The Sun and the Planets (Solar System)
The solar system lesson shows a child of about 4 who knows the continent globe that the earth is one of eight planets circling the sun. With a puzzle or picture cards, the child learns the sun is a star, names the planets in order from Mercury to Neptune, and walks a globe round a lamp.
Sourced from the texts, not yet presented at home
| Typical age | 4 to 6 years |
|---|---|
| Area | Cultural |
| Before this | |
| Materials | |
| Direct aim | To know that the earth goes round the sun with seven other planets, and to name them in order. |
| Control of error | A control chart or the puzzle board shows the planets in order. For the names, the adult's three periods are the check, and a wrong name is left for another day. |
| Leads to | Later lessons in this line are in preparation. |
| Time | About 10 minutes per lesson (our estimate). |
| Grouping | One child, or two or three together |
| Parent prep | Low. Set out the puzzle or cards; a lamp and a globe for the walking game. |
| Cost | Buy about $15 to $60. Make: easy to make at home. |
| Other names | Solar system, Sun and planets, Planets of the solar system, Space study |
What the work teaches
Direct aim. To know that the earth goes round the sun with seven other planets, and to name them in order.
Indirect aims, the ones you will not see at once
- Seeing the earth, already known from the globes, as one planet among others
- A first idea of what a year is
- Order and sequence: first, second, third from the sun
- Wonder, and questions to follow up for years
Set it out before you invite the child
A solar system puzzle or a set of picture cards: the sun and eight planets. Alison's sells a wooden puzzle and printed nomenclature cards for ages 3 to 6.
The eight planets from the sun: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune. Pluto has been called a dwarf planet since 2006.
A lamp without its shade to stand for the sun, and the continent globe for the earth.
A rug with room to walk around.
The solar system isn't in Montessori's books of 1912 to 1917. The lesson follows her rules for any lesson: brief, simple, true, and starting from the object.
Presentation, step by step
- 1Set the sun piece or card in the middle of the rug.
- 2Lay the planets out from the sun in order, naming each one: Mercury, Venus, Earth.
- 3Stop at Earth and bring the continent globe beside it: "This is where we live."
- 4Name the rest, out to Neptune, and point to Jupiter: "The biggest planet."
- 5Give the three periods with three planets that look very different: Earth, Saturn, Jupiter.
- 6On another day, switch on the lamp and walk the globe slowly round it once: "The earth goes round the sun once a year."
- 7Invite the child to lay the planets out in order and walk the earth round the sun.
Details that hold the child's attention
The sun as a star, the closest one.
Saturn's rings.
Earth third from the sun, with the continent colors the child already knows.
Walking a globe round a lamp and counting it as a birthday.
How the child sees a mistake
A control chart or the puzzle board shows the planets in order. For the names, the adult's three periods are the check, and a wrong name is left for another day.
The words come after the hands
| Words | Shown with |
|---|---|
| sun, star | The sun is a star, the closest one to us. |
| planet | A large ball that goes round the sun. |
| Mercury to Neptune | The eight planets, named in order from the sun. |
| orbit | The path a planet takes round the sun. |
| moon | A ball that goes round a planet. The earth has one. |
The three-period lesson, scripted
You need three planets that look very different: Earth, Saturn, Jupiter.
| Period | What you do and say |
|---|---|
| 1. Naming | "This is Earth." "This is Saturn." "This is Jupiter." |
| 2. Recognition | "Show me Saturn." "Give me Jupiter." "Where is Earth?" |
| 3. Recall | Point to one and ask "What is this planet?" |
Montessori's method for names: a few strongly contrasting things first, only the name spoken.
Extensions and variations
- Laying the planets out in order without the board
- A birthday walk: carry a globe round a candle or lamp once for each year of the child's age
- Finding the moon in the sky by day and by night, and noticing its shape change
- Matching picture cards to label cards for children who read
- Painting the planets on paper plates and hanging them in order
Variations
- Fruit for planets, from a small grape to a big grapefruit, to show sizes roughly
- Picture cards only, with no puzzle
Make it or buy it
| Material | Make it | Buy, approx. |
|---|---|---|
| Solar System Puzzle and Cards | Easy | $15 to $60 |
Prices noted . Approximate US street prices for home-use versions; they vary by maker and change often, so recheck before buying.
Making it at home
Draw and cut out the sun and eight planets on card, roughly sized. A lamp and a ball or the continent globe make the walking game.
What to check when buying a set
Check that a puzzle or card set shows eight planets, with Pluto as a dwarf planet if at all. Wooden puzzles last; printed cards cost less.
