A Spin Around the Sun

💡Skills: Throwing and catching a ball can help your child learn about how the Earth goes around, or orbits, the Sun — and build his or her muscles. 

Description

The Earth makes one big circle, or orbit, around the Sun each year. Every day, the Earth turns around; when it faces the Sun, it is daytime and when it faces away from the Sun, it is nighttime. Play a game with your child to use your bodies to learn how this works!

Materials 

☑ Reusable paper or plastic bag

☑ Old papers

☑ Tape

Set Up 

Here’s how to explain this activity to your child:

• Did you know the Earth is spinning underneath us every day? Let’s play a game to be like the Earth!

• First, let’s make a ball using recycled materials. We can use a bag and fill it with a shirt or used paper, and tape or tie it shut. It’s a recycled ball!

• Now, let’s play our game! I am going to stand in the middle of the room and pretend to be the Sun.

• You hold the ball and pretend to be the Earth. Throw the ball to me: it is daytime! Now turn in a circle, take a step to the side, and I will throw the ball back to you! That is one whole day!

• You can keep circling around me, spinning, and passing the ball…until you make a whole orbit around me. Wow! That was a whole year. Let’s switch places. You can be the Sun and I’ll be the Earth!

Pro Tip:

If your Earth hero is ready to do more, see how many times you can throw and catch the ball without dropping it! Can you get up to 10? Try moving farther away from each other. If your child needs a simpler activity, try rolling the ball back and forth from the Sun to the Earth while sitting on the ground. The child can scoot in an orbit, while sitting down.

Extend the Learning

Kids can learn more by watching Blaze fight a fire and creating a booklet with facts about fire dogs — dalmatians like Marshall, and creating a helmet they can wear during their pretend play time.

Words to Use 

• Rotate– to go around in a circle
  

• Spin – to go around in a circle
  

• Orbit – when something in space goes around something else, in a circle-like shape