One of the most powerful things about Montessori education is how ideas in the classroom can ripple outward into all areas of a child’s experience—including physical education. A perfect example of this is the Cosmic Tower from Waseca Biomes.
For those who aren’t familiar, the Cosmic Tower (also called the Cosmic Nesting Boxes) is a stunning material that starts with the Milky Way Galaxy and zooms all the way inward to the energy inside a child. It’s a nesting box work that elegantly gives children a felt sense of their location within the vast universe.
When I first encountered this material, I was inspired to translate its central concept into movement. If the boxes shrink step by step, why not have the playing area shrink in a game to give students a physical, visceral experience of the same idea?
The First Version: A Good Start
With my 6–9 students, the first iteration of the Cosmic Tower Game was fun and engaging, but the challenge was that older students—through no fault of their own—often dominated play simply because of size and reach. To balance things out, I split the game into three simultaneous rounds: one for first graders, one for second graders, and one for third graders, each with its own color-coded ball. This helped, but the balance wasn’t quite right.
Even within a single grade, taller kids still tended to get more playing opportunities. My goal wasn’t just “fairness,” but to design a game where every child could give consistent effort and feel success.
Inspiration from Bluey
The breakthrough came from an unexpected source: the beloved children’s show Bluey. In one episode, the family plays a game they call “Keepy Uppy”—keeping a balloon off the ground as long as possible.
This was exactly what I needed! Balloons solved multiple problems at once:
Accessibility: Balloons are slower and lighter than sports balls, so they’re easier to track and hit.
Abundance: Balloons are cheap and plentiful, which means many more students can be active at the same time.
Small-group play: Instead of large groups, students can partner up, which ensures more touches and more engagement.
Suddenly, instead of a few kids dominating the ball, everyone had repeated chances to play.
Developing Control and Awareness
An interesting side effect of balloons is that they require students to scan the environment constantly—tracking the balloon while also being aware of others nearby to avoid collisions. This is a valuable skill in any sport.
As the game progresses and the playing area shrinks (mirroring the Cosmic Tower boxes), the challenge increases. Students must hit with more control to keep the balloon in bounds. Once the space becomes very tight, we reduce the number of balloons, which shifts the focus back to communication and teamwork.
In this way, the updated version of the game preserves the cooperative spirit of the original while adding:
More entry points for every child
A gentler physical demand early in the year
Extra skill-building in awareness, control, and communication
A Cosmic Connection Through Movement
The Cosmic Tower Lesson Plan has grown into a favorite because it gives students both a conceptual and embodied sense of their place in the world. By combining Waseca’s beautiful material with playful movement, we help children feel the shrinking layers of the universe while also laughing, running, and working together.
If you haven’t yet checked out the Cosmic Tower, I highly recommend exploring it on Waseca’s website. And while you’re there, take a look at their biome works—perfect companions to your continent studies and a powerful way to extend Cosmic Education across the curriculum.
