My family and I have lived in New Mexico. The Balloon Fiesta there is internationally known. So Balloon Fiesta time is exciting for the children. I liked to do a little lesson on balloons and since we talk about air this month it works out nicely! The school I work at also does 'Breakfast with the Balloons'. Parents and children can have breakfast togehter and watch the balloons, as we are close to the Balloon Fiesta Park to see some of them from the school.

Science: (first circle)

Need for lesson - The book "Pop Flop's Great Balloon Ride", a balloon, one helium filled balloon, and Balloon Matching card set (these are made with pictures from Balloon Fiesta that we took, but you could also make a set from postcards).

Index File Card

can be pasted onto an index file card for quick reference


Science 15

Boys and Girls we are going to talk about balloons today. We have talked a little bit about air. We learned that when we breathe in, our lungs take in the part of air called oxygen. When we breathe out, we breathe out carbon dioxide. Plants need carbon dioxide to make food. Now, even though we can't see air, it is there. What are some ways we know air is there? We can feel it can't we?  Let's all blow onto our hand.

I am going to blow up this balloon with air (blow up balloon). This is the air filled balloon. This other balloon is filled with helium. Helium is a kind of gas. Remember the three types of matter we talked about? Solids, liquids, and  Gases. Helium is a gas. If I take these two balloons and put them next to each other and let both of them go, what do you think will happen? The heluim filled one rises up and stays in the air. The air around us is mostly oxygen. Helium weighs less than oxygen and that is why the helium balloon floats. My air filled balloon that is mostly oxygen, is heavier and doesn't rise up into the air.

What about hot air balloons? Why is it they can rise up into the air? Balloonist use another kind of gas called propane to heat up the balloon envelope, or inside of the balloon. The envelope of the balloon holds in the hot air. The air inside of the balloon gets hotter than the air outside and so it is able to rise up towards the sky. A hot air balloon is another way of getting from one place to another. What do we call that again? Transportation.

Read "Pop Flop's Great Balloon Ride" and demonstrate matching cards.



Hot Air Balloon Matching

Additional Work:

Transportation Card Set - Can be used as a review of different kinds of transportation.


Transportation Card Set

Group Hot Air Balloon - Read the book, I'm Flying. Provide paint (variety of colors) and pieces of white construstion paper cut into 5x5 squares. Talk with the children about all the colors of the hot air balloon in the story. Make a hot air balloon to hang up in the classroom. Each child can paint a white square piece of paper. After all the squares have dried, paste or tape them together. Cut out a balloon shape from the taped together square pieces. Add a basket and hang up in the classroom.


Paint Blowing Pictures - In small cups or containers have different color paints (watered down), small spoons or eye dropper- one for each color of paint, straws, and paper. Children spoon paint onto the paper and use a straw to blow air on the paint and make a picture.

Balloon Stencil

Hot Air Balloons - Have pre-cut balloon shapes out of construction paper, pieces of colored paper or tissue paper, and markers. Children can glue the pieces of tissue paper onto the balloon envelope and color the basket.

Balloon Coloring - These are just some examples of  hot air balloons for the children to color.

Papier-mâché Balloons - Using balloons, newspaper and paste children can make a balloon. 


Balloon Stencil


Balloon Art Activity


Balloon Coloring Pages


Balloon Art


Balloon Art 

Second Circle:

Need for Lesson - Pictures from the past.



History 2

When we look around at the places we live and the places we go, we see many different streets, cars, trucks, planes, and other things like tall buildings. A long time ago, it looked very different. Instead of driving cars, people rode horses or rode in wagons that the horses pulled. There were no cars, no planes, and no tall buildings. How many of you like going to the movies? Movie theaters were not around either. We have beautiful Art cards of paintings from artist that lived a long time ago. If you wanted a picture of your family an artist had to paint it, because cameras were not around either. Things such as cameras, cars, and computers were not invented, or made yet. As time went by things began to be invented and used by people. How do we know it was different in the past than it is now in the present? We know because of History. History was written down or recorded. We can find out about History because some people chose to record or write things down and then when cameras were invented people took pictures of the past, so we can learn about History through books and pictures. Let's look at some pictures of the past, what was it like long ago. We can learn about History.

Demonstrate books and discuss pictures.



Pictures from a Library History Book


Pictures from a Library History Book