Kindergarten, Science, Week 20

Monday

• I read pages 22 - 29 in Moon, Sun, and Stars.
• Concept: Stars are in the sky all the time, but we can't see them during the day because the sun is brighter and closer.
• Exploration:
• Shine a small flashlight onto a wall in a dark corner. We used a key chain that has a green LED light.
• This is an example of a star in the sky at night.

• Then shine a bright flashlight at the same place on the wall.
• This is an example of the sun.
• Even though the small light is still shining on the wall, you can't see it.

Tuesday

• I read pages 30 and 31 in Moon, Sun, and Stars.
• Concept: We do not see the sun at night because it is on the other side of the earth.
• Exploration:
• Take a globe and tape a paper doll (you could use a drawing or picture of your child) where you live on the globe.
• Tape another paper doll on the opposite side of the globe, on a country your child is familiar with. We did Egypt.
• Set the globe on a table.
• Hold a flashlight and shine it on the globe.
• Let your child turn the globe and observe that as the earth rotates she has daytime and nighttime.

Wednesday

• I read pages 32 and 33 from Moon, Sun, and Stars.
• Concept: As the earth turns, it looks as if the sun rises and sets, but really the sun does not move.
• Exploration:
• Cut a sun out of yellow paper.
• Use the largest ball you have. We used an exercise ball.
• Using a paper doll or a drawing, show your child that if the ball was the earth and they were standing on it their head would be perpendicular to the ball.
• Then have them put their chin on the ball.
• Tape the "sun" a few feet away on the same level as their head.
• Slowly rotate the earth and your child so they can see the sun appear little by little (the sun rising).
• Here is a video of our exploration. I left it turned so that you would see the sun rising without needing to slant your head, but looking at the furniture, you can see everything is sideways.

Thursday

• I read pages 34 - 37 in Moon, Sun, and Stars.
• Concepts:
• The moon turns around once in 4 weeks.
• The earth turns around once in a day and night.
• The earth turns very fast, but we do not feel it turning because the air is turning with us.
• Gravity (we had learned about that previously) holds us to the earth.

Friday

• I read pages 38 - 45 in Moon, Sun, and Stars.
• Concept: It takes a year for the earth to move around the sun.
• Exploration:
• Go outside and set a ball down to represent the sun.
• Let your child be the earth. They will rotate and orbit the sun.
• You be the moon, slowly rotate and orbit the earth.
• Then switch places.
• Rotating and orbiting is really difficult to do. You may want to draw the path that the earth takes around the sun with sidewalk chalk, and don't get frustrated or exasperated with your child. I wanted K. to experience being both the earth and the moon, but I found it worked best when I was the earth and I held onto her hand as she was the moon.