Learning about outer space is pretty abstract for toddlers and preschoolers. While we were learning about our solar system, I knew I needed to find a way to bring this to life for L. One day, I asked her to show me how to spin on her axis like a planet. She spun around in one spot. Perfect! [I used the word “spin” rather than “rotate” because that is the word used in our planets song, as seen below — but it’s the same concept.] Then I asked her to revolve around me, the sun. She raced around me in circles — and thought it was hilarious. Finally, I asked if she could spin on her axis AND revolve around the sun at the same time. It was kind of tricky, but she did it! She asked me to sing our planets song while she did it, so I did and recorded it for all of you [even though I had a head cold!]. At the end, I tried to review the concepts and mixed up my words. Luckily, L understood it well enough to correct me. N just enjoyed spinning on her axis out in the middle of space the whole time. 🙂
To see the text of the full song and how we used it to learn the order of the planets, see Science Activities for Toddlers and Preschoolers — Planet Ordering.