Get ready for an out-of-this-world learning adventure! Studying the moon is a great way to spark curiosity and imagination in elementary students. From sharing lunar phases with cookies to exploring famous moon landmarks like the Sea of Tranquility with binoculars, kids will stamp their lunar passports and become moon experts!
Around this house we are space obsessed! The Engineer and I both remember watching all the early NASA rocket launches and the moon landing. The Engineer’s dad even designed a cryogenic valve for the Saturn rocket! Now we watch every. single. launch by Space X. We celebrate Lunar Landing Day (July 20,1969). We are invested!
With moon phase cookies, a lunar passport and a moon phase flip book, you and your kids can be invested too! Grab your free download below!
Start the Moon Learning Fun!
Nothing inspires wonder quite like the moon. It’s been inspiring people since the very beginning of … well, people! So start by simply “wondering”. I wonder how far it is from here to the moon. I wonder how long it takes to get there. I wonder why the moon seems to change shapes through the month. I wonder if the moon really is made of green cheese!
What other things do you and your kids wonder about the moon? These fun activities will answer at least some of your questions!
Gather Your Supplies
- Chocolate sandwich cookies (like Oreos)
- Popsicle sticks
- Binoculars or telescope (optional but fun!)
- White card stock
- Scissors and glue
- Markers, crayons or colored pencils
- Printable Lunar Passport (or make your own!)
- Printable Lunar Phases Flipbook
- Brass brads or binder clips
- Books and videos about the moon (optional)
Oreo Moon Phases
Ready for some “tasty” learning? Use cookies to demonstrate how the moon changes shape throughout the month!
Instructions:
- Carefully twist apart 8 cookies, keeping the icing side whole if possible.
- Use a popsicle stick to shape the icing into the phases in the image above and place on the free downloadable printout.
- Arrange the cookie phases in a circle on the printable to show the moonās cycle.
- Talk about what each phase looks like in the night sky and when you might see it.
- Find out what phase the moon is in tonight.
- What phase comes next?
Tip: Label each phase and snap a photo of your cookie creation before everyone gobbles them up!
Phases of the Moon Flip Book
This hands-on craft helps reinforce how the moon appears to change over time, plus flip books are just plain FUN! You can grab your free downloadable moon phase flip book below!
Instructions:
- Print on white card stock and cut out each frame
- Use a hole-punch to punch each circle on the left edge
- Stack the pages in order making sure the right edge of the pages are even
- Use brads to fasten the stack of images together
- Flip through it quickly to watch the phases change!
Lunar Passport – Moon Map Exploration
Take your learning to the starsāliterally! Create a Lunar Passport and “visit” famous spots on the moon. Some questions you can ask your kiddos before your trip:
- What do you already know about the moon?
- What would you love to learn?
- How far do you think the moon is from Earth?
- Do we ever see the back side of the moon?
- How many times have people been to the moon?
- Who was the first person to step foot on the moon?
Instructions:
- Print the passport on white card stock. Set your printer for 2-sided mode so the front and back of the pages match.
- Cut out along the dotted lines and fold on the solid lines.
- Assemble book style in page order and and staple along the spine.
- Color the landmark stamps and cut them out.
- Have a moon viewing (with binoculars) on a dark full-moon night.
- Find the landmarks marked on the passport lunar map.
- Each time your child āvisitsā a spot, “stamp” their passport with one of the astronaut stamps!
More Moon Fun
Round out your lunar unit with these engaging activities:
- Read books about the moon, both fiction and nonfiction.
- Watch kid-friendly videos about the moon and space missions.
- Use NASAās virtual moon tools or explore a 3D moon model online.
Our Favorite Moon Books and Videos
- Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me
- The Moon Book
- 50 Things to See on the Moon: A first time stargazer’s guide
- The Apollo Missions for Kids
- The Museum on the Moon: The Curious Objects on the Lunar Surface
For some great videos, try these. We love them!
- The Moon for Kids
- National Geographic Kids: Facts About the Moon
- NASA Space Place: All About the Moon – This video has a really cool interactive feature where you and your kiddo can zoom in or rotate the moon view every which way. You can even view the far side of the moon!
Grab The Download!
Throw your email in the box below to grab your own free moon fun printable!
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That is AWESOME. Thanks for the great idea… Gonna do this with my son next time I have oreos around.
super! let me know how it goes!!!
I love this project! Can’t wait to let my girls at it.
thanks!! please let me know how it goes!!
I am totally doing this tomorrow. Cookies motivate me to learn, too!
ha! you and me both, Heather!!
Love these moon shots. I have been trying for years to get shots like these. I must not have the right kind of lens becsuae mine all end up getting the delete key. Thanks for stopping by my “lotta bull” post. I also have another blog that you can reach from the sidebar of my photo blog. I had a lot of interest recently in a post I did about a rather smart horse.
Again you have outdone yourself. We are moving tomorrow, but while we are getting our stuff unpacked I’m going to do this lesson with my kids. It’ll be a great midway unpacking education boost. AllI have to do is pack the printables now. Again I have to say I know it takes a lot of your time for you to post to your blog and have it all organized, but all of us that follow you are so appreciative and so are our kids.
Kelly. You made my year. Seriously, I’m just about losing steam blogging every day with the Smart Summer Challenge, my friend, so thank you for taking the time to write and share these kind words. And GOOD LUCK with your move!! YOU are an incredible mama if you’re thinking about this kind of stuff during moving week–I’d be nuts! š
Use Oreo cookies DoubleStuff work best for this exercise to model the phases of the moon. Use some frosting to glue the cookies to a plate in the appropriate order…Or you could use it as a quick fun assessment – give each student one cookie and have them pick one of the moon phases out of a hat.
What a fun idea! I’ll use this in my “seasons” unit. Thanks!!
hooooray! please take picts and let us know how it goes!!