written word, people shared them verbally, through music and by making art. Throughout May, we’ll be celebrating storytelling in all its different forms.

To help us celebrate, we’d like to challenge you to tell one story each week in May using different storytelling methods. Here are five different ways to get you started:

  1. Get your Hemingway on and write a piece of micro-prose, using Visual Verse’s daily visual prompt.
  2. Embrace the gift of the gab like Christian Rogers and host an oral storytelling session. You can do this in-person with your household, or online with your friends (with a parent’s permission if you’re under 16). Your story could be one you’ve made up or one you’ve been told.
  3. Follow in the footsteps of the great bard and dabble in poetry. Writing a Shakespearean sonnet is a particularly satisfying challenge. Following one of our templates will help you keep those rhymes in order.
  4. Songwriting is a fun way to share a story. Musician Will Stoert has created a simple five-step method to help you write a song. You don’t need any knowledge of music to use it, so warm up those vocal chords and have some fun!
  5. Not all stories are told through words. From the time our ancient ancestors painted the walls of caves, visual storytelling has been one of our traditions. Why not make your own space-themed comic strip? There’s no limit to where an intergalactic story can take you!

The Federation of Children’s Book Groups has all kinds of resources you can use to celebrate National Share a Story Month, from downloadable activities to reading lists. Their handy mind-map with help you come up with ideas around this year’s theme.

Don’t forget to let Discovery Diaries HQ know how you’re going with your Share-a-story Challenge! Use #discoverydiaries on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to tell us how you’re spinning tales.

Apr 20
0
earth day earth hero

Earth Day 2017!

By | 4-6 years, 6-8 years, 8+ years, Blog, Earth Hero

Earth Day has arrived! To help you celebrate, we’ve put together a list of our favourite Earth-related experiments and activities for your Earth Heroes. We can’t wait to see how you celebrate Earth Day. Don’t forget to use #EarthDay and #EarthHero on Facebook and Twitter, so we can see what you get up to!

KNOW YOUR PLANTS

You don’t have to travel far to become an Earth Hero. Just take a wander through your backyard or nearby park to get started. Here are few activities involving plants, flowers and leaves found around your neighbourhood. The can encourage investigation, exploration, identification and analysis which can easily be adapted for different age levels. Discuss colours and shapes with younger children, and with older children utilise the internet and look up the names of plants you find and discover why they might be growing in your area. Which animals benefit from them?

Make fossils from leaves and flowers using clay

Leaf prints on paper or fabric

Create nature dioramas

GARDENING AT HOME

Getting children involved in gardening is a hands-on way to teach them about the lifecycle of plants. You don’t need a back yard to do this! There are loads of ways you can grow a garden inside using recyclables from your rubbish bin.  Read this useful resource on how to garden indoors, if you get stuck!

Egg Carton greenhouses

Grow your own celery

ANIMAL WATCH

Got an aspiring David Attenborough in your household? Birds, butterflies and worms are three of the most common animals you’ll see looking out your windows. Why not make a bird or butterfly feeder and create a log of who comes to visit? Chart which birds or butterflies are the most frequent visitors. Note: If you can’t find any pinecones, use an apple. It’s biodegradable and good for birds!

Pinecone bird feeders

Sugar water butterfly feeders

Earthworm hotel

RECYCLING

Earth Day is a good time to bring up important issues surrounding waste. Start a recycling box at home, sort through your wardrobes and toy boxes and donate old or unused items to charity. Here is some great information on how you can explain the importance of recycling and upcycling to kids.

Composting at home

Make your own paper

Make a robot

Recycle Now also has a fun, interactive game to teach kids about recycling. Play it here.

 

Please remember that adult supervision is advised on all these activities.

 

 

 

 

Feb 20
0
Dyslexia

A Runthrough My Dyslexia

By | 4-6 years, 6-8 years, 8+ years, Advice for Parents, Blog, Visual Literacy

 

Valeria De La Vega talks about her experiences of growing up with Dyslexia in Colombia and how she overcame the challenges of this reading disorder.

