harvest moon for kids

Harvest Moon For Kids

Humans are not the only ones who “harvest” and save food to eat later during the winter. Animals, too, collect food to see them through the long winter months.

Chipmunks and squirrels store nuts and seeds. Foxes bury leftover meat and berries in underground troves. Hibernating animals eat lots of food to store up fat to live on while they sleep.
harvest moon for kids

For a fun depiction of the preparations made and celebrations held by a group of animals at harvest time, share the animal fantasy book Possum’s Harvest Moon by Anne Hunter with your child. Beautifully written and illustrated, this book will encourage your child’s love of all creatures great and small.

This book is a great seasonal story about the change from fall to winter with simple and inviting illustrations. Great way to imagine animals having their own special harvest party before the long winter.

Harvest Moon For Kids

To teach your child about Harvest moon you’ll need a copy of Possum’s Harvest Moon by Anne Hunter.

How to use the book as a teaching tool: Possum's Harvest MoonPossum’s Harvest Moon

  • Show the cover of this book to your child and have him or her point out Possum.
  • Read the book aloud, asking your child to pay attention to what Possum wants to do and what the other animals are busy doing.
  • Discuss the idea that work is important, but so is spending time with friends to celebrate each other and all the things we have. Note how the beauty of the harvest moon inspires the animals to attend Possum’s Harvest Soiree after all. And not only do they come, but they invite more friends, too!
  • Have your child select one of the animals talked about in the book (mice, crickets, raccoon, frogs, or fireflies) and draw a series of three detailed drawings to show what this animal was doing before the party to prepare for winter, during the party to celebrate the harvest moon, and after the party, for winter. (For example, the mice gathered seeds, made a party dish of berries, and then went home to sleep for the winter.) Suggest that children use the book illustrations, the text, and their own prior knowledge and imaginations to draw their own pictures.

You might also like: Pumpkin painting ideas for kids

Talk to your child about harvest moon

Talk to your child about the harvest moon, the full moon that happens nearest to the autumnal equinox, when days and nights last an equal amount of time.

Note that this moon was first called the harvest moon because its bright face lit the autumn nights and gave farmers several more hours of light in which to harvest their crops.

More Possum Books

Possum and the PeeperPossum and the PeeperAppleblossom the PossumAppleblossom the PossumPossum and the Summer StormPossum and the Summer Storm

Possums-Harvest-Moon

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