Making Moon Sticks
In January 2018 we are blessed with two full moons. On January 1st we have the Full Wolf Moon and on January 31 we have the Full Snow Moon. Moons get there names from Native Americans, farmers and hunters: people who are closely connected to the cyclic, seasonal changes in nature relative to specific changes in climate, weather, and plant and animal life. Each moon has a name derived from a description of an important event that is going on in the natural world that is significant to human beings. There are 13 full moons in the solar year and the second full moon in a month is called a blue moon. There are also 13 scales on the top shell, or carapace, of a turtle’s back ( not counting the small ring of scales or scutes around the outer edge of the turtle’s shell).
This odd congruence may account for the central place of the turtle in many Native American creation myths. But that’s not all. During the Full Snow Moon on January 31, there will be a total lunar eclipse! Moonset in New England will prevent us from seeing the total eclipse so check your area for the best time and place to watch. In New Haven CT the part of the eclipse we will be able to see will occur between 6:48 and 6:58 AM.
One way to get kids involved in the full moon and the lunar calendar is to make moon sticks. Just find a relatively straight stick between 1 and 2 feet long. You or the child can peel/strip some of the bark off the stick ( young children can use potato peelers). Then you or the child, again depending on the child’s ability to use a knife, can make a notch, or moon crescent, for each full moon.
The stick can also be decorated with yarn, feathers, tape etc. I do this with 4-8 year olds and while every child is different, kids and classes have gotten a lot of the project. They look forward to each new full moon, eager to hear the story about that moon, and confirming through their own experience the accuracy of the story with what they notice outside. Tracking time in this way is less arbitrary to kids than the more abstract solar year of the Gregorian calendar. And don’t worry we can still make room for our slightly off key months of the year songs, and reciting the time honored ditty, 30 days hath September/ April, June and November/ all the rest have 31/ excepting February/ which has 28/ except on leap year/ when it has 29.
Two super books on the names and stories for each full moon are Moonstick: The Seasons of the Sioux by Eve Bunting, and Thirteen Moons on Turtle’s Back By Joseph Bruhac. The Farmers Almanac has a good treatment of the different names people have given each of the 13 moons. Eve Bunting is an amazing modern day Irish shanachie storyteller who writes children picture books and young adult novels about important social issues with incisive clarity and a generous heart. Joseph Bruhac is an amazing storyteller in his own right, and a treasure trove of Native American lore, knowledge and curriculum ideas. His series of books, (coauthored with Michael Caduto), The Keepers of the Earth, The Keepers of the Animals, and the Keepers of Life, provide a close to comprehensive nature study, environmental, and moral curriculum. I hope you enjoy making some moon sticks with your children.
