Posted on 11/12/2018
One way to help your children appreciate the seasonal and monthly cycles is to study the moon. It's always up there, yet most of us forget to even notice its eerie beauty and mysterious glow. For young children, simply noticing the moon will help develop the powerful skill of observation (more about that in another post). As they develop, kids can learn more about our solar system and phases of the moon. And if you don't know much about the moon yourself, take heart: your own wonder and enthusiasm over new discoveries will make your moon focus glow with a radiance you simply cannot manufacture.
Lessons in Lunar Lore
These gorgeously illustrated picture books will catapult your imaginations over the moon! Dipped in the magical fairy dust of a story, the moon becomes a welcome companion or a giant pearl. Best read by the light of a full moon, this one celebrates sibling love and free play.
PBS Kids is launching a new children's TV series called Let's Go Luna where three friends (a frog, wombat and butterfly) are guided by Luna the moon as they travel around the world with their parents' traveling circus.
Much lunar lore surrounds the full moon. You can learn, with your children, the names of each full moon in the year, as well as the Native American legends surrounding each. From February's "Snow Moon" to June's "Strawberry Moon," each full moon has its own unique allure.
A tradition your children will be sure to appreciate is having full moon festivities! A night-time nature walk can awaken their powers of observation in an unusual way. Easiest to accommodate when the days are shorter but the weather temperate, we recommend autumn or spring for your family's first full moon outing. You can help even young children anticipate it by reading this book.
Teaching Tools for Moon Phases
Older kids can start to understand the phases of the moon. This hands-on model is inexpensive and easy to assemble. All you need is a poster-sized sheet of foam board, 8 ping pong balls, one yellow ball, a black marker, scissors, and glue. As a stand in, though, this YouTube video will do the trick.
You can also chant the following to get the lunar phase order into their heads:
Waxing Crescent
First Quarter Moon
Waxing Gibbous
(Clap)
Full Moon
Waning Gibbous
Third Quarter Moon
Waning Crescent
(Clap)
Full Moon
They can chant the order as they turn the board around their head (in clockwise rotation) to observe the various phases.
If you think they need a little more hands-on action, you can print this free worksheet for them to color in. Or increase the fun factor by making edible moons! A Phenology Wheel can help children see that while there's only one day on which we can see a completely New, Full, or Quarter Moon, the other phases occur in degrees.
By marking the days on a Phenology Wheel and celebrating each full moon, your child can get a sense of how long a month is — and see it as relating to something besides a collection of boxes on a calendar.
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