Summer Fun Day 60 - Moon Map Cookies

The moon has continued to capture our attention this week, and I've been happy to see, even the younger children, really noticing and remarking about all the details they can see on its surface.

Morning Moon over the Mountains

I wanted to put together a project, that would take advantage of the younger children's interest, be challenging enough for the teens (including a couple of extra out-of-state friends in for a visit), and yet still simple enough to put together during the chaos of a Vacation Bible School week.

So naturally, that called for sugar cookies - especially since I had dough left over from a previous project, rolled and ready-to-go in the freezer, just waiting to be sliced up and used.

We've made moon cookies before, but this time I upped the challenge by printing out a couple of labeled moon maps (from here and here)...

...for the children to try to copy on their cookie dough using straws, and toothpicks.

 We watched Apollo 13 while the kids worked...

...and the cookies baked...

...to keep us focused on the goal.

None of the cookies turned out to be exact replicas (or even close likenesses) of the lunar surface, but a couple were close enough, that as I placed them from the pan, back onto their plates, I was able to tell where Tycho and the seas were, and which way was supposed to be "up".

If nothing else, everyone had a good time, and we all, from the youngest to the oldest, gained a better familiarity with the features of the moon, in the process.

It's great to be a homeschooler.