M Is for Moon

Mom School, fifth week of October

A new feature of Mom School is our weekly page, pictured to the left.  I post this on our large magnetic board in our kitchen, and review it with 3YO Purple at the beginning of a new theme.

Since this fifth week of the month included Halloween in the middle of it, I wanted to choose a theme that would go beyond that holiday.  I also noticed that there was a full moon on the 29th, so it seemed like a good choice.  

Of course a few days into October I discovered that October 4-11 is World Space Week, so my timing was off in that respect.  It worked out okay, though.  We read The Moon Seems to Change (Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science 2) several times, beginning at the end of September, and we talked about and watched for the different phases of the moon.

Here is Purple admiring the full moon on October 29.

Magnet Page

Materials Used:

• printable "M is for moon"
• 3/4" round magnets
• magnetic board

I used this magnet page to introduce Purple to letter M.  I was thrilled to see that the first thing she did was to trace the letter with her finger, a good pre-writing activity.

Jetpack Rocket

Materials Used:

• Empty two liter bottle
• Silver duct tape
• Yellow cellophane
• Red curling ribbon
• Glow sticks
• Yarn for straps

Have you seen all those "pins" of cute jetpacks made by fabulous moms?  This is not one of those jetpacks.  This is more redneck style.  No offense to rednecks.  Really, it was quite awful, but I knew when I started it that I wanted to make something that resembled a jetpack, yet wouldn't take  longer to make than for how long my girls might play with it.  I'm not even going to bother detailing its construction.  And my girls still played with it for less time than it took me to make it.  The upside is that it provided a visual for our discussion about rockets and how those transport astronauts into space.

Walking on the Moon

Materials Used:

• Couch cushions
• Pillows
• Blankets
• White bed sheets

Purple and 1YO Blue LOVED this!  We spread cushions, pillows and blankets over our living room floor.  On top of that soft, uneven surface, I laid white bed sheets.  Instant moon surface.  For added effect I turned the television to the NASA channel.

After romping around, we took a break to read a couple moon-themed books, including Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me (by Eric Carle) and The Moon Seems to Change (Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science 2) .

 

Metal in Moon Sand

Materials Used:

• Cloud dough (8 c flour, 1 c baby oil)
• Aluminum foil, wadded into ball forms
• Container for cloud dough

The purpose of this activity was to once again give Purple practice in shaping an M, and then to play in cloud dough for the first time.  Reality did not meet expectations in either respect.  

Purple did play in the moon sand for about ten minutes.

Blue joined her for a short time, too.

Purple wasn't interested in tracing "M" or playing too much with the cloud dough.  It may have been better with more baby oil to make it less powdery.  But the other issue was how smelly it was, based on the scented baby oil.  We may try this again, but with different baby oil, and more of it.

Phases of the Moon Cookies

Materials Used:

• Oreos
• Knife

This was an easy and fun treat to enjoy together.  After I fashioned the phases of the moon using the white, creamy center, we paused long enough to review the full moon, crescent, half moon, and new moon.  And then we promptly cleaned up.  Yum!

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