In the first grade I had an activity where we had to go around tables and read a paragraph out of a book. Once you finished it you could move on to the next one. I remember just staring at these pages and their illustrations and not being able to understand the words while my classmates passed by me on to the next table. So instead of trying I pretended to know what was going on and imitated what my friends did. This sort of thing happened a lot in primary school. I didn’t participate much, I got nervous every time I had to read out loud and I loved going to the nurse’s office just because it would get me out of class.

The Challenge of Reading Aloud

This is how my dyslexic brain works now when I have to read out loud, or better yet my thought process. Okay I can do this, I’ll just read it before so I don’t make a fool of myself. Starting now, alright these words I can read, I know them and this is going pretty smoothly, oh long word now, it’s okay I know it… continuing ugh made a little mistake with that one, back on track… oh no this next word I don’t know it I’ll read it a bit slowly but not too slow so people don’t notice it, oops said the wrong word, this time I said it right. Okay Vale keep up, I just stumbled on some other words and made up a word again but it’s okay it’s going alright and now it’s over, success.

It’s not like I’m stumbling across every word I read, or that it takes me twice the amount of time to read out loud. Sometimes when I don’t recognise a word or if it’s too long I have to stop and sound out the letters. This leads to a slower reading time and in some cases mistakes because my brain doesn’t sound them out properly or it decides that it’s another word. This happens more frequently to me than to normal readers. Reading silently is something that I prefer, nobody is looking at me, I can read at my own pace and I make fewer mistakes because I feel no pressure. Unless it’s like when I was in school and I had to read in pairs. The other person would want to turn the page and I wasn’t at the end yet so I felt hurried, had to run through the sentences and not enjoy it at all.

When I was younger I had trouble recognising letters, I would confuse b-d a-q-p c-o l-i r-t, and I would stumble more when reading. That lead me to ask more questions, a thing that is normal among children I think, but in my case curiosity was also accompanied by a break. Recognising letters wasn’t my only problem, once I solved that I still had other reading difficulties.

For me reading was a tedious task and it took me longer to learn how to do it than it did to my classmates. When having to read out loud in the classroom I would see which was the passage that I had to read before so I would do it just like my classmates did. This way I wouldn’t stumble or have the others read the word correctly on top of me if I took too long.

The Invisible Disability  

I had a lot of help growing up, and I didn’t realise that I had a problem. I had to go to special-ed classes in school, do extra homework, went to after school tutorials and I even had reading classes during vacations. However, I think that there is an age where you don’t question why you have to do some things and you just do them because it’s part of a routine. Or you don’t really notice that you are struggling with some things because you just find it normal until it fades away. So when I had to do all of this I found it normal, unless I was lazy or I saw that my siblings were playing while I had to work, and that’s when it started to bother me. On the other hand, my mom always said I was special, but I thought she meant it as a quality I had because of my personality, while my sisters who were a bit older did know that I struggled. One of them loved to help me out, showed me different ways to succeed with creative ideas for school, and something about the way she explained things to me made it all more simple.

There were various exercises that I had to do along the years that I had help. Sometimes my teacher and I read a text in unison, in other cases I would have to read a paragraph out loud and start again every time I made a mistake (an exercise that could be very frustrating). There were times when I did exercises with audio, for example writing down the lyrics of a song, listening to an audio and writing down the main idea or learning how to take notes from dictations or things I heard. There were other ones that had to do with identifying differences between letters and having to write them properly, as well as identifying different shapes and cataloguing them with colour. Images played an important role. With them I did exercises like cross matching vocabulary to pictures or describing what was happening in sequences that I saw. Since it wasn’t only about learning to read it was about comprehension as well I learned how to identify the main idea in a paragraph and its supporting ones as well.

