Playdough Moon Phases

A great hands on way to introduce the moon phases to little ones with an activity that can be played and enjoyed throughout the month!

Activity:

Print and laminate the Moon Phases Template courtesy of Babble and Chat.

Use a bottle lid to cut out the circles from rolled out playdough. Overlap the lid on the circle to cutout a crescent shape. The remaining part of the circle can be used for the waxing/waning gibbous phase. 

Arrange the moon phases accordingly on the template. 

Watch the night sky and mark the changes in the moon by attaching an arrow in the centre of the template and moving it to point to the correct phase throughout the month.

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Paper Plate Rotating Moon

Lesson Objective:
- To understand that the moon goes around the earth
- To know that it takes about 29 days to complete the lunar cycle.
- To know that the moon looks different depending on the time of the month.

Activity: The Moon goes around The Earth
Place a globe at the centre of a circle and have the children walk around it as they chant the moon song to the tune of 'The farmer's in his den'.
 "The Moon goes round the Earth, The Moon goes round the Earth, once a month, every month, The Moon goes round the Earth". 

Activity: Paper Plate Rotating Moon
Use a paper plate, earth circle cut out, an arrow and a moon circle sticker to illustrate the moon revolving around the Earth. Pictures of the different phases the moon passes through over the month can be stuck around the plate. For younger children, number the images to stick in order. Older children can label with the phases names.

Related Activities: The Moon

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Moon Viewer

Learning Objective:
- Understand the correlation between the passing of time and the change in moon shape.

Qur'an Verse: And We have made set phases for the moon 36:39

Activity: Moon Phase Viewer
A simple moon phase demonstration to help children see how the shape of the moon changes over the course of a month. 

You will need: A5 Black card approx 15x10cm, white card 21cmx9cm

1. Fold the black card in half towards you

2. Draw out a square measuring 3x3cm at each of the corners of the white card and then cut these out.

3. Slide the white card under the black so that both the side edges line up.

4. Place a bottle lid in the middle of the black card and draw around it. Press down hard so that the circle markings come through on the same place on the white card underneath.

5. Open up the black card and cut out the circle. Cut out the circle on the white card too. 

6. Slide the white card back underneath. Your moon viewer is ready! Slide it across slowly to see the different moon phases and find out their names.

Watch Demonstration

Related Activities: The Moon

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The Moon

Learning Objective:
- to understand the importance of the moon in determining the time of the month.
- to understand the correlation between the passing of time and the change in moon shape.
- to understand what it means to look for the new moon, especially at the start of the month of Ramadhan.

Qur'an Word: Qamar - Moon
Qur'an Verse: And We have made set phases for the moon 36:39

Moon Facts:

- no light of own, reflects sun

- made of rocks

- doesn't have air

- is 4x smaller than Earth

- you can float on the moon!
- has lots of holes on it

The Lunar Calendar follows the Moon. A month is the time the moon takes to pass through a complete cycle of its phases, and is measured from one New Moon upto the next. The word month comes from the word Moon!

Allah tells us in the Quran there are 12 months in the lunar calendar, but since each month is around 29 days, the Islamic calendar is shorter than the Gregorian calendar, and that’s why the month of Ramadhan is earlier every year! This allows us to experience fasting in different seasons, sometimes when the days are long and others in winter when the days are short.

Activity: The Moon goes around The Earth Rhyme

Activity: Moon Phase Viewer
Activity: Moon Sighting Telescope
Activity: Dua upon Sighting the New Moon
Activity: Moon Phases Sequencing
Activity: Moon Phase Cards
Activity: Playdough Moon Phases
Activity: Paper Plate Rotating Moon
Activitiy: Islamic Rotating Calendar

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Moon Phases Sequencing

Activity: Moon  Phase Sequencing
The moon changes shape as the days pass, starting as a thin crescent when the month begins, progressing to half-moon and then full moon. Practice sequencing and familiarize with the moon phases. Depending on the child, the activity can be extended to include both waxing and waning phases.

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Moonsighting Telescope

Learning objective: 
Muslims follow the Lunar calendar. Sighting of the new moon marks the beginning of the new month.

Paint and decorate a kitchen roll. Use it to sight the new moon and to observe the changing moon phases every night. 

Recite the dua upon sighing the New Moon.

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