Suppose that you need to explain the concepts of a year, a month, and a day to a small child such as Elsie. Could you do this? First, you should know a couple of things about Elsie:
- She is extremely smart for just turning four years old (I know that you're thinking, "Hmm..... she must get her intellect from her mother." Well, you're right.) Elsie will follow your line of thought quite well.
- If you use the terms rotation, revolution, orbit, or any other term used specifically for astronomy, she might not know exactly what it means (Many adults wouldn't know what the terms mean either.) Be sure to explain these things as you go.
- It would help if you related these concepts to things a 4-year-old would know about -- like Disney movies (especially Rapunzel from Tangled and, of course, Cinderella), Elmo from Sesame Street, Legos, Clifford the big red dog, Super Why, Angelina Ballerina, etc.
A year is 365 Earth days. The earth rotates around the sun ONE whole time in order to complete a year. This is like Rapunzel wrapping her hair (the Earth) around her tower (the sun) one time to equal a year. In a month, the moon goes through a full cycle. By cycle, I mean the moon has gone through all of its stages. That means it grows from the smallest sliver to the largest full moon. A day goes by when the Earth goes through a rotation. Rotation means that the Earth turns around one time.
ReplyDeleteYear: An Earth year means that the earth has traveled around the sun one time.
ReplyDeleteMonth: A month on earth means that the moon has traveled around the earth one time.
Day: an earth day means that the earth has spun around one time.
>> I would describe a year, as being the time it takes Earth to go all the way around the Sun.
ReplyDelete>> I would describe a month, as how long it takes the moon to go all the way around the Earth.
>> I would describe a day as how long it takes Earth to rotate on its axis, an axis is kinda like the center of the Earth, and Earth revolves around it. It's basically like an imaginary pole that goes all the way through Earth.
>> The Sun is in the center of our galaxy. And all 8 planets revolve around the Sun.
>> So, the Earth rotates around the Sun, it takes Earth 356 days and 6 hours, for one trip all the way around the Sun. That's why there is February 29th, every four years, four goes into 24 six times. Earth also rotates on its axis, while it rotates around the Sun.
>> The moon rotates around Earth, and it is also spinning on its axis, but since Earth, and the moon spin on their axis at the exact same speed, we only see one side of the Earth, and the other side is always facing away from us.
Well, one year here on Earth means that the Earth has made one trip in a circle all the way around the Sun. When we have a month, it means that the Moon has made a whole circle around Earth. So as the Earth moves around the Sun, the Moon is moving in a circle around the Earth. At the same time, while Earth is moving around the Sun, it is spinning around really fast. When Earth makes one full spin in a circle, that's a day.
ReplyDelete(all in an Elmo voice)Hi Elsieeeee! Today Elmo teach Elsie tell what a year, month and day are. Lets start with a year. You are four years old. That means that the Earth has gone all the way around the sun four times!!! Hahahahahahaha. Now we go to a month. A month is when the moon goes ALL the way around the Earth 1 time. Yeahhhhh. Now we go to the day. A day is how long it takes the earth to spin in a full circle! Watch Mr. Noodle spin now (interlude where Mr. Noodle spins around and around and gets dizzy and falls). Now you know what they are!!!
ReplyDeleteSay it's your birthday Elsie. From the time of your last birthday to this birthday is one year. One year is how long it take to move in a circle around the Sun.
ReplyDeleteTake your year and divide it into 12 sections. Those are the months.
One day is the time you see the moon directly above your house to the next night and the moon is in the same place.
Think of it like this.
Year= Season of a TV show
Month= Each episode
Day= the commercials
A day is the time it takes for the earth to spin around in place. Its like taking an apple and spinning it in place till its done a whole turn. A year is how long it takes for the earth to go around the sun once. With one year, we have a winter, spring, summer and fall. A month is just a year split into 12. Like eggs, the whole box of 12 eggs are one year, while each egg is 1 month. In each month there are about 30 days on average, or most months have 30 to 31 days.
