The Full Hunter's Moon will arrive tonight and it's a magical time. It may seems silly to celebrate the full moon but what a lovely way to teach reverence and awe for our universe and the miracle of each day and night. Here are some fun ways to celebrate this October Hunter's Moon with your children:
1. Share Verses and Songs:
Moonlight Verse
When the moon is big and bright,
It makes the bedroom floor look white;
And outside where the tall trees grow,
It makes the ground look white as snow.
The Huntsman Circle Movement Song
The huntsman through the greenwood came,
His heart was bent on finding game;
He wandered here, he wandered there,
He wandered here, he wandered there,
A hunting, A hunting, A hunting through the greenwood fair.
His faithful hound was by his side,
They searched the greenwood far and wide;
The hound was keen,
The hunter fine,
The hound was keen
The hunter fine,
Together, together, A hunting through the long, bright night.
The Moon
The moon has a face like the clock in the hall;
She shines on thieves on the garden wall,
On streets and fields and harbour quays,
And birdies asleep in the forks of the trees.
The squalling cat and the squeaking mouse,
The howling dog by the door of the house,
The bat that lies in bed at noon,
All love to be out by the light of the moon.
But all of the things that belong to the day
Cuddle to sleep to be out of her way;
And flowers and children close their eyes
Till up in the morning the sun shall arise.
She shines on thieves on the garden wall,
On streets and fields and harbour quays,
And birdies asleep in the forks of the trees.
The squalling cat and the squeaking mouse,
The howling dog by the door of the house,
The bat that lies in bed at noon,
All love to be out by the light of the moon.
But all of the things that belong to the day
Cuddle to sleep to be out of her way;
And flowers and children close their eyes
Till up in the morning the sun shall arise.
2. Take a Full Moon Hike
Take a full moon hike. Bundle up, bring flashlights and go on a walk in the moonlight. Be sure to take time to be still and look up at the moonlit sky. The Orionid meteor shower is still lingering from this past weekend and you may even catch a shooting star or two if you look closely!
3. Make Crescent Moon Bread
4. Learn About the Moon Phases
Take time to teach your children about the different moon phases:
New Moon
Waxing Crescent
First Quarter
Waxing Gibbons
Full Moon
Waning Gibbons
Last Quarter
Waning Crescent
Think of fun ways to introduce this like:
5. Make a Moon Phase Mobile
We were lucky enough to have some old scrapbooking tools to help us cut our circles out of black cardstock as well as a fun star cutter but you can simply trace circles out, cut them out and use a white crayon to make the moon shapes.
We got a little creative and cut out the black circles that were left over to use as little "frames" and cut and glue on our center black punch out circles (with stars) to create the moon phase with empty space.
Enjoy.
