Astronomy 101

For science this year, I'm teaching Logan and Rory together.  It's a lot easier.  I'm using Exploring Creation With Astronomy.  It works great because there is a notebook for Rory and a junior one for Logan.  I have one textbook to deal with and the work in each notebook is similar with Rory's being a bit more challenging.  I like the concept of not doing a couple weeks on a topic and switching to another topic.  This curriculum is designed to completely immerse the student in every aspect of the topic.  It seems like a good idea.  :)

We spend two to three days a week reading the chapter.  The next week we do the activities for that chapter.  Each reading day has a narration page in the journal, so they can write down what they remember.  This week we learned about the planets.  We tried to make up our own mnemonic, but that was hard since I still remembered mine from grade school.  My Very Excited Mother Jumped Straight Up Near Pluto.  Then we went over how Pluto is not considered a planet anymore.  A fact which Rory decided to deny.  

Our activity was to make a solar system out of balloons.  The book provided the measurements of the balloons to try and show the difference in sizes from one planet to the next.  It was interesting blowing up a balloon and then deflating it while holding a measuring tape around it, but we did it....9 times.  We just had to blow "the sun" up as big as we could.  The first one popped, but our second son made it.  We had to try to match the balloons to the colors of the actual planets which ended up being white balloons colored with Sharpies.  Whatever works.  

 I used a bunch of Thirty-One balloons that I had.  I guess Logan's wearing sunglasses from the sun being right there.  HA!  It took a while, but they know their planets and the mnemonic.  :)