Rocketship Run

"5-4-3-2-1, Blast off!
Another Rocketship Run!"

The kids are hooked on outer space and Laurie Berkner's music is their themesong.

They have been talking about outer space regularly for a few days. I don't know what started it--the trip to AMNH with its giant meteorite, an episode of "Caillou" where he goes to the Planetarium, "Magic School Bus Gets Lost in Space" episodes complete with space helmets and asteroids heading to Earth, or a new-to-us book called Here in Space about how Earth is part of space and a great place for a little boy space explorer.

"5-4-3-2-1, Blast off!
Another Rocketship Run!"

Bud and Sis have repeatedly asked me if we live on a planet. They want to know if Gommie and Pop, Aunt Banana and Uncle Soccer, and Miss T live on our planet (for awhile Miss T, they thought you'd "left the planet" and Sis said it just wasn't "the same planet without you.") And are curious if our planet is in outer space. Does that make us aliens? or astronauts? They want to know if the sun is a planet and how far away the stars are. They are concerned about the meteorites that wiped out the dinosaurs (it's in one of their books) and want to know how big that rock must have been.

"5-4-3-2-1, Blast off!
Another Rocketship Run!"

Today, they played rocketship. They set out two big pillows on the floor, with wooden blocks under them (Sis said they were "mission control" things; Bud said they were "landers"). They filled the pillows with their critters, fetched magnifying glasses, put on their outdoor plastic rainboot "space boots," and then donned their great big Rubbermaid reusable plastic salad bowl "space helmets."

"5-4-3-2-1, Blast off!
Another Rocketship Run!"

In space, they headed to the moon where they picked up their magnifying glasses and looked for "space insects," walking around the house with those bowls on their heads, and their pink (hers) and yellow (his) boots. At one point Sis's hat rolled away and she rushed back to her spaceship pillow, knowing she shouldn't float around in space without her gear. The game pretty much ended there because she didn't want to fetch it and didn't want Bud to be "swooshed away" either.

"5-4-3-2-1, Blast off!
Another Rocketship Run!"

Later, Sis was drawing circular rocks on a doodle board, explaining they were "pretend meteorites heading right here." Bud took her very seriously and got quite upset, even when we both explained to him that she was pretending and that the meteorites weren't real. It might be all fun and games, but outer space can be a scary place. I just hope it's fun again tomorrow.

"5-4-3-2-1, Blast off!
Another Rocketship Run!"