full moon curriculum – Wineberry Wood Press

09Sep 2024 by catbird No Comments

Harvest Moon Sun Catcher

Autumn, Craft Project, Folklore, Foraging, Full Moon, Harvest Moon, Nature Art, Nature Collection, Play

I know, I know, it should really be a moon catcher, but those aren't a thing and not all littles can stay up late enough to see the full moon! The Harvest Moon is what the September full moon is called in Europe and parts of North America. In most of Asia it is the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival and while I don't live in Asia, I find this celebration and it's related folktales super inspiring. I am also always interested in similarity of celebrations across cultures, and you will find some sort of harvest celebration in just about every place with a temperate climate this time of year, many with similar traditions. The Mid Autumn Festival is connected to the folktale of Chang'e and the Moon Rabbit. It's a lovely…

14Mar 2024 by catbird No Comments

Worm Moon Seed Bombs

Craft Project, Full Moon, Garden, Play, Spring, Worm Moon

Jonathan Carver is credited as the source of the Worm Moon name, claiming it was a Dakota name. However, every Dakota resource I have found calls this full moon the Sore Eyes Moon, which refers to the glare of the sun off snow. (“Sore Eyes Moon” is how this moon’s name translates from the Lakota and Assiniboine dialects as well.) Allegedly, in the late 1700s, Jonathan Carver wrote that the worms actually refer to larvae that are emerging from winter hideouts around this time. Where I live in the Mid Atlantic, snow is receding in March, and spring is just starting to peek through. I often think of March as the muddy month. Worms make their first trip to the surface as the ground unfreezes and leave their little piles of…

25Jan 2024 by catbird 1 Comment

Frost Moon Sun Catcher

Craft Project, Frost Moon, Full Moon, Play, Winter

This sun catcher uses the exact same solution as my frost paint, but creates a thick layer in a clear lid instead of a thin layer on a piece of paper. It's extremely simple to make, but will take several days to dry out completely. It is a super saturated salt solution which will grown into crystalline feathers as the water evaporates. Because it's trapped in a plastic lid instead of expose to the air on your paper it will take longer. It’s fairly unpredictable and it’s best to embrace that and enjoy the process. The way the crystal grow is similar to the way frost forms! Materials: 1/2 cup epsom salt 1/2 cup water jar with a lid a clear plastic lid watercolor (optional) Method: Put the epsom salt…

25Jan 2024 by catbird No Comments

Scented Crystal Snowflakes

Craft Project, Full Moon, Play, Snow Moon, STEAM, Winter

Another snowflake project to celebrate the snow moon! Can you really even have enough snowflakes? This would be a great project to do with a snow lesson, Snowflake Bentley, White Snow Bright Snow and the Story of Snow are all favorite books in our house. Snowflakes are a type of crystal that forms around a bit of dust or debris as it falls from the sky and famously each one is unique. Scented Crystal Snowflakes I’ve always loved making borax crystals– I supersaturate the borax solution so that larger crystals form. Most recipes use a lot less borax and that will work, but it will form much smaller crystals.I like to add essential oil to the solution so that it smells nice, but it's completely optional. Ingredients: White or blue…

25Jan 2024 by catbird 2 Comments

Snow Cream

Full Moon, Play, Recipes, Snow Moon, Winter

I didn’t realize until adulthood that snow cream is a peculiarity of the Mid-Atlantic states-- we aren’t quite in sugar on snow territory-- but we still get a fair amount of snow. The recipe is a loose guideline at best-- get some snow, add something creamy and sweet to it and eat it quickly before it melts. When I was a kid it was always chocolate syrup, as an adult I like the creaminess of the condensed milk and vanilla. I almost never make this quantity, instead we fill individual bowls up with snow and add the condensed milk to taste with extremely imprecise measurements. However if you want to use up a whole can of condensed milk, this is how you do it. Ingredients: 8 ish cups of clean…

25Jan 2024 by catbird No Comments

Paper Snowflakes for the Snow Moon

Craft Project, Full Moon, Play, Snow Moon, Winter

February is the snowiest month where I live, and according to the National Weather Service it’s the snowiest month nationwide. According to the Farmer's Almanac’s list, this month’s full moon is called the Snow Moon based on the report of Captain Jonathan Carver, a colonial expedition leader who claimed the Lakota people called it that. The translation of the Lakota name that I have found is substantially more poetic: When Trees Crack Because of Cold Moon. Similarly, the Abenaki people observe the Makes Branches Fall in Pieces Moon. The Arapaho call this the Frost Sparkling in the Sun Moon, and the Comanche call it the Sleet Moon. One of the simplest ways to celebrate this snowy full moon (aside from just going outside and playing in the snow!) is to…

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