This was a process that took various years until I got a hang of it. Up until the third grade going to the nurse was a hobby for me to skip classes. Everyday I would say to my teachers that my stomach or my head hurt, of course they knew that it wasn’t true but off to the nurse I went. There she would make me have some tea and because of that I’ve developed a dislike for it now. In classes I would get easily distracted and just go to imaginary worlds. I loved story time when my teachers read out loud to us. So I wanted to be a writer, but when someone told me that in order to be a writer I had to read a book per week I thought that I couldn’t do it and I didn’t want to anymore. But little by little I started getting into books, stories became more captivating and all the extra work I had done was starting to pay off. It wasn’t hard to read anymore.

Overcoming My Dyslexia

Some people think that dyslexic people are dumb and I can assure you we are not. Albert Einstein, Andy Warhol, John Lennon, Walt Disney and F. Scott Fitzgerald were all dyslexic and they were brilliant. Now I’m not saying that I’m anything like them, only that dyslexia doesn’t mean not being intelligent. I had a switch go on in my head when I finished primary school. I decided that I wanted to be one of the best and so I paid attention, I read, I studied hard and even graduated second best in my class. I think few people from my school know that I was dyslexic because it’s not something that I talk too much about or that showed after primary.

In university I started studying Communications and I wanted to go into publishing. However, I was scared because spelling in Spanish wasn’t something that I had mastered. Even though it’s my first language I was always better at English because I preferred reading in this language and it doesn’t have accents like Spanish does. I took a copyediting class and had a talk with my professor and told her about my fears and her words encouraged me. She told me that she is also dyslexic and she is a great copy editor, so I said to myself well if she can do it so can I, and I did.

How to Help Someone with Dyslexia

Dyslexia can subtly affect you and lower your self esteem, it can make you shy and not want to shine and it can make you feel slow. Once you get a hang of it there is nothing you can’t do, your brain just works differently. I believe that there is nothing bad with that. It is something that I will always have and struggle a bit with but from my experience it won’t impair you to do what you want. I can read out loud but it’s something that if I can avoid it I will, on the other hand I love speaking in public, doing speeches and presentations. So it’s not a thing about stage fright, it’s about feeling confident in what I can do in front of others.

If you know anybody with dyslexia it’s important to encourage them and not make them feel dumb. Since I can only talk about my experience and I got help when I was young I believe that the earlier you start getting help the better, but that shouldn’t stop you from trying if you are older. Visual learning is another way to get information through and I’ve found that it is very effective, words matter but so do images. A combination of both of these is a great approach towards learning for anybody, especially for dyslexic people who take longer to decode words, and you can get tired of working with letters again and again. Also, remember that every case is different and what worked for me could work differently for someone else and this is why it’s important to see what works out for each one and develop a strategy from that.

I do believe that there have to be different approaches to reading. There should be books made that can engage those who have difficulties with them, and the earlier it starts the better. I’ve seen that there are typographers that have been developing typefaces (fonts) specially made for dyslexic people that make it easier for us to recognise each character, and I think this is wonderful. What in my opinion is a great approach for reading is to patiently give approachable stories to children and let them discover them little by little, encourage their own taste in reading in whichever genre they prefer, they’ll get where they need to get in their own time, but do help out. For example, I loved stories and when I read to my little brother I didn’t feel any pressure to get it right. Because he was three years younger than me, he enjoyed the stories as much as I did and we both loved the images that they had. Having this in mind get books that interact with kids, but also don’t forget that they are kids and need time to have fun, too much help can lead to rejection. I had great teachers that were caring and we took time out to play and cook so I enjoyed going to my extra classes. My mum celebrated my successes and I loved it, it made me feel encouraged, but she didn’t do this all my childhood which I think is great because I didn’t want to get great grades for a prize, I wanted to do it for myself. I now enjoy reading and want to work with books. I’m happy dyslexia didn’t ruin this for me but I’m also happy to be dyslexic because it helped me develop a different approach to reading and a passion for books.

