Shadows

Dramatic Play

A spotlight. Pretty easy, so no pics! I just blocked off the window, kept the light on this side of the room off, and had a spotlight shining on the wall so they could make shadows. I added different things each day they could use to make shadows with, like toy animals or blocks towers. I also added flashlights later like we had previously used in large groups, so they could control the light to make and change shadows.

Art

Water color pencils. These are so fun, and sometimes hard to find! I actually searched for a few years until I finally found some. I showed them how to use them on paper at first, then about halfway through the day, showed them how we can color and erase on our skin. After that, everyone was painting faces by the mirror and had a super fun time! They have begged and begged to use them again.


Black sponge shadow painting, with ABC sponges


Shape collages


Painting

Small Manipulatives

Shadow matching folder games


Pattern blocks

Puzzles

Magnets

Large Group

Day 1, we went outside at the beginning of the day and traced our shadows. For large group, we went back out (2 hours later) to see how they had changed, and we discovered they moved and got shorter! We went inside to read and find out why. We read What Makes a Shadow? and learned that the sun's movement (or really, earth's movement) is what changed our shadows. We used a flashlight to watch shadows move and change shape.

Day 2, we read Bear Shadow and traced animals shadows outside.






Day 3, we placed our sun dials outside first thing, and marked where the shadows were. We checked on them at large group to see if the shadows had moved. They had! We then took our clipboards around the yard and traced different shadows we found.




 


Day 4, was cloudy!! So I was glad we had done all of our outside shadow activities already. We watched a video about shadows, and then made a shadow picture. The kids colored a cut out person to look like themselves and glued it onto a paper. Then I had a sun stamp, and a person stamp. They stamped on the sun, then had to figure out where their shadow would be, then they stamped their shadow with the person stamp in black paint.

Small Group

One group worked independently on puzzles, while my group built with blocks. I called them one at a time from my group so I could trace their silhouette.

The next week, one group decorated their sun dials, while the other group decorated their cut out silhouettes, and spelled their names on them with ABC stickers.

Shadows

First off, fun theme, but I forgot to take pictures!

Dramatic Play
They had a great time with the castle from Easter week, so I left that out another week.
Week 2, I just turned on a projector, darkened the window, and let them make shadows on the wall. One of my simplest, and one of their favorites! They discovered if they used the magnifying glasses from the bug table, they made weird light on the wall and they loved that!

Art
Shaving cream. They love this stuff!
Watercolor painting. Just fun.
Shadow puppets. I gave them faces, sticks, feathers, markers, glue, and scissors. My idea was for them to make shadow puppets for the projector (and some did), but they mostly just created crazy things. This was popular and busy all day and they came up with some interesting creations.
Stamp painting. I got out our shape stamps, and used black paint since it's like shadows.

Small Manips
I found these great shadow matching printables that I used to make file folder games. They fought over the Frozen one. Seriously, right?

 They're from here and here.

 Outside, we got to release our bugs and search for other bugs!

Large Group
Day 1 was cloudy, so I had to bag our plans and wait for another sunny day. Instead, we read about how to make shadows, then put that to work with a flashlight and wall. They took turns making shadows bigger and smaller. We also used the flashlight to show how the sun moves and makes an object's shadow change. They were pretty fascinated by such a simple lesson. I then turned on the projector and let them make shadow puppets.

Day 2, we got outside as soon as the kids got to school and traced each other's shadows in the driveway. For large group, we went back out and stood in those same spots and retraced them to see how they moved. Inside, we used the flashlight again to show how the sun is moving (I know it's really the earth moving, but I'm trying to keep it simple) and why our shadows changed size and position.
Day 3, we made sun dials. I talked a little about how people used to use them to tell time. They put stickers all around their paper plates, then put a straw in the middle. We watched the shadow move and change as I moved the flashlight over them.
Thursday, when they got to school, we took them outside and marked with a rock where the shadow was. We checked them again when we went outside and marked again. Before going home, we checked them and they had moved again. I was kinda surprised how excited they were by them. I found the idea here.

Day 4, we experimented with shadow colors and took colored tissue paper outside. We put hands underneath them and watched our shadows change from pink to blue to purple. We talked about how shadows are made by blocked light, and some things (such as this tissue paper) let some light through and that makes a lighter shadow, and in this case, a colored shadow.