Books
We borrowed numerous books from the library this week, and added two from our home collection as well. I think we enjoyed each of these equally. Each kid had 2-3 that they requested so frequently throughout the week, so we know these books so incredibly well now. My favorite would have to be Cindy Moo though. Adorable story-line with a fun, flowing rhyme. And did you see our Kitten's First Full Moon post from a couple of years ago? Some great activities!
Moon Craters - Science and Sensory
This idea comes from What Do We Do All Day. First I showed the kids a picture from the Internet of real moon craters. We talked about what they are and what causes them.
Then we created our own "moon" (flour, with a dusting of pepper for color) and picked up a few of our own meteoroids and asteroids (rocks) to throw at it.
The kids really enjoyed this part!
When we ran out of rocks we lifted them off gently, and observed the impact "craters" that they had created.
Then we did it again!
When they had had enough of throwing rocks at the moon, the kids dug their hands into the "moon dust" and explored its texture.
Of course, that happened...
But they had a blast in the mess!
Oreo Snack - Moon Phases
I've seen this all over Pinterest, so I'm not sure whom to credit for the brilliant idea. We only had mini Oreos in the house, but I did my best to form moons out of the minimal cream filling.
We stuck with the basic phases, since this was Honey Pot's first introduction to their names.
She actually ate them in the middle of our conversation. This is her (not so) guilty mug. But somehow the lesson stuck with her, because she can now name all of these phases anyway! Success!
Moon Craft
This idea comes from Fantastic Fun and Learning. We used the 2-pack of Styrofoam circles from the Dollar Tree, and Honey Pot and Little M&M poked crater holes into them with the back of a paintbrush.
Then the kids painted over the circles with a mixture of white paint and flour.
While waiting for them to dry, the kids added star stickers to their night sky paper.
I, um, only had one sheet of black paper left. So Little M&M used blue. He seemed happy to do so!
Then a glob of glue for the full moon!
Fantastic! I love the texture!
Moon Rocks - Fine Motor + Math
A few of our moon books refer to the collection of moon rocks for study. So I thought up a small activity to reinforce this and add some more learning to our mini-unit. First the kids crumpled up small sheets of aluminum foil. (Major fun, actually.) This comes in a box at the Dollar Tree too. Love that store for craft supplies.
Then we used a few simple tools to scoop and grab our moon rocks for our moon rock bag.
And then the kids counted them up. Not sure where the sparkly purple balls came from, but they make nice moon rocks too!
I left this basket out throughout the week and Little M&M returned to it a couple of times. He is having trouble holding the tools the proper way (he uses two hands). But we'll pull them back out with pom poms for practice in-between units!
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