CENTER — Haskin Elementary first-graders reached for the stars during their recent “Space Day.”

Teacher and students dressed as astronauts and aliens and went on imaginary space walks while tethered to their desks.

“For Space Day, some of the kids enjoyed pretending that they were tethered to their desks, and they had to walk to get things from across the room, like they were walking in space. They went on space walks. It was so cool to see the imaginative side of the kids,” said first-grade teacher Lindsay Stillwagon.

The imaginative event was the culmination of curriculum on space, Stillwagon said.

“It was such a great time with the kids, and they really enjoyed themselves. We were celebrating our end to a unit that we had been studying of Sun, Moon, and Stars. A fun celebration day at the end of our learning. The kids just loved it.”

Students could dress up as anything in space.

“We had little astronauts and solar systems, and some students just wore black, so they were night or space. It was a lot of fun the kids just had a blast with it,” Stillwagon said. 

Stillwagon explained the curriculum was taught for a full quarter. Stillwagon said that usually learning like this concludes at a quarter, so it would have ended by the Christmas break, but it was extended so the children could have a Space Day in the new year.

Stillwagon stated that each week the kids would learn more facts about the sun, the moon, the stars, and other topics that pertained to space each week, such as astronauts.

“Then each week the kids would create their own little stories using all the facts that they learned about all these different things. We tied that into our writing curriculum. The kids really did a great job with it, too,” Stillwagon said. 

Stillwagon explained they learned about the patterns that the sun and moon make in the sky. They learned about the ways in which the sun and moon moved.

“We also learned how to tell the beginning, middle, and the end of a story. We compared all of this to that, so that the kids can see the sunrise, the midday, and the sunset, as the beginning and middle and end of a story,” Stillwagon said.

Stillwagon said the kids were excited for Space Day and added that some of the kids said it was the best day ever.

“We were so excited to bring this to life for the kids and make this a memorable learning experience for the kids. We dressed up like astronauts too and it really helped bring learning to life for the kids. This is about the fourth year that all the first-grade classrooms have done this. We are hoping to make it a part of next year’s curriculum, too,” Stillwagon said.