Tapestry of Faith: Chalice Children: A Program about Our Unitarian Universalist Community for Preschoolers

Alternate Activity 2: Shooting Stars

Activity time: 10 minutes

Materials for Activity

  • Cardboard star shapes, 1 foot wide, one for each child
  • Markers or crayons
  • Decorations such as sparkly paper, chenille stems (pipe cleaners), and glitter; and, glue sticks to share
  • Silver streamers, and a stapler
  • Star music, such as "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" and a music player
  • Moistened paper towels

Preparation for Activity

  • Cut out the stars from cardboard, one for each child. Or, purchase a foil or cardboard star for each child, plus a few extra, from a craft store.
  • Make or purchase silver streamers (Mylar works well).
  • Choose some music for children to dance to and set up the equipment needed to play it.

Description of Activity

Children decorate and dance with a star.

Invite the children to color and decorate their stars. Make sure each child puts their name on their star. Staple the streamers to one side of the star shape. Play the music and invite the children to be shooting stars as they dance around the room.

Invite the children to help with clean-up. They can put away the drawing supplies and wipe the table with moistened paper towels. Put the stars near the door for the children to take home later.

Including All Participants

If any child uses a wheelchair, make sure there is a table at their height, with places for other children as well, so they may decorate a star along with everyone. You can substitute other actions for dancing, such as moving the stars with their hands from a seated position. Children with mobility limitations can also accompany the dancing by shaking a rhythm instrument, such as a maraca, rain stick, or shaker, or keep rhythm with a clicker. If any children struggle with fine motor coordination, have children work in pairs to create a star and then dance together.