ReplyDeleteWell Elsie, A year is like a when a tether ball goes around the pole. The pole is the sun while the ball is like the earth. The amount of time it takes for the ball to go around the pole is a year. Almost the same thing goes for a month, but the moon is the ball while the earth is the pole! A month is where the moon goes around the earth fully! A day is like a ballerina spinning in a full circle. Each time the earth spins in a full circle it is a day!
ReplyDeleteDear Elise,
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, you're adorable. You're lucky to have Mr. Hoegh as your dad.
Second of all, if you want to know what a year is, try thinking about it this way. You've seen a clock, right? Well, when the hands on the clock go all the way around and get back to 12, we get a new hour. It's kind of the same for a year. We go around the Sun just like the hands on a clock, except it takes us much longer. When we get all the way around the Sun and back to our imaginary 12, we start a new year.
The same kind of goes for a day. Earth is spinning in a constant circle, and that's why the Sun rises and sets daily. We spin around like a clock, and when we get back to 12 on our imaginary clock, a new day starts. It's confusing, though, because South Dakota's twelve is different from New York City's twelve.
As for months, I don't really know how they relate to our spinning. I think a bunch of dead guys thought up of them to separate the days out to make things easier.
Peace be with you, Elise.
-Hannah F.
In a year the earth moves around the sun in a big circle. When it gets back to the place it started it has been a year. So kind of like running around something in a circle once. The earth doesn't stop moving once it gets back to the place it started though, it keeps going.
ReplyDeleteA month is when the moon moves around the earth one time. So just like the earth moving around the sun in a circle, except it's the moon moving around the earth.
While the earth is moving around the sun in a year it's also spinning. Each time it spins once it's a day. So if you stand up and turn in circles that would be like a bunch of days!
(:
Elsie do you know what a day,month and a year is. Well if you don't I am going to explain these three things to you. The earth is like a big basketball and it spins around like someone spinning it on their finger. Once the earth spins around one time that is one day or twenty-four hours. The moon is very important to tell when a month has gone by. The earth is still spinning but the moon is going around the earth in a circle. Once the moon goes around the earth about 28 days,that is one month. The earth goes around in a circle around the sun. When the earth starts a new year it has to wait for the earth to spin a round 365 times and that is a year. While the earth is spinning like a basketball it moves around in another circle. Like if you move your finger while the ball is spinning. Once the earth comes back to the beginning that is a year and then you start over.
ReplyDeleteFirst I'm going to tell you about what a day is. One full day is when the sun comes up, goes down, and comes back up again. It's like Cinderella! One day is from when she worked, went to the ball, and came home and went to bed. When she woke up, that is one whole day. With the Earth one day is when it makes a complete spin in a circle. The moon is the same way. Now I am going to tell you about a month. A month is when the moon goes in a complete circle around the Earth. A complete circle is like Angelina Ballerina doing a piourette! That's a complete circle. Finally, a year. A year is when the Earth does the same thing that the moon does around the Sun. The Earth rotates around the Sun and the Moon rotates around the Earth.
ReplyDeleteUse a watermelon as the sun (set it in the middle of your table). Use a grape as the earth (set on table) use blue berry as moon (set close to earth.
ReplyDeleteNow move the grape one full time around the watermelon this is = to a year. (revolution)
Now move the grape only a little ways around the watermelon. (symbolizes a month)
Move the blueberry once around the grape makes a day
First off, a day is from one hour to the same hour again, like from one oclock in the afternoon until it's one oclock in the afternoon again. And, you know how when you wake up the sun rises and it sets when you go to bed? Well, its not actually the sun thats moving, its the whole planet. The whole planet earth is actually spinning like a ballerina. And when it spins one complete turn, that is what make a full day, which is 24 hours. The sun pretty much stays in the same spot all the time. The earth is spinning like a top, it is also going around the sun, like Rapunzel spinning around her tower by her hair. It just keeps going around and around. When the earth makes one complete circle around the sun, that is what is year is. Like one Christmas day to another Christmas day later, a year has past since the last Christmas. Did you notice that at night the moon in the sky moves too? Every night it is in a different spot. That's like how the earth moves around the sun, the moon moves around the earth. When the moon goes around the earth one full time, a month has past.
ReplyDeleteAstronomy vocab-
ReplyDeleteRotation- rotation is an object spinning, for example, if you spin a top, that spinning motion is called rotating.
