Wonder Bugs Wednesday!

Is spring here already? The weather this week certainly makes it seem that way so why not get outside and enjoy it? A good place to start is with the moon. It will be full on the 18^th- that’s just 2 days away!

Go for a walk and see if you can see the moon in the daylight sky. Can you also find it at night either on a walk (this would be really neat to do under a full moon), from the porch or through your windows? Encourage your child to wonder about the moon by asking “I wonder why” questions.  Here a couple of examples: I wonder why the moon is full some days and not others. I wonder why the moon is out during the day. I wonder what the moon is made of.  Allow your child time to wonder aloud; the important part is the thought process and not the actual thoughts.

Back inside you can talk about waxing and waning of the moon for the older wonder bug(s) in your family.  Make a visual by cutting two circles out of thick paper; one should be white-ish to present the moon and the other should be black like the night sky. Place the dark circle over the white circle and slowly move it from new moon (all dark sky) to full moon (whole white circle). You can also play with flashlights and a couple of different sized balls (tennis and soccer for example) to show how the earth blocks the sun’s rays for part of every month. Have one person hold the flashlight steady to represent the sun. Have another person hold the two balls in different positions in front of the flashlight beam and watch what happens!  Remember to keep the terminology to a minimum and allow your wonder bugs to explore and have fun!

The younger wonder bugs in particular will probably have fun playing with the phases of the moon cut out of fruits (3-D).  If you take two to three small apples or potatoes you can cut crescent moons, half moons, or any phase in-between. Don’t forget to leave one whole to represent the full moon. Allow your wonder bugs time to play (and eat) the moon shapes.  Older children can put the pieces in order to show the progression of the moon phases. 

Click here for a website with all sorts of fun moon information. 

Search your local library for stories about the moon and enjoy reading about the moon! (We enjoy reading Alice in Wonderland because during some parts of the month you can see the Cheshire cat’s grin in the night sky.)

I hope to see you next week at Whoo, Whoo, It’s you!

Enjoy our honey of a moon,

Miss Tara