Valeria De La Vega just finished her undergraduate degree in Communications with an Emphasis in Publishing and Multimedia at Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Bogotá, Colombia. She is currently working at the Corona Foundation a non-profit organisation that works towards education in Colombia.

Oct 05
0
Tim Peake

Tim Peake to tour UK!

By | 4-6 years, 6-8 years, Events, News, Principia Space Diary

Tim Peake

 

Tim Peake is heading off on his post-flight tour of the UK this month, visiting all four UK national capitals along with Leicester, Manchester, Salford and Glasgow. NASA astronaut and crewmate Tim Kopra will join Tim for the visits to Edinburgh, Belfast and London.

Tim will be giving presentations at each city, giving his first-hand account about life onboard the ISS and talking about the important science experiments he conducted during his mission.

As part of Tim’s Principia mission, the UK Space Agency has invested £3 million in the biggest education and outreach initiative ever undertaken for an ESA astronaut. Over a million young people have taken part including over 60,000 UK school children that participated in our Space Diary programme!

Schedule:

Cardiff: 13 October 2016

Leicester: 14 October 2016

Manchester: 15 October 2016

Glasgow: 16 October

Edinburgh: 17 October

Belfast: 18 October

London: 19 October

Find out further information on the venues and times here.

 

 

Jun 20
0

Curved House Kids are hiring enthusiastic teachers!

By | 4-6 years, 6-8 years, 8+ years, News, Principia Space Diary, Teaching Resources, Visual Literacy, Worksheets

Curved House Kids are an energetic educational publisher with a focus on visual literacy and visual methodologies. We aim to make the art of communication achievable for all children, regardless of their skill level or circumstances. We take a democratic approach to learning and visual literacy is our secret weapon!

If this sounds like your kind of approach and you’re a practicing teacher in the UK, read on…

Teacher Ad SM1

This year we have run the Principia Space Diary programme in partnership with Lucy Hawking and Queen Mary University of London. This programme has been funded by the UK Space Agency as one of nine educational outreach projects associated with ESA Astronaut Tim Peake’s mission to the ISS. The programme has been a huge success, reaching over 60,000 primary-aged students across the UK, and we are now working to develop new resources and programmes that can be accessed in the classroom.

We are expanding our resources library for primary and early secondary students (Key Stages 1-3) to include more free, downloadable learning materials for teachers and we are looking for experienced educators to review our work and help us build a library of first-class materials. These materials will teach a wide range of subjects using visual methods, and always intersecting with literacy learning and visual literacy.

As a passionate and creative teacher, your job will be to review materials that we produce and help us to align these to the curriculum, making them as effective as possible for busy teachers. You will also attend our annual brainstorm in which you tell us what you think we should be producing and what we’re doing right and wrong. We’ll also show you new ideas and technologies that might improve your own work.

This is a freelance role at an agreed hourly rate and we offer plenty of flexibility to fit in around busy teaching schedules. All work, bar the annual brainstorm, is done remotely and with plenty of notice. We expect it would be around 10 hours per year initially, plus one day for the brainstorm. Expenses will be paid for those who need to travel. 

This call is currently open to all teachers in the UK and Ireland. We are keen to hear from KS1-3 teachers and welcome those with specialisms in particular areas. Our materials are not tied to the curriculum but they need to be complementary, so it is important that all applicants have an up-to-date knowledge of the curriculum.

Please click the link below to complete a very brief application form (it will only take 5 minutes) and we will contact you if we think you’d be a good fit. If you have any questions please feel free to email us at info@curvedhousekids.com.

Apply Now

 

Jun 14
0
Tim Peake Astronaut #spacediary

Where to Watch ESA Astronaut Tim Peake Return to Earth

By | 4-6 years, 6-8 years, 8+ years, Blog, Events, Principia Space Diary
Saturday 18th June is the big day when Tim Peake returns to Earth after six months on the International Space Station. Tim will return in a Soyuz capsule, along with crewmates Yuri Malenchenko and Tim Kopra. He’s due to land in Kazakhstan at 10.15am BST.
185
Days in Space

Watch the Soyuz undocking, re-entry and landing LIVE

Coverage starts at 4.00am BST on Saturday 18th June. Watch all the key events, from the time Tim enters to Soyuz capsule until he reaches Earth. 

