Another one of my mom's "Summer Magic" units is a week dedicated to the sky - from clouds to constellations! Here is a list of the things that we do to lift up our eyes and take note of the beautiful wonders and creations that are in heaven.
GET LOST IN THE CLOUDS
Lay on the grass and watch the clouds. Try to find animals and pictures in the clouds.
Read The Cloud Book by Tomie de Paola and learn about different kinds of clouds.
Make a cloud picture with cotton balls and a glue stick. This was a great sensory activity for my 20 month old, and he was able to easily stick the cotton balls onto the glue.
LIGHT UP THE NIGHT
Get a new flashlight! And by the way, if you're looking for endless entertainment for toddlers, let them play with a flashlight. My son and his buddies had SO much fun playing with some.
Check out books about the sky (i.e. stars, constellations, clouds, planets, etc.) from the library. Have your kids each choose one thing to focus on (i.e. the sun, the milky way, a specific planet, comets, etc.) and help them to create a "report" about it. Then have a Show-and-Tell and share your reports with each other.
Some suggestions:
GAZE AT THE STARS
Spend a night outside under a starry sky. See how many stars you can see. Teach your kids to find some well-known constellations like the Big and Little Dippers and the North Star. Look through a telescope if you have access to one.
Visit a planetarium to look through their telescope or observatory and to learn more about space.
Find out ahead of time if there is going to be anything unusual happening in the night sky. For example, this last month during our "Lift up Thine Eyes" unit there was a Blue Moon and an amazing Meteor Shower!!
Make your own starry skies and constellations by putting star and planet stickers onto black paper.
EAT SPECIAL TREATS
Moon Pies
Sunshine Cake
"Balls of Light"
Orange sorbet served in a hollowed out orange peel.
Starbursts
SLEEP UNDER THE MOON
For this unit we always sleep outside (either in a tent or just in sleeping bags on the lawn). It's a great way to get some star gazing in. My little guy had so much fun with his two best buddies! These guys were still a little young for a sleepover outside though, so my husband set up a tent indoors and we let them play in it for a while.
We also made a faux starry sky by placing a head lamp underneath a colander and then turned the lights off in the room. It created a speckled glow all over the ceiling and walls.
And we served up some "Indoor S'mores" (recipe here) just for fun!
SING SONGS
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
Catch a Falling Star, by Paul Vance
Swinging on a Star, Jimmy Van Heusen
I am a Like a Star, LDS Children Songbook
FAMILY HOME EVENING
Part of lifting up our eyes is not only looking up at the physical heavens, but looking up in a spiritual sense towards God. Take time to acknowledge Heavenly Father and his beautiful creations. Think of your blessings. Some suggestions for family discussions are listed here:
The North Star by Wendy Ellison
New Era June 2006
New Era 1996 Tribute Song to President Hinckley
Losing a Testimony by Rob F.
A beautiful article about turning to the night sky in order to regain and strengthen faith in God.
"Lift up thine eyes unto heaven."
Deuteronomy 4:19
"The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory." Isaiah 60:19
"All things denote there is a God; yea, even the earth, and all things that are upon the face of it, yea, and its motion, yea, and also all the planets which move in their regular form do witness that there is a Supreme Creator."
Alma 30:44
"The earth rolls upon her wings, and the sun giveth his light by day, and the moon giveth her light by night, and the stars also give their light, as they roll upon their wings in their glory, in the midst of the power of God…Behold, all these are kingdoms, and any man who hath seen any or the least of these hath seen God moving in his majesty and power."
D&C 88:45, 47
As a personal note, through out his life my dad had a huge love of stars. He was always teaching us about the constellations and I can still feel the weight of his hand on my shoulder as he stood next to me many a starry night and pointed out things in the heavens to me. He passed away when I was eighteen, but I have always taken great comfort from this quote by one of my favorite poets. I believe that my dad has come to me many times in the beautiful stars of the night sky.
"At night, when heavenly peace is flying, above the world that sorrow mars, think not on my grave with sighing, for it is then I greet you from the stars."
Rainer Maria Rilke
Thanks for reading!!
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