Playing with light is such an interesting thing to do.  I have written about some of the different ways we play with shadows and light on our Facebook page a few times, but thought this particular activity deserved a full blog post.  It has become a go to activity for my little ones after rest time, when that afternoon sun is shining so brightly through our back doors.  There is something about the simplicity of it that I find so lovely.

We have played a lot with blocks and building in the sunlight.  Especially this chilly winter season, it is so nice to enjoy the warm sunshine.  And the shadows are so enchanting to my little ones.  Often, we will simply build and play with the shadows and the light … sometimes even my older daughter gets in on the fun ….

Once in awhile, we add in some tracing.  This has been happening more and more lately, as we approach our sixth month of snow.  Even the best activities, after six months of winter, need a little extending here and there to keep them engaging.  Lately, we have been laying down some paper and using crayons to trace the shadows created by the blocks.  It is interesting to see how moving just a few blocks, or angling the paper differently changes the shadows and the tracings.

Of course, as I decided I would write this post we had a very grey day.  So we added in a flashlight to help create darker shadows.  And wouldn’t you know that that simply addition made the shadow tracings seem like a brand new activity?!  Having my little ones be able to be in control of the light source was a really neat twist, I must admit.

All of this playing and learning with shadows is a fine way to pass the afternoon … especially with the warm sunshine.  A Mama could sit back, close her eyes, and believe it is the middle of summer – but if it should happen to be a Canadian Mama – perhaps don’t open them quite yet – or at least don’t look out the window.

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