Layers of the Earth for Kids

I went home one day with a bunch of avocadoes for Vito and I to eat.  Then as I was slicing it, Mavi saw the huge seed inside and blurted out that it looks like the Earth’s core!  And just like that, I whipped a brief activity on the layers of the Earth!

For the book, we had this since 2 years ago that Mavi really really loves to read.  It’s an easy read for young kids and the good thing about it is that it’s like an adventure book that takes its readers into an adventure of digging a hole down to the Earth’s center!  So I am HIGHLY recommending it to those who are interested.

Get the book from:

• To the Core from Amazon
• To the Core from Book Depository (FREE shipping anywhere!)

After looking into the avocado and discussing how it looked similar to the Earth’s layers, I took out some coloured rice (we already have this and stored in ziplocks) and have Mavi create the layers in a piece of cardstock in the way it is described in the book.

 

And this is what he came up with. He completed this with a little assistance from me. Well actually, my work only includes getting the rice and beans for him LOL.   He added some space shuttle and man in suit.  The book indicates that it is impossible to reach the center of the Earth as no machines or human can stand the pressure and heat.  But the book allows the reader to imagine and pretend, that if it’s possible, a super duper powerful digger and super suit is needed for humans to reach the  Earth’s core.

And since Mavi is now 6 yrs old, I am “training” him to discuss to me what he has learned from the book.  So he narrated what he learned using his artwork.  Okay, this is like reporting or project presentation in school, but it is at home and you’re doing it with your Mom :D  Mavi actually loved doing it and wanted to do it again!

After which, we took out some stuff at the kitchen and put up together the elements that made up the Earth.  Now, the CRUST is soil (we don’t have any so we used oatmeal for representation), MANTLE is made up of thick hot rocks, OUTCORE is made up of hot molten metal (we used ketchup!) and the INNERCORE is made up of a huge solid metal, a ball of iron (seed of Avocado).

See how spontaneous we are at home! My son enjoyed this activity and so do I! Hope you find this helpful :)

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