A few things you might not know about the moon …
- It rises (and sets) about a half-hour to an hour later every day.
- The full moon rises with the setting sun, and the new moon sets with it. Think about it a bit, and it makes sense that the new moon would be close to the sun, whereas the full moon would be on the opposite side of the sky.
- The new moon is illuminated on the right side (your right) and grows to the left (in the Northern Hemisphere, anyway — the opposite is true in the south).
I’ve learned these things about the moon by observing it, and then checking my observations against data like that supplied by the U.S. Naval Observatory. I’d like to be sure that my boys know such things, too, by talking about what we see and hear as we go about our day. It’s especially important for us to pay such attention to our surroundings because we don’t see much of the natural world from our windows, and it’s a bit of a trek to get to and from the park or garden between the Gnome’s daily naps (though of course we do often manage it).
I wish I knew more — especially about the names of birds and their songs! What does your knowledge of the natural world include? How do you explore it with your children?
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Something I love are local names for winds. They are some of the most intoxicating words ever. (wikipedia’s list: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_local_winds) I have a friend who’s getting into birdwatching, and I admire her for this, but there are SO many birds. I just don’t know how you do it without one of those near-photographic memories.
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Oh! I love this list! Thank you for sharing it!
No children here yet, but this made me think about how nature was presented to me when I was a kid. I think I loved being around it but didn’t much care about the specifics, i.e. what things were called. My dad was a huge naturalist and bird watcher, and I think he was sad that I didn’t have more interest. Now I wish I had paid better attention because I want to understand and know the names of things – there’s something very comforting about it, I think.
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I love this.
I recently caught the last 45 minutes of “A Big Year” on one of those nights where Eric wasn’t sleeping, and it made me want to take up bird watching. I’d love to be able to identify birds, both by their markings and by their sounds. I’d love to keep track of all the birds that the boys and I spot when we’re out and about.
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I’ve resolved for years (a decade??) to buy a guide to New York trees and use it. I agree that it’s comforting to know the names of things.