Watch Tim Peake's return live on ESA TV

Watch Tim Peake return live on NASA TV

Photo: ESA/NASA

 

Tim Peake in Spacesuit ready for return to earth

When to tune in (BST)

Your quick guide to re-entry timeline shown in British Summer Time (GMT+1)

04:00   Farewell and hatch closing. Crew members will then change into their Sokul spacesuits.

06:15    Soyuz capsule undocks from the ISS.

09:15    Deorbit burn to place Soyuz capsule on its re-entry trajectory.

09:49    Soyuz capsule separates from the orbital module and the heat shield peels away layer by layer.

10:00    Parachutes deploy.

10:15     Soft Landing Engines are fired and the Soyuz capsule lands.

Post-landing schedule (BST)

On landing, the recovery team will help Tim and his crewmates from the capsule. The astronauts will then undergo medical checks.

12:45                  Crew will fly in helicopters to Karaganda airport.

14:15-14:45      Crew arrives at Karaganda airport for a welcome ceremony, followed by a press conference.

15:00-16:00    Tim Peake will fly to the European Astronaut Centre in Cologne.[/two_thirds_last]

Landing Parties

Celebrate Tim Peake’s return on Saturday June 18th at one of these exciting events!

 London Science Museum (free event)

 National Space Centre (£20-25)

 Aberdeen Science Centre (£4.50-5.75)

 Cambridge Science Centre (£2.50-3.50)

 Glasgow Science Centre (£9-11)

 Winchester Science Centre and Planetarium (£8.40-12)

Having your own Landing Party?

Simonside School's Space Diary Apprentices!

Good luck Tim, from Simonside School’s Space Diary Apprentices!

If you’re celebrating Tim Peake’s return we would love to see what you get up to!  Send us your photos via Facebook, Twitter or Instagram and use the #spacediary to make sure we see them! You’ll appear in our Mission Feed alongside all the awesome schools who have been doing their Space Diaries and Principia-related activities. You can also email us at info@curvedhousekids.com. Remember to get parental/guardian permission before you post photos of your students. If you can’t get permissions we’d love to see pictures of their books!

From all of us at Space Diary Headquarters, safe journey back to Earth, Tim Peake, and thanks for sharing your mission with us! #WelcomeHomeTim

Apr 13
0
Bologna Book Fair

Curved House Kids goes to Bologna Book Fair!

By | 4-6 years, 6-8 years, 8+ years, Blog, Events, News

Going to Bologna I didn’t know what to expect. I knew of course children’s books and illustrators but I never imagined the magnitude of the fair. Before this I had only been in my country’s (Colombia) biggest fair — the Bogotá Book Fair (Filbo) — and in Canada I went to the Toronto Book Fair, both wonderful but very different in size and purpose.

When Kristen and I arrived we immediately felt the joyful energy of this Italian city and were surprised to see how dog-friendly it is. As we walked through it, in less than an hour, we spotted 40 dogs. We knew that this was the place to be.

At the Bologna Children’s Book Fair, creative minds get to show their work and their enthusiasm for their craft. Walking through the stands, we viewed books that have been published all over the world. Where the fair began there were halls filled with the artworks of the selected illustrators, each of them with their own distinguishing style. Germany as the country of honour had a special hall exhibiting their illustrators. Work from this country demonstrated different techniques, from laser cut to fine drawings in black and white, or other illustrations filled with elements and a variety of colors.

