Day 4

Day 4 is introduced by telling the children that the Torah says that Hashem created the sun and moon first as “big lights” and then the sun as a “big light” and the moon as a “little light.” We explain to them that the Midrash, which is not written in the Torah tells us a story to help us understand what happened. Due to the moon’s complaining about being the same size as the sun Hashem said that the moon will be the same size as the sun and at times smaller than the sun but never bigger than the sun. From this Midrash the children learned about the waxing and waning of the moon and the sequence of the moon cycles throughout the Jewish calendar. The children saw this through visuals of the different phases of the moon.They also learn how important it is to not be a big shot and think you are better than others. As a follow-up we read Papa Please Get Me the Moon by Eric Carle. Day 4 is added to the B’raisheet song and sun, moon, and stars are added to the Discovery Table, as well as to the bulletin board.

  • Science:We discuss constellations and how often you can see images in the stars. We use the Apple TV to see a picture of the Big Dipper. The children create their own constellations by placing star stickers all over black paper and then connecting them with white chalk. They then turn their paper around in different directions to help them decide what their constellation looks like.
  • Literacy: The sequence of the waxing and waning of the moon lends itself to using sequence in terms of Literacy. In order to familiarize the children with the concept of sequencing, one of our centers is dedicated to this. The children aregiven cards that need to be put in the proper order. After they sequence their cards, they present their picture sequence to the rest of the group. For example, one set of cards had the following pictures: an apple, an apple with one bite missing, and a fully eaten apple. This is also a wonderful opportunity for the children to use expressive language by explaining to each other what happens first, then next and finally.
  • Moon Hats: In Centers, the children are given cut outs of the different phases of the moon, together with a black strip of card stock. They need to figure out which phase is first next, etc., with the full moon obviously in the middle. They first watched a video clip on an I-Pad so they could see clearly the sequence. After gluing their different sized moons in the correct sequence, it was turned into a hat for them to wear.
  • Day 4 Art: The students were given cut outs of the sun and moon and silver and yellow markers to color them. After gluing them onto the correct part of the black and white card (an extra was made on Day 1), they are given colorful star stickers to put on the night half. The abstract art was star stickers all over the card.

Va’yheeerev, va’yheeboker, yomr’veei!