Moon Phases can be tough to visualize in the context of the orbits that cause them. Using a visual aide will ensure your child understand the spatial relationships of both the Earth and the Moon as they relate to the Sun.

This week we started our unit on space and we’ve been having SO.MUCH.FUN learning all about the Sun, the Earth, and the moon! Can I just tell you how impressed I am by how much information my kiddos have learned in just a few short day… It just goes to prove that when kids are engaged, learning takes place To begin our unit, I decided to tackle one of the biggest MISCONCEPTIONS I noticed my class was having…. Many of the kids believed that the Sun travels around, the Earth. Can you blame them? I mean every morning on my drive to school I see the Sun rising in the sky. I can totally understand why they think this. They “see” the Sun moving in the sky every day. So logic tells you, it’s the one traveling… Right, not quite! To help my kiddos explore this idea a little further, I decided to have them create their very own models. (Feel free to download your own copy here.) They started off by coloring pictures of the Sun, Earth, and moon. While doing this, we talked about the obvious size differences between each. The kids were shocked to […]

Learn how to make a large paper mache planet earth with this easy-to-follow tutorial. This is the perfect geography craft.

Use Interactive Notebooks in your math class? These EASY PREP foldables provide key concepts and information to your use in a clean presentation. How can Foldables be used? ➥ Interactive Notebooks ➥ Creating lapbooks ➥ Whole group instruction – let foldables drive your instruction and modeling ➥ Reference sources for students to use in class and home This purchase contains 3 foldables for teaching Earth’s movement in space (rotation and revolution). Possible answer keys and pictures are included. Essential Question: How does Earth rotate and revolve in space? Looking for more resources for Earth and Space? CHECK OUT THESE INTERACTIVE SHEETS! Print and Go Interactive Sheets Earth and Space (Rotation & Revolution)

With 180 lessons in our online catalog, you can explore Earth and space with us all year long. We show you how with this handy NASA-JPL school year calendar.

Get your little ones engaged and creative with these adorable preschool crafts! Discover endless fun and learning for the whole year.

Free resources and playlists to go along with the Gather Round Homeschool Earth Science Unit Study! Organize your lessons in half the time!

This free Earth template is perfect for kids crafts and activities. This PDF is perfect for learning about space or as an Earth Day activity.

Discover the layers of the Earth with this fun, hands-on playdough activity! Download a free printable to use as a guide.

Earth Layers Worksheet Pdf. Unless we are investigating suspicious or potential criminal activity, we do not make, nor do we permit our internet hosting provider to make, any try and determine you from the information collected by way of server

Help your students understand the effects of earthquakes during your changes of the earth unit! These hands-on, engaging earthquake experiments are perfect!

Earth learning activities and free printables for kids.

Fun crater experiment for kids to discover how craters form. Drop different sized marbles into a pan half filled with flour.

Help your students understand the phenomena we know as day and night with this unit plan and activity bundle. Bring earth and space science alive as the unit plan walks you through everything you need to thoroughly cover the (ACSSU048) element of the Australian Science Year 3 curriculum. Fun for students, easy for you to implement and an irresistible way to help young minds explore what causes night and day to occur!

This atmosphere for kids science activity is easy and fun and full of playful learning. Let’s learn about the 5…

Free printable layers of the earth diagram, worksheets, label worksheet, hands-on activities, nomenclature cards, and more! Free science worksheets, games, and printables.

Design and make a straw rocket and use this simple experiment to explore the trajectory of spaceships when they are launched from Earth.

Looking for an easy Earth Day activity? This coffee filter craft is quick and easy! Looks great displayed with writing!

Help your students understand earth changes through this hands-on science experiment. Head to this blog post about an engaging earthquake simulation!

We are finishing up a study of Earth Cycles this week. During this time we took a look at the Earth rotating and revolving. Here are two Mak...

Are your kids learning astronomy this year? These free astronomy worksheets will go perfectly with Apologia Astronomy.

Here's a fun little activity I put together for Classical Conversations Cycle 1, Week 20 Science (but you can use it for any unit covering the Earth's Atmosphere). I've included directions on how/where to cut and paste. I tried to scale it accordingly and used this pin for my jumping off point along with this site which is a great read along while the kids are coloring. If you find errors or have a hard time with the directions....please let me know so that I can update it!

This free Earth template is perfect for kids crafts and activities. This PDF is perfect for learning about space or as an Earth Day activity.

Solar system for kids | This fun game includes planet facts for kids to learn. Use the free printable PDF flashcards to use for memory or headband style game.