Hongchen Yu, China BCBF

Tsutomu Fujishima, Japan BCBF

Michiko Chapuis, Japan BCBF

The fair was huge and I had never been in one of this scale. It had stands for every country; sometimes publishers from a same nationality shared one but in most cases they had their own. As we explored the hallways of the Latin American countries, Chile caught our attention. They produce wonderfully crafted books with talented illustrators, as well as great ideas. The most wonderful surprise was meeting Argentinian publisher Diego Bianki from Pequeño editor, who publishes from the heart and has won prizes at the fair this year and last. Talking to him we saw the passion he has for his craft, which is clear in his books like Tree Book Tree. This is an amazing book that can be planted and a tree will grow out of it. To promote it, he used the motto: books come from trees, today a tree comes from a book.

chomp, chrostpoh niemann

There were also panels about a variety of topics. We had the chance to listen to some about enriched books and interactive book apps, and how this market has to work to make business model strategies get attention for what they are doing. Now publishers are also creating books with augmented reality. This is a new concept of books that isn’t being used in Colombia but it is a worthy tool that we should be pursuing and discovering. Its possibilities are endless.

The panels weren’t only about technology, and I was especially moved by one about refugees and children’s books. Panelists talked about how stories can help children understand why people leave their countries to live somewhere else and how this feels. It’s not just about understanding but about feeling and evoking emotion. This way real empathy is created and children can start building a better understanding with others. I left this panel with the feeling that these stories are needed all over the world and that they are helpful in all types of environments.

After the panels, we met Verena Pausder from Fox and Sheep, and illustrator Christoph Niemann who had great ideas and advice for Kristen.
I can’t end this blog without mentioning the lovely publishers from Ireland we met who adopted us into their group. They not only make amazing books and have creative initiatives, such as the book clinic, but also have such warm hearts and are very friendly. They truly made this trip to Bologna even better. Children’s Books Ireland, O’Brien Press and Little Island now have a special place in our hearts.
Bologna Book Fair BCBF

Valeria De La Vega is a final year student at Pontificia Universidad Javeriana where she is studying Communications with an emphasis in Publishing. She is interning at the Curved House Kids to learn about publishing children’s books, help translate the books to Spanish and to assist with the development of visual literacy resources.

Mar 14
0
British Science Week

Add Space to your Science Week!

By | 4-6 years, 6-8 years, 8+ years, Blog, Principia Space Diary

British Science Week has arrived! To help you celebrate, we’ve put together a list of our favourite space-related experiments for your Space Apprentices. We can’t wait to see how you celebrate Science Week. Don’t forget to use #spacediary on Facebook and Twitter, so your photos appear on our Mission Feed.

Astronomy

This activity will need some adult supervision to assist with cutting and construction.

Chapter 3 of the Space Diary explores things Tim Peake might see from the ISS. He has a very special view of space! From Earth, we can’t see the things in our solar system quite as well, especially if we live in the city. Depending on where you live, you might be able to see the constellation called Ursa Major, also known as the ‘Big Dipper’, if the sky is very dark. This is where a galaxy called the Pinwheel Galaxy is.

But you can build your own Pinwheel Galaxy pinwheel, with the help of NASA. You’ll need a colour copy of the Pinwheel Galaxy printout (available here), a pipe cleaner, some wooden chopsticks or a popsicle stick, some scissors and a hole punch. For detailed instructions on how to make your Pinwheel Galaxy pinwheel, head here.

Engineering for space

This activity is more suitable for older children. It will need adult assistance and supervision, and requires some items which you may not have at home or school.

To get an astronaut safely into space, it takes a big team of clever engineers to design and build a spacecraft, and an even bigger team to co-ordinate blast-off. If you watch the launch of Tim’s Principia Mission, you can see the power needed to shoot a heavy spacecraft through Earth’s atmosphere and into outer space. Watch a clip of Tim’s launch below.

You can build and launch your own spacecraft, with the help of an adult. There might be a few things – like a film canister and antacid tablets – which you don’t have at home or school, so make sure you talk to an adult or teacher beforehand to help you plan your activity.

