M is for Moon

It's been a while since I updated our My Father's World work, which I do with J-jo.  Bear joins us for read-alouds and science activities and does narrations on the science topics, but this is J-jo's "Letter of the Week" work.  He knows his letter sounds, but isn't quite ready to start to learn to read yet, as I found out when I sat down all ready with the All About Reading Level 1 books I received to review.

Way back in January, we did M is for Moon.

This is the moon notebooking page I used for Bear's narration.She's doing a great job with narrations but I forgot to take a picture of it.

We used Moon paint (shaving cream and liquid glue plus a drop or so of yellow paint) and painted the moon phases.  J-jo just painted.

The highlight of the week was using oreo style cookies to illustrate the moon phases and making "moon cake."

I got the moon cake recipe from the MFW forums.

Moon Cake Recipe:

Mix and bake in a 9 inch round cake pan.

Moon Sand:
1 1/2 c. flour
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. sugar
1 tsp. salt
4 T. cocoa

 Form 3 craters in the moon sand, one large crater in the center and one medium crater and one small crater anywhere on the moon sand.

Add 1 tsp. baking soda to the medium crater.
Add 5 T melted butter to the large crater.
Add 1 tsp. vanilla to the small crater.

Pour 1 T. vinegar into the medium crater and watch it bubble like a volcano.

 When foam stops, add 1 c. milk and mix together to form moon mud.

Sprinkle with 3/4 c. miniature marshmallows (moon rocks).

 Bake at 350 for 35 minutes or until toothpick in center comes out clean.

I just couldn't do it.  Willfully buy marshmallows that is.  So we used chocolate chips as moon rocks.  Perhaps with marshmallows the moon cake would have looked more like the moon (the lit side), so I'll just say our moon cake is the "unseen" side of the moon.

We discussed the following questions:
What shape is the moon?
What color is it?
Does the moon look smooth or rough?
Is the moon low or high in the sky?
Is the moon close or far away?
Is the moon big or little?
Is the moon bright or dull?
Is the moon light or dark?

We made flour craters.

And cut and pasted and colored the MFW sheets.

Book Basket:
We read an enormous amount of books, nonfiction and fiction.  So enormous that I really don't want to take the time to link to all the titles.  Sorry. This is also our third time (for Bear, second for J-jo) time talking about the moon, so I tried to find new fiction books beyond Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me and Goodnight Moon. Unbelievably, we hadn't read most of Frank Asch's books.

The Moon Book by Gail Gibbons
What the Moon is Like
So That's How the Moon Changes Shape!
When You Look up at the Moon
The Moon by Thomas K. Adamson
Moon by Steve Tomecek
Night Light A book about the moon 

The Moon Might be Milk by Lisa Shulman
La Primera luna llena de Gatita by Kevin Henkes
Catching the Moon by Myla Goldberg
Moonstick The Seasons of the Sioux by Eve Bunting
Moongame by Frank Asch
Mooncake
Happy Birthday, Moon
Danse de Lune