Free printable layers of the earth diagram, worksheets, label worksheet, hands-on activities, nomenclature cards, and more! Free science worksheets, games, and printables.

Here’s our unit studies shelf with many of our Astronomy materials. This is our Solar System basket. I paper mache’d the foam planets from a kit in order to make them more durable. The booklet has a great song entitled “The Family of the Sun”. I used a product called sculptamold on this styrofoam […]

This year we’re studying Astronomy with Apologia’s Exploring Creation with Astronomy course, so I knew that I wanted to make a fun mega pack that my kids could use and to share with you! Inside you’ll find mazes, hangman, a matching game and more! To receive this Free Astronomy Mega Pack you MUST sign up …

The kids have been asking a lot of questions about space. I started out by setting out some invitations to learn around the room for them to...

Learn more about one of the most accomplished scientists of the 20th century with this worksheet about Stephen Hawking.

Christian astronomy is fun to teach in your Montessori inspired homeschool! Here are lots of great crafts, activities, and printables for your kids.

The blog adventures of homeschooling active boys, preschool at home, and other educational activities.

Practice a range of different shapes with your child with these Space Shape Tracing Sheets from 3 Dinosaurs!

Do you know how tornadoes form?This science worksheet diagrams what is known about what causes tornadoes to form.

This moon phase board was fairly easy to make. After making a run to the Dollar Tree and rummaging through our science storeroom to collect the needed supplies to make this, it was pretty inexpensive and so worth every penny! Essentially, this Moon Phase board allows students to visualize and better understand the cause of moon phases and comprehend the 2 different views that are often given on a diagram (view from space and view from the Earth). Up to this point, I've done a Lunar Lollipop Investigation, which I thought was great, but this beats it by a long shot! A large majority of my students don't really understand why the lit part of the moon doesn't face the sun on part of the view as seen from Earth on every moon phase diagram (see below). Even though I give many different examples and explanations, I still see a puzzled look on several of the students' faces. I really think this method will clear it up for even those puzzled kiddos. From this angle (see below), students can quickly see that the lit part of the moon is always the side of the ball that is facing the sun. Pretty uneventful, but definitely clarifies this view. But as students take the Moon Board and place their head through the hole, they are immediately taken to the view from Earth (their head being Earth or it could be explained that we LOOK out from Earth and see the moon as it revolves around the Earth). In order to give you a clearer idea of what the students will see, I placed my camera in the hole and continually rotated the board around counterclockwise (direction of the moon's revolution around the Earth). Here, you can see the new moon. Followed by the waxing crescent. The first quarter. Then waxing gibbous. Full moon Waning gibbous Third/Last quarter (oopsy....this ball got a little tilted when I glued it down) And finally, waning crescent. I have chosen to leave each phase unlabeled for my 8th graders. I provide each group with 8 Post-It Notes and have them write each moon phase name on a Post-it. They simply stick the Post-It in the correct location and call me over to check it. I am thinking about making one Moon Board with labels for my SpEd and ELL students until they get more comfortable with the names. To make your own, you will need the following supplies: Black foam board (got mine at Dollar Tree for $1) Box cutter Circular shaped object to cut around (I just turned my office trashcan upside down and started cutting!) 8 ball shaped objects to represent moon (ideas: ping pong balls [use black sharpie], Styrofoam balls (paint with black acrylic paint and sponge brush, wooden balls, etc....) Hot glue gun 1 ball to represent the Sun (larger than moon ball) This is optional; you could always just write "Sun" on one side of the board with a paint pen, but I think the added visual is great! Since I didn't have these made when I taught moon phases earlier in the year, I am going to use them when we begin to review for the state assessment. I can't wait to hear the oohs and aahs and FINALLY see the looks of confusion go away. For more great lessons, labs, and activities that related to moon phases, check out these products in my Teachers Pay Teachers store: Space Science for Interactive Notebooks Moon Phases and Seasons Task Cards Daily Science Starters for Middle School - Earth and Space Predicting the Sequence of Events in the Lunar Cycle Activity That's a Fact, Jack! Fact or Fiction Science Sorting: Motions of Earth and Moon Day/Night, Seasons, Moon Phases, & Tides Review Circuit Predicting Moon Phases Color-by-Number 8th Grade Science STAAR Review- Reporting Category 3 (Earth & Space) Moon Phases Reciprocal Learning Activity

Learn about the inner planets for kids with activity ideas about Mercury, Mars, Venus, and Earth plus solar system for kids printables!