Xapa to the World

Tag: nighttime

  • Moon – an Autumn Nature Study with Book List

    Moon – an Autumn Nature Study with Book List

    I have written quite a few poems over the years about the moon. I have loved it for a very long time. I like that it has a very set schedule, but it doesn’t follow the rules of daytime/nighttime. It pops up in the middle of the day sometimes. And then there’s the whole following you through the sky while driving.

    It’s not a surprise, then, that the moon features in a ton of picture books!

    You may find a free printable of my list of 35 books on – again for FREE. 🙂

    If you want to skip the download, you can find the list on both or

    One of my poems, The Moon-Cloud, was written back in 2010. Another, The Heavy Moon, was in 2006, while I was in my last year of college. And here is one of my first moon poems, written back in 2003, it was published in one of those National Poets Society books where they graciously offer you to pay to put it in (haha!):

    Nighttime

    Have you ever tried to chase the moon?
    As its soft yellow crescent rocks down to the horizon?

    While the stars dance around it
    and drip light through the seas that darken its surface.

    Have you seen it grow as it dips beneath the skyline and peeks through the trees
    that toss it back and forth,
    and forth and back?

    What wonderful magic the dark sky plays on the watchful eyes of a child,
    sitting and connecting the stars into heroes and villains and damsels.

    While grass collects the dew between his fingers and
    sticks to the toes of a girl
    as she chases the lightning bugs that bring the stars so much closer to us.

    Sarah Martin, 2003

    There are a lot of fun activities you can do when studying the moon. One would be to make a soft dough in a round pan and drop different kinds of pebbles onto the surface, noting the formation of craters. You can learn the phases of the moon with chocolate sandwich cookies by scraping away parts of the cream and their names – gibbous is such a fun word!

    I hope you find lots of ways to learn about the moon and I hope these books help!

    Disclaimer: This site uses some affiliate links. This costs you nothing, but helps supplement our homeschooling costs. Thank you for your support!

  • FIAR Vol. 1 – Storm in the Night

    FIAR Vol. 1 – Storm in the Night

    We can sometimes mysticise (is that a word??) the lives of people who look differently than us, so I appreciate books that show people dealing with the same life experiences as us in their own way. Like this story of a young boy and his grandfather sitting through a storm at night. Most of us know that kind of fear and the comfort of having someone sturdy with us to show us how we don’t need to be fearful, but respectful. This book does all of that.

    Social Studies

    Orion and the Dark was turned into a movie, which was great, but I highly recommend this book. Fear is a common feeling, especially for littles. We also enjoyed Grandpa’s Tractor. This sweet book takes children on a journey through grandpa’s memories from when he was a child with his grandfather.

    Math

    You might think this would fit better in art, and it is definitely appropriate there, but quilt is fantastic for learning geometric shapes. If you have smaller children who are still learning shapes, this book is great to skim through and see the patterns and shapes. If your kids are older, they just may be inspired to create their own geometric masterpiece.

    Science

    We found these books to be great while studying the science day lessons – learning about light and shadow, the science of storms, thunder, and lightning, our senses, and aging.

    Other books

    These were some other books we found that fit in with the theme. Trucks are always a hit with my son and we enjoy nocturnal animals – learning how they rely on other senses when their vision might not be as reliable. I was very happy to find “Monsoon Afternoon” as it is a similar story but set in India! This time, Dadaji shows his grandson all the fun that can be had during the rain.

    Poem: Shadows by Judith Nicholls

    Stand with your back
    to the shining sun;
    watch your shadow
    dance and run.

    Stand and face
    the shining sun;
    look ahead –
    your shadow’s gone!

    Disclaimer: This site uses some affiliate links. This costs you nothing, but helps supplement our homeschooling costs.

    Complete Booklist:

    Find the full list on or .

  • FIAR Vol. 1 – Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

    FIAR Vol. 1 – Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

    The kids could recite parts of this by the end of the week. And the illustrations are evocative – seeing how much detail can be made with just black and white drawings. Robert Frost is a favorite of mine too – his was one of the first poetry collections I bought myself. I especially meditated quite a bit on his poem, “Mending Wall,” particularly when I was struggling with knowing how and when to set personal boundaries.

    Language Arts

    Teaching my kids to enjoy poetry is a passionate goal of mine. I want to do it in a way that sparks imagination and not frustration. Kwame’s book is great for that, as is the book “Kiyoshi’s Walk” (not pictured) for learning about haiku. My kids were not readers at this time, so “Joyful Noise” was a little lost on us. If your kids are readers, reading poetry for two voices is great for practicing rhythm, inflection, and timing while reading aloud.

    Science

    Snow is fascinating and can be just a joy all around for kiddos. These books – learning the mechanics behind it and how animals interact with snow – are great for littles learning how the world around them works. There are some excellent books on animal tracks in snow or mud.

    Other books

    Soon after we started this curriculum, P.J. Lynch came out with another illustrated version of Frost’s poem. We were excited to get them and compare and contrast the two versions! These poems by Bob Raczka are incredible too, as are the illustrations. We enjoyed reading the words as they twisted around the pages, demonstrating the action of the words. For example, one was about a mouse going through a maze and the words were typed out within the framework of a maze with a piece of cheese as the final prize. Another poem is of hitting a home run and the words crash into the wall of the page and bounce off turning the words backwards as it flies to the top corner. People are so creative and I LOVE it!

    Disclaimer: This site uses some affiliate links. This costs you nothing, but helps supplement our homeschooling costs.

    Complete Booklist:

    Find the full list on or .