Children are kinaesthetic learners and any chance to incorporate movement and music into a lesson pays off. I like that this lesson can be taught out of the classroom on the yard or in the hall- The Planets lesson using hoola hoops is just lovely for infants and the ideas tie in and transition really well especially for the children who find it hard to sit still and need movement breaks. The dance and spinning activity at the end will be perfect.
The Family of the Sun Planets song is also very catchy. (Has lovely literacy rhyming links too) Here are some songs that I have used in the past which name the planets and give some information on each. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQrlgH97v94 and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2prtmPEjOc ,
The moon is a lovely introductory point when teaching about the Planets. And one which we can discuss and record daily using a visual on our class calendar. Compare the changes over the course of the month. Children enjoy learning about the lunar missions too and looking at pictures from this time in history. I would extend this activity using Drama and Teacher in Role/ hot seating techniques to allow the children ask the astronauts some questions!
The man in the moon activity is one the children can do during Aistear and integrates well with other subjects. The rhyme is easy and the picture stimulus would work well with a small group for discussion and brainstorming.