This exercise uses the lunar cycle to introduce your second grader to basic fractions. Grab a white colored pencil, a piece of black construction paper and a quarter. Using the quarter as a template, trace eight circles on the construction paper, to represent the phases of the moon. Leave the first circle black. Explain to your child that the new moon reflects no light from the sun. Divide the remaining seven circles into long quarters. Explain that phases of the moon refer to the portion of the moon being illuminated by the sun and that the quarters of the waxing moon will light up from right to left if you live in the Northern Hemisphere, and left to right if you live in the Southern Hemisphere. The quarters of a waning moon darken correspondingly. Color one quarter of the second circle with your white pencil, or have the child do it, adding one quarter more for each phase in each circle until the moon is full. Color each circle one quarter less for each phase thereafter. Cut your moon phases out and chart them on a lunar calender. Compare your moon phases to what you see in the night sky.
This exercise further explores fractions while teaching your child about the calendar year and seasons.Trace the mouth of a large salad bowl on a piece of poster board. This circle represents the Earth's orbit. Divide the circle into twelve equal pie slices and label the months clockwise from the top. Divide the circle into four equal parts to indicate the seasons. Label them spring, summer, fall and winter. Put an orange in the center of the circle to represent the sun. Spear a small lime with a toothpick to represent the Earth on its axis. With a permanent marker, label the top half of the lime NORTH and the bottom SOUTH. Explain how the Earth leans toward the sun on an axis. This causes the sun to warm different parts of the world seasonally as the Earth goes along its orbit. Place the speared lime on the summer section with the north end leaning toward the sun. Explain that the Northern Hemisphere gets more warmth from the sun in summer. Then place the speared lime in the winter section with the north end facing away from the sun. Explain that the Northern Hemisphere gets less warmth from the sun in the winter.
This exercise teaches your child to plot data and approximate whole numbers, while providing information on the planets in our solar system. On a piece of graph paper, create a graph that ranges from -400°F to 1000°F on the left side, increasing in increments of 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Indicate the water freeze mark just above the zero. On the bottom of the graph, list the nine planets from left to right as follows: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto, the dwarf planet. Give your child the temperatures for each of the planets as follows: Mercury has a maximum temperature of 870°F and a minimum temperature of -300°F. Venus's average temperature is 850°F. Earth's average temperature is 45°F. Mar has a maximum temperature of 98°F and a minimum temperature of -190°F. Jupiter has an average stemperature of -244°F. Saturn has an average temperature of -300°F. Uranus has an average temperature of -300°F. Neptune has an average temperature of -370°F. Pluto has an average temperature of -390°F. Help your child approximate where the numbers fall on the graph. How does the temperature vary as the planet's distance from the sun increases? What is the temperature range of planets with maximum and minimum temperatures?
Make planet markers from popsicle sticks.You will need 10 popsicle sticks and a long street. Label one marker for the sun and the rest of the markers for the planets. Start with the sun and take one small step for every million miles. Plant a marker in the ground for every planet. From the sun to Mercury is 36 steps. From Mercury to Venus is 31 steps. Venus to Earth is 26 steps. Earth to Mars is 49 steps. Mars to Jupiter is 342 steps. Jupiter to Saturn is 403 steps. Saturn to Uranus is 897 steps. Uranus to Neptune is 1,010 steps. Neptune to Pluto is 853 steps. The whole trip should total 3,647 steps. See if your return trip equals that amount. At home, add and subtract planet distances to calculate each planet's distance from the sun. Experiment with place value. Ask your child how many million miles are in 36 steps.