Solar System Garland

What You Need:

• Air-dry clay
• Acrylic paints
• 12 nails
• Strong string
• Stiff paper
• Scissors
• Paintbrushes
• Picture of the solar system
• Empty cardboard box

What You Do:

1. Take out the clay and let your child start experimenting with the texture.
2. Examine the picture of the solar system with her.
3. Start with Jupiter. Have your child make a ball out of the modeling clay.
4. Saturn, Neptune and Uranus should be slightly smaller. Have her make these planets as well.
5. For the last four balls, each one should be slightly smaller than the one before it. Tell your child that she is making Earth, Mars, Venus and Mercury.
6. Have your child poke a hole through each planetary object with a nail.
7. Set the planet beads aside to dry.
8. Have your child use scissors to cut a doughnut shape out of stiff paper. This shape will represent Saturn's famous rings.
9. Let her slip Saturn into the ring.
10. Take a look at the picture of the solar system again. What color is each planet?
11. Have your child carefully paint each planet the appropriate color.
12. Set the planets aside to dry.
13. String the beads to make a garland. Help your kids string the planetary objects according to the order in which they orbit around the sun: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and then Neptune.
14. Have your kid pick a place to hang the garland. It's sure to transform any setting from drab and earthly, to truly out-of-this-world! 

This garland also makes a great gift for parents and teachers who are passionate about the cosmos.