May 9: Windmill Day

image from uwyoming.org

In celebration of Windmill Day, why not make your own windmill, er, pinwheel?

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Pinwheels

Materials:

• paper
• straight pins
• scissors
• pencils with erasers (one per child)

Directions:

1. Cut paper into 4” x 4” squares.
2. Fold a square diagonally twice, creating an X on the paper.
3. Mark the center of the square with a pencil.
4. Cut along the folds of the paper to within 1/2” of the center.
5. Fold every other point to the center of the paper.
6. Use a straight pin to poke through the four folded corners, the center of the paper, and finally into the pencil eraser.
7. The pinwheel should now spin when you blow on it.

Source(s): Toolbox Training’s 100 Construction Activities for Kids (activity A2). In honor of Lost Sock Memorial Day – also today – you can also check out activities J4 and K5 from the same book.

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Check out the full May calendar. It includes floating holidays, specialty weeks, and specialty months.

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May 2: Space Day

image from aces.edu

Space Day was started in 2001 by astronaut John Glenn. This is an opportunity for the kids to learn about space – specifically the stars – by making planetariums.

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Planetariums

Materials:

• star guides
• photocopied pictures of constellations
• boxes
• nails
• hammer

Directions:

1. Use star guides for ideas for constellations or let kids make up their own.
2. Kids can photocopy pictures of constellations and use them as stencils for where to nail holes.
3. Poke holes in a box with hammer and nails to create constellations and other maps of where stars and planets are in the sky.
4. To get kids planning, ask questions like: Are these real constellations or made-up constellations? What are their names? Which direction is north? South? East? West? How does the summer sky differ from the winter sky? Spring? Fall? Can we see the planets in this planetarium? If so, how many? Which ones? Where would the moon be?
5. When finished, take box into a dark room and shine the flashlight through it to see constellation.

Source(s): Toolbox Training’s 100 Construction Activities for Kids (activity D9).

 

100 Construction Activities for Kids

These 100 activities are built around, well, building three-dimensional structures (for 2-D, see the art activity cards). The projects are generally open-ended, meaning that a general theme may be suggested for the activity, but that children can use materials as they wish to create their projects. These cards are divided into the following categories: paper, newspaper, cardboard, boxes & blocks, large box construction, wood, plastic, glass, metal, string/material, nature-based, grocery store materials, dough/clay/plaster, and toys & games. 136 pages. Catalog number: CNBK0913; Price: $9.95 Also available from Amazon.com.