Details of how to build and launch your own Bubble-Powered Rocket ship are on the NASA website here.

Astrogeology

Younger children will need some assistance with this experiment. It can be messy, so make sure your Space Apprentices have an appropriate place to work!

Planetary geology is an important space science. Geologists examine the structures and surfaces of planets, their volcanoes, moons and the impact of craters on them. Geologists study samples collected during space missions, as well as meteorites that have fallen to Earth, to learn more about the planets in our solar system.

While there are lots of planets in our solar system with volcanoes, astrogeologists are particularly interested in those with active volcanoes, since this is something those planets have in common with Earth. The moons of Jupiter, Saturn and Neptune all have active volcanoes.

You can make your own volcano with everyday items you have at home. Ask an adult to help you create your very own space volcano, by following the instructions here.

Meteorology

Adult supervision is important for this experiment, because it uses boiling water.

Space Apprentices who have researched our solar system will know that the weather on other planets is very different to the weather on Earth. Some planets have extreme solar winds; others have dust storms and hurricanes. Some planets – like Venus – have a thick layer of cloud, which traps heat and creates a greenhouse effect.

You can make your own cloud in a jar with just a few household items. You will need to use hot water in this activity, so it’s important that an adult helps you. By making your own cloud, you can witness firsthand what happens to water as it heats and cools. Next time you look up and the sky and see dark grey rain clouds or fluffy white ones, you’ll be able to tell your friends what’s going on above your head!

To learn how to make a cloud, follow the instructions here.

Biology

Younger children will need some help with this experiment, and all young scientists will need a space where they can make some mess with paint and soil.

Biologists are essential when it comes to space research. Not only do they look at what happens to the human body in space, they also study what happens to plants. This is important because scientists are investigating growing food in space.

There are lots of different challenges associated with growing food in space, because of the lack of soil, direct light, oxygen and gravity. You can explore what happens to plants when their light source is restricted, using a fun phototropism experiment. Plan ahead, because you need to paint some cardboard and wait for it to dry before you can go to the next step. You might like to build your experiment over a few days.

To build your phototropism experiment, click here.

Mar 08
1

Space Apprentices Reach the Halfway Mark!

By | 4-6 years, 6-8 years, 8+ years, Blog, Principia Space Diary
By the children of the Gardening Club at Hillmead Primary School, Bishop’s Stortford, Herts

When we first heard that we were amongst the schools selected to take part in the Rocket Science RHS for Gardening Campaign, to grow seeds that have been orbiting the Earth for six months, we were really excited and told our local newspaper about it. We even received a tweet from Tim Peake!

We did watch Tim’s rocket launch and felt for him flying out into space. Everyone was glad he made it ok.

space diary
While waiting for the seeds to be sent to us, we got busy with our space apprenticeship through the Curved House Kids Space Diaries. We have explored how tall we would grow in space, how it would feel to float in microgravity and we have learnt to say ‘hello’ in four different languages! It was fun creating our own spacesuit, especially as most of us made sure there was a ‘nappy’ involved! Breaking the code was a tricky one but our helpful grown-ups gave us some clues, so we could decode Mrs Peake’s message finally.

space diary
space diary

It has been exciting learning about the planets and their special features. It seems like a good idea to take an umbrella to Neptune – if we ever get there! We have also created our own ISS and Soyuz rockets and imagined ourselves flying out into space.

Now that Scott Kelly has brought the rocket seeds back to Earth, preparations have begun at the gardening club for the great experiment. Halfway through the Space Diary, we are really looking forward to learning more about space and the life of an astronaut. Our space apprenticeship has been fun so far!

Feb 22
9

Dream Giver by Morgan (Y6)

By | 4-6 years, 6-8 years, Blog

Dream Giver by Morgan (Y6) at Simonside School

Simonside SchoolAn eerie full moon in an abandoned town peered across the sky. The ebony, moonlit sky was scattered with numerous stars that periodically blinked. They shone over the roof tops of the town which was surrounded with a deafening silence. Cricket chirps were the only noise that filled the air. Nestled in the heart of the town stood an ancient stone church which towered proudly over the other buildings. As the wind blew in the town where there was no-one to be seen, washing clung to the line for several more hours; a sign that people had fled.

