round and round

We are in our last week of learning about the Solar System.

We, as in, I'm learning just as much as Josie.

This has been one of those topics that I could recite facts on but didn't actually understand.  It's been awesome to get a bit of a grasp on it.

Josie was having a hard time understanding that the Earth spins full circle every day and at the same time is circling the sun every year.

So I went to my trusty Pinboard and found this little gem.

A pie tin and a marble are the only things you need.  We added a sun in the middle as a helpful visual.

I had her pretend the marble was the Earth and our tin was the orbital path around the sun.

Then I tipped the tin side to side and we watched the marble spin.

Not sure if she totally got it, but I did and they were both momentarily mesmerized so it's another winner.

Then we had our very own Space Cowboy show up!

Check back Friday for our final Solar System wrap up.