Have you ever noticed how captivated preschoolers are with their own shadows? Shadows are fascinating for young children, inviting them to wonder about scientific concepts like light and darkness, the sun, and our planet’s rotation. This article describes some fun light and shadow exploration activities to enjoy with children during outdoor play.
As a note, each of the activities listed below should be set up in the morning or afternoon when the sun is not directly overhead, so a nice shadow will be cast. You’ll want to avoid the hour before and after noontime, when shadows are less likely to be large enough for activities.
For this simple activity, all you will need is paper, pencils (or other writing utensils like crayons or fine markers), small toy animals (such as dinosaurs, lego animals, farm animals, or other small figurines), and a sunny day!
Simply place the papers on a flat surface, put the animals on top of the paper, and encourage children to trace the animals’ shadows! As they trace the shadows to form outlines of the animals, engage the children in conversations that will invite observations about the relationship between light sources and shadow formation. For example, you might ask the children to compare the size and shape of the toy to the size and shape of its shadow, and ask why the toy and its shadow are similar in some ways and different in others. Do they see other shadows being cast around them?
You can enhance learning and add an element of creativity to the activity, by encouraging the children to color in their outlines using a variety of colors and art utensils.
The only materials needed for this activity are children’s bodies and some sunshine! While playing outside, have children stand in a line and move their bodies, noticing how their shadows move along with them. Sing movement songs together, such as Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes or The Chicken Dance, that encourage children to make shapes with their bodies.
Pause during the songs and talk with the children about the different shapes their shadows are making! What happens to our shadows when we jump? Challenge the children to try to make their shadows as big as they can and then as small as they can. Take a few steps together and notice how your shadows walk with you. Bring the children to a shady area, and watch your shadows disappear! These experiments build upon children’s natural sense of wonder and invite them to use critical thinking skills.
This activity combines building with blocks, shadow observation, tracing, and shape identification. To set up the shadow castle activity, lay out large pieces of butcher paper and tape them to a table or the ground.
Offer children blocks in a variety of shapes, and encourage them to build a tower. As the children stack their blocks, talk with them about the shapes that the blocks’ shadows are casting onto the paper. Once they have created a castle design that they are satisfied with, ask them to trace the outline of the castle on butcher paper. This activity engages concepts related to engineering, geometric shapes, and cause-and-effect.
When the castle outline is complete, children can fill it in with colors and add other drawings to create a scene around the castle.
To build upon these activities and help children learn more about the formation of shadows, you might enjoy checking out the following video and children’s books.
Cat in the Hat’s How Shadows are Made: A Video from PBS
My Shadow by Robert Louis Stevenson and Sara Sanchez
Sara Sanchez’s soft and inviting illustrations creatively interpret Robert Louis Stevenson’s original lines from the poem “My Shadow”, exclaiming that sometimes our shadows chase us, and other times they run ahead or even hide from us! Little ones who are just discovering their shadows for the first time will be fascinated by this story, while older, more experienced kids are sure to learn new ways to play with their shadows. This read-aloud of the illustrated poem includes information about how shadows are formed.
Moonbear’s Shadow written and illustrated by Frank Asch
In this classic story, Bear decides to go fishing, but his shadow keeps scaring the fish away! Bear tries everything he can think of to get rid of this pesky nuisance. And at last he succeeds—or so he thinks! You can find a cute read-aloud of this story on Youtube.
Light: Shadows, Mirrors, and Rainbows, written by Natalie M. Roskinsky, with illustrations by Sheree Boyd
This non-fiction book demonstrates the importance of light, including the way it creates reflections, shadows, and rainbows. The book also suggests engaging light discovery activities for children and adults to do together.
Winter Curriculum Ideas 
Process Art Projects for Outdoor Learning and Play