Printables for this age
This work needs only the material, so it has no printable of its own. The shelf plan below places it among the other works for the same age.
- Shelf plan for age 4PDF, 1 page, 248 KBEvery work for this age on one page, in order, with a column to date each presentation.
Every printable for one age, by email
The shelf plan and the lesson printables for your child's age in one email, then three short emails on the first lesson, what to make or buy, and what comes next.
Signs the child is ready, and signs it is done
Ready for the first presentation
- Names the continents on the continent globe.
- Asks about the sun or the stars.
- Counts and lays out things in order.
- Can sit for a short story-like lesson.
Ready for the next lesson
- Names the eight planets in order.
- Says that the earth goes round the sun.
- Explains a year as one trip round the sun.
- Asks new questions, such as why the moon changes shape.
Fitting it into a home, not a classroom
| If you have | Do this |
|---|---|
| A tight budget | Draw the sun and eight planets on card and cut them out. Use a lamp and any ball for the earth. |
| A child's birthday | Walk the globe round a candle once for each year of the child's life. |
| Clear evenings | Look for the moon and bright planets with the naked eye. Venus and Jupiter are often easy to spot. |
| A child already obsessed with space | Follow the questions. Books and photographs carry the lesson further than any material. |
When it does not go to plan
| When | Try this |
|---|---|
| Too many names at once. | Name all eight once, then give the three periods for just three. The rest come over weeks. |
| The child asks about Pluto. | Say that astronomers called it a planet until 2006, and now call it a dwarf planet because it's very small. |
| Sizes look wrong on the puzzle. | Most puzzles can't show true sizes or distances. Use the fruit variation to show that Jupiter is huge and Mercury tiny. |
| The walking game gets silly. | Walk slowly yourself, then hand the globe over. The sun stays still in the middle. |
Hazards to check before each session
Never look directly at the sun, even briefly, and never through binoculars or a telescope.
Use a lamp rather than a candle for the walking game with young children, and keep the bulb out of reach.
Puzzle pieces and knobs are choking-size for a toddler.
Where other sequences and standards place it
We have not bought the paid homeschool curricula, so they are not listed here.
| Framework | Where it sits |
|---|---|
| This site's Cultural sequence | Lesson 12 of 12 published, after Continent Globe (Painted Globe). Checked in: the scope and sequence |
| Montessori, The Montessori Method (1912) | The lesson is brief, simple and objective; she criticized a lesson that drifts from the sky and stars to aprons and cherries and leaves the child confused. Checked in: Chapter VI, How the Lessons Should Be Given |
| Montessori, The Montessori Elementary Material (1917) | Object lessons start from the object, shown through models and pictures; the seasons and months are taught with pictures. Checked in: Part VII, Object Lessons; Part VII, History |
| Next Generation Science Standards, grade 1 | 1-ESS1-1: use observations of the sun, moon and stars to describe patterns that can be predicted. Checked in: www.nextgenscience.org |
Solar system: questions parents ask
Should preschoolers learn the planets?
Yes, from about 4, kept simple. The sun is a star, and the earth is one of eight planets going round it. Then come the names in order.
How many planets should I teach?
Eight: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune. Pluto has been classed as a dwarf planet since 2006.
What age is the solar system lesson for?
From about 4, after the continent globe, and on this site it runs to 6.
Is the solar system in Montessori's own books?
No. It's from later practice. The lesson follows her rules: short, simple, true, and beginning with an object the child can see and handle.
Sources cited by book and chapter
- Maria Montessori, The Montessori Method (1912)
Chapter VI, How the Lessons Should Be Given
The lesson in the Children's Houses must be simple, stripped of all that is not absolute truth, with the most simple words that refer to the truth.
A lesson that wanders from the sky shining with stars to the teacher's apron and the color of cherries leaves a confused mass of ideas in the child's mind.
The lesson must be objective, presented so that the personality of the teacher disappears and only the object remains in evidence.
- Maria Montessori, The Montessori Elementary Material (1917)
Part VII, Object Lessons
Object lessons never begin with the word but always with the object, shown in different circumstances and aspects, such as a model, the real thing and pictures.
Part VII, History
Information about the seasons and the months of the year is imparted by illustrations and pictures, and every morning the child is asked what day it is.
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What to offer next
This is the last Cultural lesson published so far. The ones that follow are in preparation; until then, the Cultural lessons page lists the whole area in order.
- Botany cabinet3.5 to 6 years
- Flags3.5 to 6 years
- Plant parts3.5 to 6 years
- Zoology puzzles3.5 to 6 years
- Solar system4 to 6 years