THE FAMILY OF THE SUN
(The Farmer in the Dell)
Chorus:
The family of the Sun,
The family of the Sun.
Here are nine planets in
the family of the Sun.
January marks the beginning of a new unit of study for the classroom –
the solar system! Studying the solar system directly ties into the
Montessori peace education curriculum because it helps the child look
outside of themselves and start understanding their place in the universe.
It is a way to help capture their imagination and stimulate their desire to
discover and learn. It also helps children begin to have an awareness of
the beauty and wonder of the natural world, while hopefully instilling a
sense of responsibility for the earth to help keep it beautiful for not only
oneself but for all the life on this earth.
Mercury is hot,
And Mercury is small.
Mercury has no atmosphere.
It's just a rocky ball.
(Chorus)
Venus has thick clouds,
That hide what is below.
The air is foul, the ground is hot,
It rotates very slow.
(chorus)
We love the Earth, our home,
Its oceans and its trees.
We eat its food, we breathe its air,
So no pollution, please.
(Chorus)
Mars is very red.
It's also dry and cold.
Someday you might visit Mars
If you are really bold.
(Chorus)
Great Jupiter is big.
We've studied it a lot.
We found it has 16 moons
And a big red spot.
(Chorus)
Saturn has great rings.
We wondered what they were.
Now we know they're icy rocks
Which we saw as a blur.
(Chorus)
Uranus and Neptune
We don't know much about.
Maybe you will study them
And then we'll all find out.
(Chorus)
Pluto's small and cold
It has an icy face.
We call it a dwarf planet now,
But it's still quite a place.
Over the next few months, we will be looking at all of the planets, discussing stars, comets and other amazing celestial occurrences as well
as taking a closer look at the earth itself and studying the layers of our
world. This will help connect what they have learned about the
hydrosphere, lithosphere and atmosphere with a deeper understanding
about what makes up our earth and why it is so special. We will be
answering questions such as: Where am I in the Universe? Where is the
Earth? Where is the Moon? Where is The Sun? What are the Stars made
of? How many Planets are there? Is Pluto a planet?
We began our study by reading Me and My Place in Space by Joan
Sweeney. So far we have begun to explore what we see in both the day
and night sky. We have also discussed that the Earth orbits around the sun
and it takes a whole year to get all the way around. The children helped
to create a solar system diorama using the shelves in our classroom - as
we explore a new planet we add to our shelf. In the Art Area we have
been recreating the sun, and planets with different types of art materials,
such as paper maché, egg carton containers, ripped paper, and colored
salt. At the light table the children have the opportunity to trace stars, the
sun and many planets.
Stay tuned for more exciting Solar System activities to come!
Crea,ng our own Planets The Children in the a9ernoon work period will be crea2ng their own planets. They will come up with the name, shape, surface, inhabitants, and weather of their planet. They will write about it, create a model of it and then present it to their friends in the classroom. New Words *Solar System *atmosphere *photosphere *radia2on *Solar System *core *meteorite *lava *rota2ns *sunspots