Nursery School Foundation Stage

The youngest children in primary schools are encouraged to be creative and imaginative in school.ˆà They are shown how to work together, their curiosity is engaged and they are motivated to develop their communication skills.ˆàˆà Of all of the groups visiting the Planetarium they are the ones most accustomed to learning through play and so we encourage them also to describe their feelings and reactions to what they have seen.ˆàˆà

The Foundation Stage of the primary curriculum is supported by Armagh Planetarium providing Nursery School visitors the chance to explore the Solar System in a way appropriate for their age and ability.ˆà We do this through storytelling, showing the children the night sky and the patterns in the stars and then allowing the children to respond through artwork and interaction with the presenters.

	Nursery art and crafts

	An astronaut of tomorrow?

Art and craft activities allow the children to create their own star patterns (constellations) by joining the dots made by the stars.ˆà They can then invent their own star stories to explain what they see.ˆà For example, if professional astronomers conventionally can identify mythical monsters in the sky, there is no reason why children cannot use the òÀÜdotsòÀÝ of the stars to draw their pet dogs and cats, or cars and trucks or anything else that they can conjure from their imagination.

Risk sssessment for school visit Teacher checklist for a school trip