Rocket Engineers at Buckle My Shoe!

We have noticed that through our little ones’ interactions and conversations, there has been an emergent interest in rockets and space. We have already had astronauts take over our outdoor area and so we thought it would be fun to extend on this interest by designing and building our own rockets.

Our preschool children were invited inside where they found a designing station all set up. We decided to utilise our floor space as our little ones love to spread out as they get creative. To provoke their designs, some pictures of real rockets, a model rocket and a book about a rocket were placed in the middle but our little ones were encouraged to design their rocket however they wanted.

Using what they already knew of rockets, they began drawing their creation. We spoke about the features of a rocket, which shapes they looked like and additional things they could add. This part of the designing process provoked lots of conversations, discussions and thinking. It was fantastic to hear what our little ones’ imaginations came up with and the reasoning behind such features. Using different drawing tools such as pencils, crayons and felts gave them the tools to enhance their drawings and create different effects.

Next, it was then time for the building stage! Using tubes, blocks and sticks our little ones began transferring their designs into 3D. This required concentration, focus and of course steady hands. The initial part of the process was trying to find building materials that both matched their designs and were stable enough to build with. Some of our little ones stuck to the tubes, blocks and sticks provided while others looked further and began exploring the preschool play space.

They knew that the top part of their rocket was pointy and went in search to find something to replicate this. We saw some out of the box thinking with some of them using pretend play food – such as a cake wedge to represent the pointy tip. What great problem solving and resourcefulness – both key dispositions we want our little ones to learn! 😊

As the rocket grew bigger, the focus shifted to balance and stability, using trial and error to see which types of building materials would be best and long lasting.

Once our little ones had finished their creations, they couldn’t wait to share them with each other. They also wanted us to document their rockets and were super proud of what they had created. There were great stories around the rockets, with one child going the extra mile and describing her rocket next to the Eiffel tower – which she had also built!

During this rocket engineers learning experience our little ones were part of a design, plan and build process. This incorporated a lot of maths and scientific concepts such as height, numbers, shapes and stability.

Seeing their rockets eventuate after working through a process also contributes to their self esteem and provides them with a sense of accomplishment. By documenting and capturing this moment through photos in their portfolio also allows them to revisit this experience and build on their learning.

It looks like we may have some future rocket engineers at Buckle My Shoe! 😊