Pluto - A Planet, or Not?

Today we learned about our last planet. Or did we learn about the last planet last week? A few years ago, the International Astronomical something or other changed the definition of a planet. According to them, Pluto is no longer considered a planet. But many scientists believe that it is. We discussed both sides of the case, and the general consensus among the children is that Pluto is a planet. I don't know that it really matters one way or the other what you call it. Our project for the day was making ice cream. What does ice cream have to do with astronomy, you ask. Well, not a whole lot. But it is cold just like Pluto, so there. We mixed powdered sugar, cream, and flavoring in a little bag. Then, we placed the little bag in a bigger bag filled with ice and rock salt. Shake forever, it seemed and voila, ice cream. NOT! A couple of the baggies work, a few didn't. Oh well, it was a fun project anyway. I've always wanted an ice cream maker. But I realized in buying the ingredients, that it is much cheaper to just buy a gallon of ice cream. So in the future, I think that is what I'll stick with. Next week we are going to combine the last two units. We will be learning about stars, and explorations into space. And I have a special treat planned, if I can pull it off.