Mostly about the Moon...and a Little Valentine's, Too!

We have been learning about the moon and the solar system and have some cute ideas to share with you!

Phases of the Moon
Make an interactive moon using a foam ball (purchased at Walmart for $3), some masking tape, and acrylic paint.  Tape a line going around the circumference of the ball; paint half of it black and the other half white (let it dry before putting on the 2nd color).  Then, it's ready to be used as a whole group and then individually!!  Hold the ball in front of you and rotate it every so slightly-have your students tell you which phase is shown.  Here's a look at the different phases using the painted ball-

First Quarter:

Waxing Crescent:

New Moon:

  Waning Crescent:

 Third Quarter:

Waning Gibbous:

Full Moon:

Waxing Gibbous: 

Back to First Quarter:

 Here's a link to a song and video my students LOVED!  It really helped them learn the phases in the correct order:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXK63GpwUqs

Still looking for more ways to have your students get an understanding of the phases of the moon in a hands-on way?  Then gather some pie tins and sugar.  Sprinkle the sugar so it covers the entire bottom of the pie tin. 

Have the students gently shake the tin so the sugar resembles one of the phases of the moon. 

The students also used the sugar tins to make crators on their "moon".

 Lastly, before the last of the pie tins and sugar were cleaned up and put away, we did a quick review of our word wall words using our fingers to write words on the moon!! 

To infinity...and...beyond!!

We also have another idea for you! With February coming up and Valentine's day just a few weeks away, I wanted to put a "holiday" twist on this moon bulletin board.


I asked our talented art teacher to make this moon for me- or else I would have been at it for hours!!

I then began the lesson by reading the classic Guess How Much I Love You to my students. I loved how so many of my third graders remembered this story and how their mom or dad read it to them when they were younger! It made this lesson that much more meaningful for them!

After I read the story, I asked the students to close their eyes and visualize a person that they love SOO much. Not a silly little "crush" on Justin Beiber love....but a love between a child and parent, sister and brother, pet and owner :)

This little girl wrote, "Who I am going to talk about is a very special person that I love. That is my Gramma. I love her so much because she takes care of me and my sister. She is important to me because she makes us food and everything we need."


This was was so sweet, too!
"The person that I love to the moon and back is my mom. She is the best mom you could ever have. I love my mom because she teaches me to have good character. She is always there for me and can make me laugh. Sometimes she is mad at me but now I know that she just wants the best for me. I love my mom. She is the best! The one thing I like is that I have her smile!"

Is that does not have Valentine's Day written all over it, then I don't know what does!!!!


Another idea is to put a picture of that special person on the scrapbook paper heart. That would add an awesome touch!!

If you are brave, you can also have your students make the moon! I wanted my moon to look like a moon though :) Thank you Trisha! :)

If you are interested in using this file for Valentine's Day or for science, you can download the posters by clicking on the file name from Google Docs.

Click on the file below to download the pages on Google Docs:
I Love You to the Moon and Back
Or, click here to download the file for free on our TpT store!