Stargazing with Children – Growing up in Indiana Part III

Outdoor Activities tend to wind children up, so sometimes you need quiet time activities that will help to wind them down. To know this is especially helpful in the evening time, when you yourself are exhausted from the day. Stargazing with your children is both educational and will give you an opportunity to create some amazing bedtime stories that they will remember, and then one day even retell to their children.

Equipment you will need for this activity will include items such as star charts, binoculars, telescopes, cameras, and a pen and paper. None of these items are required in order to have a great time telling stories about the stars. You can retell stories that you were told as a child, or you can even make up ones. The pen and paper is a helpful tool however because children like to draw what they see, their stories are told sometimes by the things they color or draw onto construction paper such as what you have taped to your refrigerator right now.

Of course you will need a very starry night, away from the campfire, and an open place so that you can sit in a circle or at least sit down on a blanket together. You can use your star chart to illustrate the different constellations or point them out in the sky. I would probably find the North Star first then work from there. If you are not familiar with the constellations, study the chart beforehand or just learn with your children together, either way it will be fun, interesting and will give you an opportunity to expand your horizons and theirs.

Any activity you engage in with your children will be rewarding because it is time spent together that they will never forget. Every time they look into a starry night sky, they will think about and remember those times sitting on the blanket with you. They will think about the stories you told, the fascination they experienced, but most of all how it felt to be with you experiencing it all. Stargaze with your children, unforgettable!