Whether you're looking for Earth Day activities, a planet-themed craft, or just a fun way to practice fine motor skills, you're in the right place! In this post, I'll be sharing how to make this tissue paper planet Earth with just a few simple materials!
Gather These Items:
Tissue paper (blue and green)
Cardstock x2 (blue or black)
Circular items for tracing (we used a large and small paper plate)
Contact paper
Scissors
Pencil
Make the Earth:
Note: Depending on your preferences as well as your child's skill level and attention span, you may want to have your child involved in each step, or you might choose to prepare the materials ahead of time (steps 1-7) and have your child make the Earth (steps 8-10). You can also break the craft into multiple days if you find your little one loses interest quickly - complete two or three steps each day until the craft is complete!
1. Trace and Cut: Start by tracing a circle on the cardstock. Using a circular object to trace can make this easier (we used a paper plate). Get your child involved by having them help you trace! Do this on two sheets of cardstock - you'll need two of the same circles for the craft. Cut out both circles. If your child is comfortable with scissors, they can cut. If not, you can pre-cut the circles for them.
2. Trace: Draw a smaller circle inside both of the larger circles. Using a smaller circular object to trace makes this easier.
3. Cut: Cut along the inside of the smaller circle on both circles until you have two identical rings. Have an adult do this part, as cutting the centre can be difficult for little ones.
4. Cut or Tear: Cut some long strips from the blue and green tissue paper. If your child is not comfortable using scissors yet, you can have them tear the strips instead of cutting.
5. Cut or Tear: Cut or tear the long strips of tissue paper into small squares. This makes great fine motor practices for little ones!
Are you looking for more planet themed learning opportunities? Our brand new Planets Unit Study is perfect for introducing scientific concepts and practicing literacy and numeracy in the early years (ages 4-6). Check it out below!
6. Trace and Cut: Cut two circles out of contact paper. You'll want these circles to fit inside the rings you made earlier, so you can use the rings for tracing to help.
7. Double Check: Remove the protective layer from the one of the circles of contact paper and place it on the ring to double check the size (sticky side up!) It should fit right inside the ring, not smaller or larger than it.
8. Place Tissue Paper: Have your child place down the pieces of tissue paper onto the sticky side of the contact paper. It can be helpful to have a picture of planet Earth for your child to look at! Remind them that the blue represents the water and the green represents the land.
9. Cover: Once your child has finished placing tissue paper, and the contact paper is completely covered, place down the other piece of contact paper on top (sticky side down!) There should be no more sticky parts now - the tissue paper has been encased with the contact paper.
10. Glue: Have your child glue the rings to each other with the tissue paper/contact paper Earth in the middle.
Done! You now have a complete planet Earth! Allow the glue and then decide where to hang it.
A window works as a great spot to hang your planet Earth - the contact paper and tissue paper are translucent, allowing some of the light to pass through!
Incorporate Numeracy Skills:
Looking to make this activity more educational? Here are some tips for incorporating numeracy skills!
Shapes: Work together with your child to find the different shapes you've used to create your planet Earth.
Estimation: Before starting, have your child estimate how many tissue paper squares it will take to fill the circle.
Counting: Count the tissue paper squares as you add them - then compare to the number you estimated!
Did your little one enjoy this planet craft? Let us know or tag us in your photos on instagram @littlenorthernlearners!