“The Planets of the Solar System”

Mar 24, 2022

If you’re looking for a song that teaches your child about planets while exposing him or her to great classical music and music theory, you’ve come to the right place! Ok, let’s be real -- nobody looks for those things in the same song -- which is what makes this one so unique and wonderful!

Here are a few of the things that your child will learn as you watch this video and learn the song together:

The names and order of the planets
One special fact about each planet
How to sing a major scale (without realizing they’re even doing it!)
They will also become familiar with classic melodies by Mozart (with beautiful string quartet accompaniment)

It’s great for kids as young as 1 (my almost 2-year-old loves it, and has somehow learned the names and order of the planets in major scale form - what?!), and as old as...well I’d say 91!

Of course, a song is never just a song with Clap for Classics! Movements and actions accompany these timeless Mozart melodies, and we’ve even included some fun spacey animation (thanks to Elizabeth’s daughter Claire!) to add a visual dimension to the learning process.

We are so thrilled that our friend Heidi Wright and the Tetra String Quartet created an incredible string accompaniment for the song, which makes it even more fun to sing along with!

Here are a few ideas for how you can extend the learning:

Listen to Episode 11 of our Clap for Classics! podcast that features this song as well as several other space-themed activities.
Listen to an audio recording of Mozart’s Eine Kleine Nachtmusik.
Listen to an audio recording of Mozart’s Symphony 41 in C Major “Jupiter” and listen for the melody from the “Jupiter” portion of this song!
Print our Planet Cards. Here are a few ideas about how to use them:

Review the fact about each planet that you learn in the song, as you look through the cards with your child.
Print 2 sets of cards to create a memory matching game.
Practice putting the cards in order while you sing the song

If you subscribe to our All Access Membership this month, you can enjoy many more thrilling space-themed musical activities with your child. Click here to check out the details!

Here are the lyrics:

Mercury is closest to the sun

Next is Venus, it’s the hottest one

Here’s Earth, the planet where we see

Amazing life that breathes

And then there’s Mars nearby

It looks red in the sky

Whoa - big! It’s Jupiter, the giant planet made of gas

Next Saturn is a planet that has rings that spin so fast

Brrr! Uranus is so cold, so cold

And Neptune is furthest from the sun.

Now we’re done.