Under the stars and moon when camping

 

Sleeping under a starry night was new to me. I grew up in an inner city neighborhood of Boston (Dorchester to be exact).  As a young adult, I walked often and took the 'T' (the subway) into Boston for work.  When taking the T home in the evenings, I would walk head down (listening to my Sony Walkman) because that's how it was done as to not make eye contact with anyone especially when I was by myself.  Looking up, was something that was saved when we went camping in Maine as there wasn't much to see anyways due to the city lights, smog, building obstruction)

Fast forward a few years when I met my soon-to-be husband.  One of the first evening dates we had, he decided he wanted to show me where he lived.  We drove so long on two different highways, I started to get nervous as there were no more city lights to be seen and no more street lights.  We finally arrived and pulled into his driveway as he announced 'We're here!'   I get out of the car door and immediately look around and up to check out our surroundings.  I could see so many stars! There was no building or house obstructions.   I exclaim "Wow! You can see the stars!"  And he looked at me very puzzled and replied "umm, Yes, we usually can when it's dark outside..."   I explained to him that I cannot see the stars where I live and that was something special that we usually saw when we went camping up in Maine.   Good thing he didn't take me as a ditsy blonde although I'm sure he was thinking that as he still loves to tell and laugh at this story all the time!

And now we live near where my husband grew up so our children get to see the stars whenever that rare occasion strikes that they are still up and awake.  This is usually when we have a late campfire in the backyard or like when I was a child up in Maine when we go camping.

Looking up into our amazing sky in the evening when all the stars are out makes you realize how big and beautiful the world is.  I love looking up and searching out the moon (like my kids) and the Big Dipper.  I don't know many other constellations, but it is something I would love to be able to explore more with my family when camping.

Here are a couple of ways that I am planning on explore 'under the stars' with my kids this summer.

Create constellations with mini-marshmallows and toothpicks!

Simply Summer School: Constellations

Welcome to Simply Summer School-weekly activities and tips to keep your child learning and engaged over the summer vacation gap! Try out this week's tips and activities to get your child motivated to keep learning! Weekly Activity: Learning about constellations Children and adults have always been fascinated with the night sky.

 

How awesome is this idea to make your own paper cup constellations and then shine a flashlight on them to show kids how the constellation will look up in the sky?  Check out step by step directions here:

How to Make Paper Cup Constellations - The Seasoned Mom

This week we're celebrating Earth Day, which takes place on April 22. We're not only learning about our planet Earth, but also about outer space, other planets, and the stars. Because don't all kids love to learn about space? Even at age 1, Casey has been fascinated by the stars and the moon in the...

 

At night, not only are the stars shining brightly, but the moon too.  Check out this great Moon Chart Printable from Buggy and Buddy.

 

 

http://buggyandbuddy.com/astronomy-kids-moon-journal-free-printable/

This post is part of the #AtoZChallenge where I will be writing 26 posts in the month of April with the theme of Family Camping.  This post is for the letter U; Check my Family Camping page for prior posts.