Hampshire House 

Hampshire House explores our Solar System

This week our Preschool Grey class continued their exploration into the subject of “Luminescence” through our investigation into “Light and dark”. The children have been fascinated with planets of late, and so of course our discussion soon focused on stars and the light they emit. This then sparked an investigation into the solar system.  To build on their curiosity I decided to set up a space themed table to serve as a provocation. The table featured slime, stars, planet models, space rockets, astronauts and books about the solar system and built upon the children’s curiosity. This sent our exploration of luminescence beyond the classroom and our planet into the deep realms of space.  

Building on the children’ s questions we decided together to  create a solar system poster and we talked about the features of the various planets. One of our clever children shared with his peers the fact that you require a special suit in space as there is no air. Another of the children displayed their knowledge by enumerating all eight planets. This led to a group discussion on what else can be found in outer space. We had interesting responses, ranging from the moon, stars, and sun through to astronauts and aliens. 

We then decided we would like to create a joint project and it was decided that we would create our own space station, so that we could learn more about what took place at this interesting facility. With lots of negotiation, turn taking, masking tape and silver spray paint we finally created our very own space station and are looking forward to our journey to infinity and beyond!

Ms Rochelle Gil

Playfair - Preschool Grey co-educator