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April 13, 2015

DIY Solar System Map with Free Printables

Like many 4-year-olds, Henry is in love with space! I needed an easy, cheap Montessori inspired way to teach Henry about the planets and came up with this DIY solar system. As I mentioned in our Montessori inspired space unit, this map has been a huge hit! And, it's way easier to make than it looks! 

In the years since making this simple space themed DIY, my Montessori children have loved using this mat to further their exploration of the solar system. I've brought it out for Henry and Nora as we've studied the first great lesson here at home. It's a great hands on way to make our solar system come to life. I know my other children will love it just as much as they get into the second plane of development.

DIY Solar System Map - this Montessori inspired felt map is a great way to teach children about the solar system in a concrete way. With individual planets and orbits children can learn how the solar system is organized as they study it!

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Plus, it's just a really simple and easy project, which I love. You could even have a child help you make this or have it on a shelf for older children to make as follow up to the great lesson work. There's just a lot of possibilities here. 

DIY Solar System Mat for Montessori Learning


To make the solar system may, you'll need. Check your local craft store for best prices, I just linked similar products here:

DIY Solar System Map - this Montessori inspired felt map is a great way to teach children about the solar system in a concrete way. With individual planets and orbits children can learn how the solar system is organized as they study it!
DIY Solar System Map - this Montessori inspired felt map is a great way to teach children about the solar system in a concrete way. With individual planets and orbits children can learn how the solar system is organized as they study it!

Making the Map 


First, to make this map, you need to make the planets. I used wooden balls and tried to keep them in proportion to their real sizes. Therefore, Mercury is the smallest wooden ball, Jupiter is the biggest and everything else is in between.

Once I had picked the wooden balls that I was going to use, I looked at pictures of each planet and painted in similar colors and patterns. I used the acrylic paint to directly onto the wood. Then, painted the larger circle as the sun. I'm in no way an artist, so these aren't perfect. They are just supposed to be representations, so don't get hung up on trying to make them look exactly right. 

DIY Solar System Map - this Montessori inspired felt map is a great way to teach children about the solar system in a concrete way. With individual planets and orbits children can learn how the solar system is organized as they study it!
DIY Solar System Map - this Montessori inspired felt map is a great way to teach children about the solar system in a concrete way. With individual planets and orbits children can learn how the solar system is organized as they study it!

Next, I made the actual solar system mat. This was the most time consuming step. To make, lay the sun in the center of your felt. Then, using the chalk, draw 8 circles around the sun. The first four are closer to each other and then spread out.

I used chalk because its easy to see on the black, and can be easily erased if your circles need a little work -- I know mine did! Making a little compass with string would help to get the chalk circles a lot more perfect that I could make free handedly. 

DIY Solar System Map - this Montessori inspired felt map is a great way to teach children about the solar system in a concrete way. With individual planets and orbits children can learn how the solar system is organized as they study it!

Once the circles are drawn, you can use the embroidery thread to start sewing. Follow the lines you've drawn until each of the eight circles are completed. I just used a basic stitch because that is the extent of my sewing knowledge. 

This is a great stage to tag in a child to help sew! I know that Gus or Nora would have loved to sew this and would have been able to do a great job completing this stage of the project. I might even make smaller mats available on our shelves for follow up work.


Grab a Free Printable


Once the sewing is done, you can use my free printable to complete the project! The printable includes the small planet cards, the names and the control map. The images in the printable are real pictures of the planets from NASA. I chose to mount the small planet pictures to a small wooden tiles with some modge podge to add a little strength, but that's not necessary. 

The printable was a great way to provide a control of error for placing the planets on the map. It's also nice to provide a real picture of each planet instead of just the painted versions. 



This project was way easier and cheaper than I could have imagined. It took some time to sew all the circles, but it's been a great hands on way to teach my kids about the solar system. Hopefully, it's the same for you! 
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Comments

Unknown
Unknown said…
I love this idea! I am going to make it for my class of kindergarteners! Thanks for the great idea! :)

Kristen
A Day In First Grade
Samantha
Samantha said…
This is amazing! Great job! Thanks for linking up at the Thoughtful Spot Weekly Blog Hop! We hope you stop by again next week!
Jennifer
Jennifer said…
These are amaaaazing, Nicole! I have had some stryrofoam balls in my craft room for awhile, planning on making these, but those wooden ones are gorgeous.
Tara
Tara said…
Love this! About how big is the felt?
Free Solar
Free Solar said…
amazing thinking..this is great way to give the knowledge about universe to the kids.this is very good idea to making it.through this the kids can learn easily..