Studying Our Solar System

In science class Ethan has been studying our solar system for a few weeks now.  Although with all the Science Channel watching he does he schooled me in a few concepts as well.  One of the great benefits of homeschooling - we get to learn (or relearn) right along with our kids.

There is this great teachers store in Raleigh that I absolutely love called The Teach me Store.  We found this Solar System there.

Using clay that is like Model Magic ( if you've never heard of it it is this foam like clay that dries fast,) he shaped it around foam balls...

...then we strung it all together...

...for our end result.


I taught Ethan this mnemonic to remember the order of the planets:


My - Mercury
Violin - Venus
Eeeks - Earth
Music - Mars
Just - Jupitar
So - Saturn
U - Uranus
No (know) - Neptune

If you didn't know Pluto is no longer a planet it is classified as a "Plutoid" which means tiny planet. (So doesn't that still make it a planet?)