Today is Solar System Saturday.

I wish that I had prepped my planets before hand - but it's been a crazy week (I've not been home consistently all week to prep anything - let alone planets.)

So this morning we made a sun ... and colored it. It took all of us to color it because J-man wanted to be involved and it was a mad scramble to get everything orange before he decided to make it purple.

http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n148/comfydenim/ColoringtheSun.jpg

So then I got out the books and looked at relative sizes of the planets and made proper circles -- and we colored the planets. I think I was too obsessed with making them look close to the original planets. But you know, I don't want the kids to think Mercury is purple.

http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n148/comfydenim/Coloringtheearth.jpg

Luckily, Daddy around here can be a very creative person - and quite handy at 6'0 (I'm pushing 5'2"). So we had him hang the Sun.

http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n148/comfydenim/Hangingthesun9-16-06.jpg

I wish I had thought about it, though. That would have been a great tie-in to God hanging the sun and the moon. Teaching moment missed. Maybe I'll get another one.

Everyone really got involved and since I'm the resident picture-taker - I don't have as many photos as I wanted.

Here's part of the gang hanging up G's asteroid belt. He insisted that we have one. Which is fantastic - because I was going to - but he really insisted.

http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n148/comfydenim/SolarSystemSaturdayconstructingthea.jpg

We're not done. I really don't want this to be lost. I want to get this stuff in the kids..So maybe we'll get some of those glow in the dark stars and hang up. Hmmm...That's a great thought I just had.

Here's Mini-Me with the part of the finished product. She leaned her head in and said "Look, I'm a planet."

http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n148/comfydenim/SolarSystemSaturday-planethead9-16-.jpg

And of course the Littles around here just hung out - but they should be included. (J-man tried to hang asteroids, after all)

http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n148/comfydenim/J-manonSolarsystemday9-16-06.jpg

http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n148/comfydenim/MiniEonSolarSystemSaturday7monthsol.jpg

I had seen this listed in my KONOS unit - but had to see it in the book:

"The Planets in our Solar System" by Franklyn M. Branley - it has a visual in the back of the book. :-)

So we're eating a space meal of Pizza and sodas - and then maybe J-man can take a nap and we'll work on Solar system necklaces.

To infinity and beyond!