Venus Activities for Preschoolers: Volcanoes, Crafts, Snacks & More
Venus week was basically volcanoes. Lots and lots of volcanoes. 😂🌋
As part of our preschool homeschool space unit, we have been making our way through the solar system one planet at a time. After learning about the Sun and Mercury, our next stop was Venus.
And once my kids learned that Venus has thousands of volcanoes, I knew exactly where this week was headed.
We spent the week learning about what Venus looks like, why it is so incredibly hot, its thick atmosphere, and, of course, its volcanoes. I try to mix worksheets and more traditional learning with plenty of hands-on activities, crafts, experiments, and even food because that is what seems to make everything stick at this age.
Here is everything we did for our Venus preschool homeschool week.
Download our weekly schedule here
Our Venus Morning Menu Activities
Just like the other weeks in our solar system unit, I added a few Venus activities to our morning menus.
We used a Venus coloring sheet from Online Worksheets for Kids. Instead of simply coloring it and moving on, I added lines across the finished planet so the kids could cut Venus into pieces, put the pieces back in the correct order, and glue everything down.
It turned a simple coloring page into an activity that worked on coloring, cutting, sequencing, fine motor skills, and independent problem-solving.
Download first, then print:
Venus Coloring Sheet
We also continued using the solar system printable from Superstar Worksheets that I have referenced in the other posts in this series. We are using it throughout the entire unit as we make our way from planet to planet.
Download first, then print:
Solar System Printable from Superstar Worksheets
Venus Read-Along and Quiz
I also made the kids a Venus read-along and quiz specifically for this week.
The read-along introduces some of the basic facts we were learning about Venus in a preschool-friendly way, followed by simple questions to see what they remembered.
Download first, then print:
Download Our Venus Read-Along & Quiz PDF
Marble Painting Venus
This was probably one of my favorite art activities of the week because every Venus turned out completely different.
We used red, orange, and yellow paint with marbles to create the swirling, fiery look of Venus.
I added the paint to the paper and let the kids move the marbles around to spread and mix the colors. It is messy enough to be fun without being an enormous project, and using the marbles gives them another way to experiment with how paint moves.
Once they dried, we had our own versions of Venus to add to our growing solar system.
Learning About the Volcanoes on Venus
The volcanoes were easily the favorite topic of the week.
We already had a National Geographic volcano kit, so this was the perfect excuse to pull it back out. We talked about the volcanoes found on Venus and then made our model erupt.
Any opportunity to combine what we are learning with something that bubbles, erupts, or makes a mess is usually a win in our house. 😂
Our Giant 2-Liter Bottle Volcano Experiment
One volcano apparently wasn't enough.
Toward the end of the week, we went bigger and made another volcano experiment using a 2-liter bottle, baking soda, and vinegar.
This gave us another opportunity to talk about volcanoes while also doing a simple science experiment. And, yes, we may have done it more than once because getting the eruption just right became an experiment of its own.
If you are doing a Venus unit with preschoolers, a baking soda and vinegar volcano is such an easy way to take something they are learning about and turn it into something they can actually see happening in front of them.
Venus Snack Cups
Obviously, we needed a food activity too.
For our Venus snack cups, I tried to turn the different ingredients into parts of the planet.
We used:
Graham crackers for the rocky surface
Strawberries for volcanoes
Strawberry preserves for lava
Whipped cream for the atmosphere
Were they scientifically perfect models of Venus? No. 😂
Did they give us another opportunity to talk about the planet while making something fun together? Absolutely.
Food activities have become one of my favorite ways to add something different to our preschool homeschool units, especially after we have already spent time talking, reading, coloring, and doing worksheets about a topic.
Venus Videos and Read-Alouds
Throughout the week, we also watched videos and stories about Venus on YouTube, including National Geographic content.
I like adding short videos throughout our units because seeing real images, animations, and explanations gives the kids another way to understand what we have already been talking about.
At this age, I am not expecting them to memorize every fact about Venus. I want them to start making connections and, more importantly, be excited to learn more.
Download the Venus read-along and quiz worksheet here
What We Learned During Venus Week
By the end of the week, we had covered some of the big preschool-friendly Venus facts, including that Venus is extremely hot, has a thick atmosphere, has a rocky surface, and is home to lots and lots of volcanoes.
But we also worked on plenty of skills that had nothing to do with memorizing planet facts.
Between coloring, cutting, putting Venus back together, marble painting, answering questions, experimenting, and making our Venus snack cups, we were able to incorporate fine motor skills, sequencing, listening comprehension, early science, creativity, and independent work throughout the week.
That is one of the things I love most about building our own preschool homeschool units. We can take one topic and use it in so many different ways.
Venus week was messy. It was colorful. It was VERY volcanic. 😂🌋
And that is probably exactly why it was so much fun.
Next stop in our preschool homeschool solar system unit: Earth! 🌎