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As The World Turns
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As The World Turns

Age Range: 3-5
Craft Time: Under 30 mins
Messy Rating:
1 2 3 4 5
Uses Recycled Items: No
 
 
 
 
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Material List

  • Ribbon of Choice
  • 3M® Double Stick Tape
  • Wood Dowel
  • Creatology™ Foam Sheet - Tomato
  • Crayola® Markers
  • Yarn
 
 

Developmental Skills

 
  • Fine Motor
  • Cognitive
 

Project Instructions

  1. Teachers, wind yarn into a ball and push the dowel rod straight through the center of the ball.
  2. Write "EQUATOR" on the center of the ribbon with a marker and tie it around the middle of the ball.
  3. Write the word "AXIS" and the letters "N" and "S" on the foam sheet.
  4. Cut out the labels so that they are around two inches long, as well as an additional piece of foam for each label to stick to the back of it. Fasten each label with its corresponding foam piece to the dowel with double-stick tape.

Craft Notes

Adult supervision is required at all times.

Background

Why do we have day and night? Why do we have the four seasons? It's all because of the Earth's ongoing movement around the sun. Using a ball of yarn and a wooden dowel, create a model of the earth (insert the dowel rod into the center of the ball of yarn to indicate the North and South poles). Then have students tie a ribbon around the middle of the yarn to indicate the earth's axis. Have students spin their yarn around the axis and explain that the Earth is always moving – as it spins, one side of the Earth is facing the sun while another is in darkness. This is what causes night and day. Now have students tilt the Earth so the top is away from them. This is how the Earth is positioned as it spins. Sometimes the North pole is closer to the sun and sometimes the South pole is closer to the sun. This is what causes the seasons.