Moon Unit – My Father’s World Kindergarten
This was our third week using My Father’s World Kindergarten and we enjoyed learning about the moon together. I think I actually ended up learning just as much as my son did.
After feeling a tiny bit overwhelmed by the amount of activities and work included in the sun unit, I took a little step back to really think through what we wanted to accomplish each week moving forward. I pretty quickly realized we wouldn’t be doing all of the worksheets and activities and that was okay. I’ll share below what we actually got to and what we skipped.
What Went Well
This week the calendar and 100 chart routine started to settle in a little and it became second nature to start our days going over those two things. My son really enjoys putting a straw in the cup each day. Because we only do school for 4 days each week, it will take us a little longer into the year to get to 100, but that’s alright.
I think I also became a little more comfortable with the general rhythm of our homeschool time and activities. I now know what kind of activities we do and in what order and how to fit the Friday activities into the other days a little better.
I added the popular oreo moon phases activity and that was an absolute hit – I mean, obviously. Haha. It was fun to make and talk about (and eat) together.
What We Disliked or Skipped
There was still a lot this week that we didn’t get to – not because we didn’t want to do it, but because our time is limited and we had to pick and choose.
Within the reading worksheets and activities, we skipped some of the duplicate activities, like singing the A-a-apple song twice. We also skipped the picture box activity and reviewing letter names. My son knows his letters and letter sounds well, so I’m trying to focus on the activities that will help with penmanship and with recognizing sounds within a word.
One thing I wish we had gotten to was journaling the moon through its phases. This week ended up being a little hectic, with my husband away from home several evenings for work, and it just didn’t feel feasible to have my son stay up late to look at the moon. But I’m sure this is an activity we’ll do together at some point in the next few years.
Our Favorite Moon Books
Looking back at the list I saved on my library account for moon week, I’m realizing now that I never actually checked out any of them. Lol. There were enough books from the sun unit that applied to moon week that we read those and never even noticed we hadn’t checked out new books for the moon unit. But here are a couple books that we read during this week and enjoyed.
“Moonlight” by Helen Griffith – I might have enjoyed this book more than my children, but I found the illustrations to be really lovely. It’s a simple book that was great for both my kindergartner and my two-year-old.
“The Night World” by Mordicai Gerstein – I wrote about this book on my sun unit post, too, but it’s worth mentioning again. Like “Moonlight”, the illustrations are stunning and it really captures a child’s imagination in a lovely way. Highly recommend this one!
One Last Note
Overall, this week was slightly better than last and I felt a little more like I was settling into a routine with the curriculum. I think that will continue to be the case more and more as we go. I’ve really been loving this time with my son and it’s been so fun to get a front seat to seeing him make some fun connections and discoveries.