Orbit-orbit is the path one abject takes to travel around another, so if you are walking around a tree, your orbit is the path you take to walk around the tree.
Revolution- revolution is the amount of time it takes for one object to completely orbit another. So, you're walking around the tree again and it takes you 5 seconds to walk around it, that means your revolution was 5 seconds.
Earth years, months, and days-
Year- an Earth year is the time it takes for the Earth to revolve around the sun. It takes the Earth 365 days to revolve around the sun so that is one Earth year. If you were a planet and that tree you were walking around is the sun, your year would be 5 seconds long because that is how long it took you walk around the tree one whole time
Month- an Earth month is how many days it takes for the moon to revolve around the Earth. It only takes the moon 30-31 days (except for during February) to completely revolve around the sun so that is how long our month is. When you (the planet) are walking around your tree (sun), a bird (your moon) is flying above your head. It takes the bird 1 second to fly all the way around you so your month would be only 1 second long.
Day- an Earth day is how long it takes for the Earth to rotate all the way once. So, while you are walking around the tree (sun) you are also spinning around because you have to rotate. It takes you half a second to spin around completely so that means your day would only be half a second long because that is how long it takes you to rotate completely.
So the earth is on an axis. An axis is an imaginary line that goes throuth the earth at a slant. The earth spins on its axis and one full spin on its axis is a day. There are about 30 earth days in a month. A Month is a moon year or when the moon spins once around the earth. There are 12 months or 356 earth days in a year. A year is when the eath spins once around the sun. And all these spins are happening at the same time.
ReplyDeleteDay: A day is when the Earth finishes its orbit. This means that it spins around one time. So in Cinderella, when the clock strikes midnight that means that the orbit of the Earth and the day is done.
ReplyDeleteMonth: A month is when the moon circles the earth all the way around the Earth, or completes its revolution, which is also a year.
Year: A year is when we complete our revolution, or when we circle all the way around the sun.
We have days because the earth spins. So when the earth if facing the sun it is day and when we are facing away from the sun it is night. it takes 24 hours to spin all the way around like when Cinderella spins around it takes her 2 seconds. A year is how a long it takes to get around the sun completely. a month is how long it takes for the moon to g around the earth. its like when Cinderella is holding Gus Gus spinning is circles while spinning around her kitchen.
ReplyDeleteThe planets go around the sun in an oval. The Earth turns in circles while it goes it around the sun. Kind of like how Angelina Ballerina swirls at dance. Every time the Earth goes in a circle all the way, a day has passed. When the Earth is halfway done circling, it is either towards or away from the sun. When we are facing the sun, it is day, and when we are facing away from the sun, it is night. It takes 24 hours for the Earth to spin all the way. A month is when the moon spins around the Earth completely. A year is when the Earth goes all the way around the sun.
ReplyDeleteElsie! Heeeeeyyy!:) I'm going to explain the concept of a day, month, and year to you!:) OK! So, I've been told you are little miss smarty pants, so I'm sure you've heard that the earth orbits the sun, that means the earth follows a path around and around the sun. Just like when Angelina Ballerina spins her ribbon around, it goes around and around Angelina. Every time it goes all the way around, it is a year. The moon behaves the same way with the earth, it goes around and around earth, and every time it makes it around (a moon year), a month goes by. As the earth goes around the sun, it spins, like Angelina does when she dances. Every time it spins all the way around once, a day has gone by. The time in which the part of earth we are on is facing the sun is day time, and the time spent facing away from the sun, our source of light, is night time.:)
ReplyDelete1. A year is the time it takes for the planet to go all the way around the sun. This means that when the planet gets to the same spot in the circle that it was before, a year has gone by. Years are different for each planet. Like when a ballerina moves around the other dancers.
ReplyDelete2. A day is the amount of time it takes for a planet to spin on its axis. This is like when a dancer spins around. That is a day. A day is different from a year because a year is how long it takes to go around the sun, and a day is how long it takes to spin.
3. A month is how long the moon takes to move around the earth. It is like a year, but it is for the moon. Like the earth moving around the sun, but the moon moving around the earth.