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January 22, 2015

Learning About the Planets Playdough and Free Printables


We took on the Universe as part of an A-Z STEM series which was no small feat! We simply used play dough to create a hands on model of our solar system that we could manipulate and play with. Then we used our free Solar System Coloring Page to align our solar system model.

 
 

Before we began, I was worried my Ms. Tiger (my little preschooler) was going to get lost; there is a lot to the universe that I myself and even well trained scientist are still learning. We did this activity over a few days (it takes us a bit longer as we develop, and photograph activities), and by the end I was thrilled with how much she had learned. For more letter based learning activities, click here to see our Letter of the Week series.

Book Suggestion:
Every Planet Has a Place (Affiliate link) National Geographic Kids by Becky Baines

 

This book is nice for a simple introductory book to our solar system for preschool aged kids. It’s easy to understand and has great pictures to look at. We used this book as the cornerstone of our activity. I was able to find some more great books that look like they go more in depth, but are still geared toward children.
(Affiliate Link)
(Affiliate Link)
(Affiliate link)
(Affiliate link)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies:

Different colors of play dough-white, blue, black, red, orange, yellow (Here is a link to the play dough recipe we used)
Pipe cleaners
Glitter
Sand
Tiny rocks/beads
Plastic balls of various sizes
Small star cookie cutter
 
 
 

Making the Planets with Play Dough

Directions:
1.  Look at a picture of the planet and look at the color, size, and texture and select what color play dough to use, as well as what other additions you may want to use (glitter, rocks, sand…) Form a ball and decorate.
 
For the large gas planets we rolled out the play dough and wrapped it around a plastic ball to conserve play dough.
 
To make bumpy textured planets and moons we wrapped the play dough with bubble wrap, squeezed it, and removed it leaving a nice bumpy texture.
 
To make the rings of the planets we bent two pipe cleaners together to form an “O”, then used a blob of play dough to attach it to the side of the planet.
 
Ms. Tiger made her own planet too, complete with two tones of play dough and rings. It was fun letting her have some creative freedom time.
 
 
 

Making Asteroids, Comets, and Stars with Play Dough

Directions:
1.  Look at a picture of stars, moons, comets, and asteroids. Talk about the color, size, and texture and select what color play dough to use, as well as what other additions you may want to use (glitter, rocks, sand…)
 
We made our stars using a star shaped cookie cutter, but you may want to make round balls. My daughter was a little star factory, she loved using our cookie cutter. Before I knew it, we had a whole galaxy of stars to play with… :).
 
 

 

Building Your Solar System

 
Scroll down to find our Solar System Printable
 
1.  We placed our solar system on the floor in order starting with the sun and ending with the stars
 
1-Sun, 2-Neptune, 3-Venus, 4-Earth, 5-Earth’s Moon (on the side of Earth), 6-Mars, 7-Asteroid Belt, 8-Jupiter, 9-Saturn, 10-Uranus, 11-Neptune, 12-Comets, 13-Stars
 

Orbit Activity

1.  Place the sun in the middle of the room and walk around it.
 
We each choose to be a certain planet, we figured out which one was closest to the sun, and we placed ourselves in order and walked. We noticed that the farther we were away from the sun, the more we had to walk/orbit.

Key Points We Talked About:

What is a planet? A large object shaped like a ball in space that orbits a star. Some planets are solid and some are gas. Some have rings and others don’t.

 

What planet do we live on? Earth

What is the largest planet? Jupiter

What is the smallest planet? Mercury (Pluto is no longer considered a planet-poor Pluto) 

 

What is a moon? A moon is an object that orbits a planet.
How many moons does earth have? 1

 

Do other planets have more than one moon? Yes.

 

What is an asteroid? A space rock.

 

What is a comet? A ball of ice and snow.

 

What is a star? A hot ball of gas, the closest one being the sun. They are not really shaped like stars.What does orbit mean? To travel around an object.

 

Solar System Printable:

 
 

A-Z Stem Series

This post is part of the A-Z STEM Series by Little Bins for Little Hands. To see more Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math ideas in the series click here: A-Z STEM Series

 

More Learning Resources (Affiliate Links)

 
 

DOWNLOAD THE PRINTABLE HERE:

Don’t see the box? CLICK HERE to be directed to the download.

Filed Under: Coloring Page, Learn, Preschool, Printables, Science, Science Printables, Solar System

Top Resources

  • The Very Hungry Caterpillar Printable Activity Pack: This adorable pack of engaging activities will teach children letters, numbers, phonics, fine motor skills, shapes, life cycle of a butterfly, nutrition, days of the week, and more. It makes teaching and learning fun and easy. (#preschool #kindergarten #printables #kidsactivities #homeschool) The Very Hungry Caterpillar Activity Pack $10.00 $6.99 + tax
  • Interactive Calendar for Kids: Print and assemble to teach kids days of the week, months, years, and holidays. #homeschoom #preschool #kindergarten Interactive Calendar for Kids *UPDATED* $5.00 $4.50 + tax
  • Alphabet Road Letter Mats: As students race around each track, they will practice letter identification and letter formation. Each track has green dots to guide children where to start, arrows to point them in the right direction, and stop signs to help them know when they have reached the end. (#preschool, #kindergarten #alphabet #homeschool #kidsactivity) Alphabet Road Letter Mats Printable Kids Activity $3.99 $2.99 + tax
  • Alphabet Phonics Spinners: If you are at home or school this set of Alphabet Phonics Spinners makes learning letter sounds fun and engaging. (#Phonics #kidsactivity #homeschool #preschool #kindergarten #alphabet) Alphabet Phonics Spinners Printable Kids Activity $3.99 $2.99 + tax

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  • These little bugs took no time at all to make and are a pretty self-guided craft for kids. Little Tiger finished chopping potatoes while helping me make dinner and found our bags full of lids on the counter (3 bags to be exact–no lid gets left behind in our house :). Before long I looked over and there were 3 bugs staring back at me and no mess in sight! Since the little bugs sitting on my counter make me smile when I look at them I thought you should have some too.
  • This activity helps kids learn to count to 100, introduces them to place values, helps with number recognition and number relationships while allowing them to be actively involved as they learn instead of just staring at a chart with lots of numbers which can be overwhelming.
  • We love stars around here so naturally one of our favorite things that live in the ocean is starfish aka sea stars. They come in all different shapes, sizes, and textures so we have provided you with a free craft template to make a big, medium, and small size starfish craft with your kids. We also show you how to take your craft to the next level by giving it texture and folding it to give it dimension, and if you want you can give it added color with paint. Each one will turn out amazing!
  • When this sunset Tissue Paper Craft is hung in a window it magically seems to glow resembling the beauty of a real sunset on the horizon. No glue or scissor skills are required, so this craft is easy to clean up and perfect for kids of all ages!
  • One of the most beloved children’s authors has to be Dr. Seuss who happens to have a birthday coming up on March 2nd. Did you know he wasn’t technically a doctor?– but that’s okay we still love him anyways! To start celebrating my kids picked out Horton Hears a Who!
  • The set comes in a print-in-color or a color-me (coloring book) version. You can print the set out and assemble it, or extend this activity further by letting your students color their own spinner increasing their recognition of each picture.
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Comments

  1. Danielle Buckley says

    January 23, 2015 at 5:12 am

    This is so cool! I LOVE it and know my son would too!

    • Katie says

      January 23, 2015 at 5:18 am

      Hi Danielle, thanks so much!!! 🙂

Trackbacks

  1. 20 Magnificent Activities for Kids About the Solar System says:
    May 23, 2017 at 9:39 pm

    […] Solar System Preschool Activity Build your own solar system out of play […]

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