In the pitch black neighbourhood only one little light infiltrated the darkness from one lonely window…

Suddenly, in one swift motion a moth-like creature descended upon 2655 Kensington Avenue. Hesitantly, the intriguing creature grasped the edge of the shutters with his long, bony fingers. As he took a step forward he pushed the door ajar.

Noticing the sleeping children he quietly consulted with his notebook which he kept in his back pocket. As he checked the address he was relieved to know he had reached his destination.

The deprived young children were snoring while sleeping contently, despite the absence of their parents. As the little orphanage boy slept peacefully in his checkered bed, the creature perched upon the ledge. He entered the old, wooden building peering around the children that surrounded the room.

The passage light was shining through their open, mahogany door. It was decided that the
children were scared of the dark and needed to feel safe, so this was the best action.

Before very long, the visitor fluttered down and lay his hessian bag on a child’s bed. His eyes widened as he peered inside, with the light shining on his face. As he made his way to the first six-year-old child, he took out a glimmering egg an cracked it open.

Simonside School
Simonside School

Inside every egg was a dream that belongs to each and every child. It was quite unclear exactly as to what or who he was. He poured a part of the magical insides onto a little pair of ballet shoes which lay at the bottom of a deprived young girl’s bed. With one splash of magic the shoes turned bright pink and a little dancer started dancing across her bed. She smiled contently as she lay there in peace; a feeling that influenced her dream.

As he moved on a small boy stirred and colourful explosion set off. An egg had crashed…

Beams of light filled the room as swirls of stars surrounded the astronaut. As the swirls increased in speed the young space cadet was swallowed by a hungry vortex.

Lying in a ball on the dusty earth, the boy awoke and examined his new surroundings. The rainforest! Butterflies gathered and fluttered sound his head as a little one floated and silently landed on his finger. Suddenly he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. A little rock had been nudged. Carefully he placed it into the right position.

The light climbed and ominous clouds gathered as the darkness descended. As time went on he walked further into the forest. Remnants of an Aztec tribe were littered around. An old skeleton was perched against a rock; an indication that there had been no life for some time.

A piercing pair of narrow slithers of lime green light penetrated the darkness. Suddenly a ferocious growl thundered from within a cave which ricocheted from every surface. Panicking, the boy froze instantly to the spot.

Simonside School

Hesitantly he backed away before turning to run. He ran and he ran and he ran. Faster, harder, quicker. The dust clouds travelled behind him. The beast continued to stalk him. His fate was sealed; he was bound to die.

All of a sudden bombing eggs started to gather around the beast. Gnarly roots started wrapping around eventually turned it into a trap.

With his arms covering his face sweat dripped down his brow. He was safe. With a jolt he awoke from his dream. A firefly noise was heard as it passed. He looked at the open window with wide eyes … What was it?

This gripping tale was written by Morgan from Simonside Primary School and we absolutely had to post it because we were enthralled from the first sentence! Thank you to Miss Lisa Pegman and Morgan for sharing this excellent piece of creative writing with us. Keep up the good work!

Feb 15
0

Principia Space Diary Highlights

By | 4-6 years, 6-8 years, 8+ years, Blog, Kids Gallery, Principia Space Diary, Uncategorized | No Comments

Here’s a small selection of some of our favourite pics from the Space Diary programme. We’d like to thank all the teachers, schools, parents and guardians for participating by using the #spacediary hashtag on Twitter, it makes us incredibly happy to see all the kids having so much fun with their Space Diaries! If you would like to be featured or see how other schools and groups are using their Space Diaries simply tweet us @CurvedHouseKids and use the hashtag #spacediary. You can also view more images from the project over on on our Mission Feed!