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After making our own moon models and learning how the moon got its craters, I planned some Montessori phases of the moon activities for my kids to do. They just loved learning about the different shapes of the moon, and it has inspired us to do some moon watching in the evenings.
Note: For more moon-related activities, see my Space Unit Study page.
Creating phases of the moon with a flashlight
My kids absolutely love playing with flashlights, so I deliberately included a flashlight in our first moon phases activity. We used the flashlight along with the moon models we had previously created to show how the sun only lights up one side of the moon at a time.
We then added our globe to the mix to show how the moon’s orbit around the Earth affects how the sun shines on it.
Montessori phases of the moon 3-part cards
Next, I printed some phases of the moon cards. We looked at the various shapes, labeled them, and then put them in order.
You can find phases of the moon 3-part cards and other phases of the moon printables in this post.
Making phases of the moon using Oreo cookies
This last activity was by far my kids’ favorite! I bought a package of Oreo cookies for my kids to make a phases of the moon chart.
I helped open the cookies by taking off the tops. I then handed my kids a butter knife to scrape the filling off in order to form the different phases of the moon. My kids used the phases of the moon cards as models for making their moons.
My kids created a total of eight phases representing the new moon, waxing crescent, first quarter, waxing gibbous, full moon, waning gibbous, last quarter, and waning crescent.
They placed their Oreo moons on a piece of paper to form the moon cycle. They then used pre-printed labels to identify each phase.
The final product was almost good enough to eat. . . except for the glue on the back of the cookies, of course. 🙂
More resources to learn about the moon
More posts about the moon from Gift of Curiosity:
