Planet line-up

From the house

• 8 round things from big to small: fruit, balls or rolled-up socks
• A yellow cushion or towel (the Sun)
• A hallway or long rug

How to play

1. Put the Sun at one end and say the planets in order: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune.
2. Choose a thing for each: the biggest for Jupiter, the next for Saturn, two medium ones for Uranus and Neptune, two small ones for Venus and Earth, and the two tiniest for Mars and Mercury.
3. They line the planets up away from the Sun, saying each name as they put it down.
4. Mix them up and see if they can put them back in order, with you helping with the names.

Fit it to your child

• Easier: Use just four, the Sun, Earth, Mars and Jupiter, and point out that Earth is our home.
• Harder: Learn a sentence to remember the order: “My Very Excellent Mother Just Served Us Noodles.”

Words to use

• Sun
• planet
• Earth
• Jupiter
• biggest
• next

Why it helps

Placing and naming the planets builds memory for order, and the sizes show them how small Earth is next to Jupiter.