Learning the Phases of the Moon
Moon Phases are a wonderful thing to learn. I don’t ever remember being taught about the different phases of the moon. I remember learning about Neil Armstrong and how cool it must have been to walk on the moon. I wasn’t alive when that incredible moment took place, but I can only imagine after reading through all the stories and seeing all of the pictures how miraculous that moment in time must have been. I hope my children got as much out of reading Neil Armstrong’s biography as I did.
I recommend all of the Who Was Series books by Roberta Edwards they are great books. Now let’s get to the really fun part and that’s learning the Moon Phases.
Learning the Phases of the Moon
Phases of the Moon Hands on Learning
It’s incredible all that we can learn about the moon. I never even realized they have a page in the newspaper that charts the 28 day cycle of the moon phases as well as when the moon rises and sets.
We explored part of God’s day 4 of creation. Learning about the Sun, Moon, and Stars.
As the children read I had them hold up a picture of what they were reading about, so everyone could see it. You can find a Free Set of Moon Phases and Moon Printables by clicking here.
This set of Montessori cards was from ETC Montessori. Unfortunately, they don’t offer them free anymore. I laminated all of our cards and charts so they would last longer and be easier to work with.
Of course, we couldn’t do the moon phases without food being involved.
These Oreo’s are a favorite treat for the boys, so I thought we would make it extra memorable.
Here are a couple of pictures of how I set up for the table for the kids to start learning the moon phases.
We have followed the newspaper each week in tracking the moon rise and have gone outside on several occasions to get a look first hand at the moons phase.
In the end we ate the moon.
Moon Craft Time
I found this craft activity at I heart crafty things and knew it would be perfect for our Moon unit.
This moon craft is super easy. Start by tracing a circle onto your paper, add a little flour to white paint, paint the moon, take a water bottle in a circular motion add more texture. then allow it to dry. When it’s dry draw stars or add star stickers to your picture.
The older boys drew their own stars with a white colored pencil.
Little B added star stickers to his moon picture.
Moon paintings were the perfect way for us to end this moon unit.
If you are interested in a few other moon books that we enjoyed:
I hope you check out our Astronaut Sensory Play for this Unit. It was out of this world. You can also check out some other great learning activities on my Pinterest Science board.
I would love to hear how your family learned about the moon. Feel free to leave me a comment or join me on Facebook so we can chat.
