The Moon

Take a rocket to the moon!  Build a rocket ship out of a refrigerator box.  If a large box is unavailable you can improvise by draping a dark blanket over two dining room chairs set facing away from each other about three feet apart.  Put glow sticks, flashlights, and an old keyboard or video game controller in the rocket for additional fun.  Have your child climb inside their rocket ship and read to them from the following book suggestions.  Follow this link for instructions on building a rocket ship out of a box:  http://www.education.com/activity/article/build-rocket-ship/   

Photo:  www.bunchfamily.ca

Reading Skills:

On the Moon by Anna Milbourne

Long Night Moon by Cynthia Rylant and Mark Siegel

The Moon Book by Gail Gibbons

Berenstain Bears on the Moon by Stan and Jan Berenstain 

Gross Motor Skills:

Take a moon walk!  The moon's gravitational pull is much less than that of the Earth.  A person's weight on the moon is roughly 1/6 of their weight on Earth.  You can calculate your child's exact moon weight by multiplying their Earth weight by 0.165.  Moon shoes will help your child imagine what it feels like to walk on the moon.  To make moon shoes,  simply secure car washing sponges(or 2 layers of large kitchen sponges) to the bottom of your child's feet (socks on) with rubber bands.  Have them strut their stuff around the house in their new shoes.

Photo:  http://piseco.homeschooljournal.net/category/arts-crafts/page/4/

"Astronauts must be in top physical condition to endure the rigors of space
travel. Get your space ace trainee in shape with [the following out-of-this-world workout suggestions to do in your moon shoes from http://www.hummingbirded.com/space.html.]:
* Solar System Stretch--Reach to the sky; then stretch arms out wide.
* Rocket Ship Run-in-Place--Warm up and get ready to take off!
* Galactic Gallop--Gallop all around the galaxy [the living room].
* Lunar Leaps--Jump as far as you can.
* Trainee Toe Touches--Touch your toes ten times."

Science Experiment:  
This project helps kids to understand how craters are formed. Pour flour into a baking dish and flatten so that it is the depth of approximately one inch.  Cover the flour with a thin layer of cocoa powder.  Have your child drop "meteorites" (e.g., small rocks, ball bearings, marbles, etc.) of varying weights and sizes into the flour. Point out some observations about the impact (i.e., the size and depth of the craters) that those objects make in the flour. Explain that the "landscape" created in the flour is similar to that of the moon's surface.  Source:  http://www.ehow.com/info_12140426_science-projects-kids-craters.html

Photo:  Kevin Kelley/Stone/Getty Images

Math skills:
Make two copies of the below worksheet.  Using one copy as a stencil, cut out the phases of the moon from grey construction paper.  Cut out a yellow sun and a green or blue Earth.  Ask your child to glue these cut out shapes in the correct locations on the worksheet.  Talk about the names of the different phases of the moon as you go.  Please note that unfortunately this worksheet does not utilize conventional scientific labels for the lunar phases.  Please take the time to relabel the "third quarter" phases as "gibbous".  Also, specify whether or not the crescent, half, and gibbous phases are waxing (growing) or waning (shrinking).  For your reference, a scientifically-labeled diagram of the lunar phases is included below the worksheet.  

PDF:  http://www.education.com/worksheet/article/learning-moon-phases/

Illustration by Sheri Ansel, www.exploringnature.org

You may also want to utilize lunar phase sequencing cards from http://www.firstschoolyears.com/science/solar/solar.htm.  Work with your child to help them put the cards in the appropriate order.   

Fine Motor Skills:

Have your child color the below picture.  Then attach a picture of your child's face in the circle of the helmet.  

Template link:  http://www.dltk-kids.com/t_template.asp?t=http://www.dltk-kids.com/crafts/space/images/bspacesuit.gif 

Snack:
Present your child with an edible illustration of the phases of the moon.  Using oreo cookies, open the sandwiches and utilize the side of the cookie that the icing sticks to.  Cut away part of the icing so that it makes the shape of the gibbous, half (first and third quarter), crescent, and new moon phases.   

Photo:  http://mrsandreaparson.blogspot.com