Cranium Explorers Use Critical Thinking to Dive into the Earth’s Crust

Our young explorers set out on another amazing adventure as we dove into the Earth’s layers, exploring its crust, mantle, and core! The further into the Earth we traveled, the warmer we got. We discovered how hot it really is in the core of the Earth, and children used critical thinking to explore why living things can’t be found there. We shook up the classroom a bit when we discovered tectonic plates on the crust and how their movement causes earthquakes.

A great way to reinforce this exploration and encourage critical thinking at home would be to go to the library and check out The Magic School Bus Inside the Earth. Read it with your child and ask them if they remember the layers of the Earth? Did they imagine the layers the same way?

If you’re not afraid to get a little dirty with your kids, another fun activity would be to dig in the dirt outside together as you talk about the Earth’s layers. How far did you dig down? Which layer did you get to? Ask your child how they would know if they made it to the core.

Talk to your child about what he or she learned about the Earth. You’ll be amazed at what they tell you!