House Creek elementary Students learn about moon phases as Sunshine Protection Act is approved by U.S. Senate

Special to Leader-Press

At the start of the week, Americans, with exception of those in a few states, sprang forward with daylight saving time, moving their clocks forward one week. The time change was originally established to allow farmers more hours of light to plant, harvest and work the fields.  
The bipartisan bill that passed in the Senate this week, named the Sunshine Protection Act, would ensure Americans would no longer have to change their clocks twice a year, starting in 2023. The move would essentially eliminate standard time, which is what many states switch to during winter months. It still needs to pass the House and be signed by President Joe Biden before it is approved. If that happens, the change would make for later sunsets, but also later sunrises.
Some farmers are now planting and gardening by phases of the moon, determining the earliest dates to plant vegetables in the spring and the last dates to plant for a fall harvest, based on average frost dates for their geographical locations.
House Creek Elementary students in teacher Samantha Miller’s science class are using Oreo cookies to learn how to predict patterns of the observable appearance of the moon over time.
“This activity gives students an opportunity to create each phase of the moon and place those in order around the image of the Earth and label each phase,” Miller said. 
The hands-on activity helps students better understand the phases they observe because they are physically having to create the appearance of the moon phases.
“We see all of the different phases because the moon is orbiting around the Earth and the Sun is shining on it,” student Levi Music said. 
It was challenging for students to resist eating the cookies but rewarding to see their finished product.
“Many students were getting mixed up between the waxing and waning phases,” Miller said. “A waxing moon is any phase of the moon during the lunar cycle between the new moon and the full moon. A moon that is waxing is one that is getting larger each night. The waning phase is when the lit-up part of the Moon is shrinking and getting smaller.”
Plants that bear their fruits or vegetables above ground are planted on the light of the moon during the waxing of the moon. Plants that bear their fruits or vegetables under the ground are planted on the dark of the moon during the waning of the moon.
“When the moon is out, the sun is on the other side of the Earth and shines on the moon so we can see it,” student Canon Golden said. 
If the Sunshine Protection Act is passed by the House of Representatives and signed into law, it will go into effect in November 2023 giving the agricultural, transportation, and other industries additional months to make the adjustment.