Solar System Clothespin Cards
Count and Clip Your Way Through the Solar System
These clothespin counting cards turn math practice into a tiny space mission. Each card features original hand-painted watercolor illustrations of the planets, moon phases, comets, and asteroids. Your child counts the items, finds the matching number, and clips a clothespin to their answer.
That simple pinch-and-clip motion builds the exact hand muscles kids need for writing, cutting, and buttoning. While they work on fine motor skills, they are also practicing number recognition, one-to-one correspondence, and getting comfortable with the planets and objects that make up our solar system.
Perfect for space-themed unit studies, astronomy lessons, summer learning, and the kid who already knows every planet's name and wants more. Tuck the cards into your morning basket, a quiet time tray, or a road-trip activity bag and let the counting begin.
What's Inside
10 counting cards covering numbers 1 through 10
Title card and instruction card
3 printable pages (PDF, instant download)
Original watercolor illustrations of all 8 planets, the Sun, the Moon, moon phases, comets, and an asteroid field
Every illustration is painted by hand, not pulled from a clip art library. Kids see planets in different combinations across the cards (the inner rocky planets together, the gas giants together, Earth with its Moon, the full solar system in one frame), so they recognize each one in context rather than as a flashcard.
How to Use
Print the PDF on cardstock (65 lb or heavier recommended). Cut the cards apart. Grab a handful of spring-loaded wooden clothespins. Your child counts the items in the illustration, then clips the clothespin to the correct number along the bottom edge of the card.
For toddlers (ages 2-3): Start with the lower numbers and focus on the clipping motion itself. The fine motor workout is the real goal at this age. Name the planets out loud as your child clips.
For preschoolers and kindergartners: Use the full set and encourage them to self-check by counting again after clipping. Pair the cards with a quick chat about which planet is which, why the Moon changes shape, or what a comet is made of.
For early elementary (ages 6-7): Use the cards as a self-check station, then have your child write the planet names on a blank sheet of paper or sort the cards by inner vs. outer planets.
Perfect For
Montessori homeschool families, space and astronomy unit studies, preschool and kindergarten math centers, occupational therapy fine motor practice, quiet time trays, road-trip activity bags, and the planet-obsessed kid who already knows the order of Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars by heart.
How It Works
Purchase and download instantly
Print on cardstock (color recommended)
Cut, grab clothespins, and start counting
Pairs With
Solar System 3-Part Cards for Montessori vocabulary work on each planet
Solar System Counting Puzzles to extend counting past 10, all the way to 99 with skip counting
Moon Unit Early Learning Bundle for a deeper dive into moon phases and Earth-Moon orbits
Details
Ages: 2-7
Numbers: 1-10
Pages: 3 (PDF, instant download)
Printing: Unlimited copies for personal or single-classroom use
Digital Download. No product will be shipped.
Download is in high quality .pdf format ready to print. Color print recommended.
No refunds. If you have trouble with your order, please contact us at info@lizadorabooks.com.
For personal and single-classroom use only. For institutional or multi-classroom licensing, contact schools@lizadorabooks.com.
© Liza Dora Books
Count and Clip Your Way Through the Solar System
These clothespin counting cards turn math practice into a tiny space mission. Each card features original hand-painted watercolor illustrations of the planets, moon phases, comets, and asteroids. Your child counts the items, finds the matching number, and clips a clothespin to their answer.
That simple pinch-and-clip motion builds the exact hand muscles kids need for writing, cutting, and buttoning. While they work on fine motor skills, they are also practicing number recognition, one-to-one correspondence, and getting comfortable with the planets and objects that make up our solar system.
Perfect for space-themed unit studies, astronomy lessons, summer learning, and the kid who already knows every planet's name and wants more. Tuck the cards into your morning basket, a quiet time tray, or a road-trip activity bag and let the counting begin.
What's Inside
10 counting cards covering numbers 1 through 10
Title card and instruction card
3 printable pages (PDF, instant download)
Original watercolor illustrations of all 8 planets, the Sun, the Moon, moon phases, comets, and an asteroid field
Every illustration is painted by hand, not pulled from a clip art library. Kids see planets in different combinations across the cards (the inner rocky planets together, the gas giants together, Earth with its Moon, the full solar system in one frame), so they recognize each one in context rather than as a flashcard.
How to Use
Print the PDF on cardstock (65 lb or heavier recommended). Cut the cards apart. Grab a handful of spring-loaded wooden clothespins. Your child counts the items in the illustration, then clips the clothespin to the correct number along the bottom edge of the card.
For toddlers (ages 2-3): Start with the lower numbers and focus on the clipping motion itself. The fine motor workout is the real goal at this age. Name the planets out loud as your child clips.
For preschoolers and kindergartners: Use the full set and encourage them to self-check by counting again after clipping. Pair the cards with a quick chat about which planet is which, why the Moon changes shape, or what a comet is made of.
For early elementary (ages 6-7): Use the cards as a self-check station, then have your child write the planet names on a blank sheet of paper or sort the cards by inner vs. outer planets.
Perfect For
Montessori homeschool families, space and astronomy unit studies, preschool and kindergarten math centers, occupational therapy fine motor practice, quiet time trays, road-trip activity bags, and the planet-obsessed kid who already knows the order of Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars by heart.
How It Works
Purchase and download instantly
Print on cardstock (color recommended)
Cut, grab clothespins, and start counting
Pairs With
Solar System 3-Part Cards for Montessori vocabulary work on each planet
Solar System Counting Puzzles to extend counting past 10, all the way to 99 with skip counting
Moon Unit Early Learning Bundle for a deeper dive into moon phases and Earth-Moon orbits
Details
Ages: 2-7
Numbers: 1-10
Pages: 3 (PDF, instant download)
Printing: Unlimited copies for personal or single-classroom use
Digital Download. No product will be shipped.
Download is in high quality .pdf format ready to print. Color print recommended.
No refunds. If you have trouble with your order, please contact us at info@lizadorabooks.com.
For personal and single-classroom use only. For institutional or multi-classroom licensing, contact schools@lizadorabooks.com.
© Liza Dora Books