For Everyone
For Parents
For Teachers
Activities
Phases of the Moon
Make a sky chart.
Materials
- Paper
- Markers
Directions
Together with your child, observe the moon over the course of a month. Every 3 or 4 days, go outside (or look out the window) and gaze at the moon. Notice if it looks different than last time you saw it. Also have your child make a sky chart. It could be all on one page, or a whole page for each day. Fill in your sky chart by drawing what the moon looks like each time, and label it with the phases of the moon. Does it look full? Crescent? Half-moon? Did it get bigger or smaller since last time? At the end of the month, look back over your chart together and see the entire cycle of the moon. Is it back to where it started?
Talk About It
Each time you observe the moon, talk about how the moon looks and make up names for how the moon looks that night. Does it look like a face-shaped moon or a banana-shaped moon? Or maybe a fingernail moon? Also talk about the rest of the sky: is it cloudy? Hazy? Bright? Can you see the stars? What do they look like?
Watch a Related Story
Night in the Country
Related Books
I'll See You When the Moon Is Full by Susi Gregg Fowler & Jim Fowler
Night in the Country by Cynthia Rylant
The Moon Book by Gail Gibbons
Age Range: 4-6
Skills/Subjects:
- Creative Expression
- Language and Literacy Development
- Science
Related Episodes:
