Have children draw a mural depicting the scenes from the nursery rhyme, "Hey Diddle Diddle." Use a large sheet of butcher paper for this activity, as well as crayons, markers, paint and stencils. After reciting the poem with children, have them choose the scenes they'd like to include in their mural. Allow the children to use stencils to create the animals if they would like to. As the children draw, it may be necessary for you to recite the rhyme a few more times to remind the students of the scenes they're drawing.
Have children create stick puppets for the nursery rhyme and act out scenes. Find a cow template online that can be colored, cut and glued onto a wooden craft stick. Allow children to color the cows to their liking and practice their fine motor skills by cutting out and gluing them to the stick. Discuss with children what a crescent shape is and help them draw one on a piece of a paper. Color and cut out the crescent, or moon, and glue it onto the stick. You'll now have props to use the next time you recite "Hey Diddle Diddle."
You will need a few materials for this activity, but the children will enjoy making their own cow jumping over the moon. Have children color the paper plate to look like the moon. They may choose to color the whole plate gray, as a full moon would appear, or color just a section of the plate in a yellow crescent. Either choice is fine. Have children color and cut out a cow from a template. Attach the cow to a slim rectangle of cardboard or posterboard, so it resembles a stick puppet. Use a brass tab or brad to attach the cardboard to the middle of the paper plate moon. The cow will now "orbit" the moon.
Look closely at pictures of the full moon with children. Point out colors in the moon as well as the shadows, craters and bright spots. Cut out a large circle from butcher paper for the full moon. Mix a few colors of paint according to the colors the children saw. You may use gray, blue, purple or a mixture. Give children sponges to paint with to create a lifelike painting of the full moon. Add craters and shadows you may have seen in the pictures. When the painting is finished, place it on the floor and have children pretend to be cows and jump over the moon.