Fun Friday activities are quick-and-simple ways to explore nature in your own backyard.
THE IDEA: Explore shadows – our own and those of natural elements like trees, rocks and flowers.
I came across a post on shadow play earlier this week on Backyard Safari and thought summer was the perfect time to give it a go.
OUR NOTES FROM THE FIELD
Before heading out, I asked the big explorer if he’d like to go play in the shadows. I had no specific idea what we’d do (I rarely do), but he jumped on the idea and off we went.
Right outside the front door, the big explorer spotted the shadow of the tree in our front yard, which he said reminded him of the pine trees in Yosemite.
We walked and talked for quite a while after that – about how shadows are made, when they can best be seen and how they might differ from the object that casts the shadow.
A couple of blocks from our house, I spotted this one and told him it looked to me like a spider web. He proceeded to “jump” inside and pretend to be a spider crawling around inside the web.
As we continued walking, he pointed out several shadows he found exciting – most cast by road signs and light posts. Then we both stopped in our tracks when we spotted this shadow that looked like a mountain range (cast by rocks edging a garden).
There were also the sweet shadows cast by dainty flowers waiting to be plucked.
When we reached our front yard, I offered to trace the big explorer’s shadow on the sidewalk, something he’d done earlier in the year in school. He followed up by tracing mine.
After that, he starting making shadows of his own – his favorite being this one, which he named “butterfly being still on a flower.”
TAKE-HOME TIPS
Provided you try this on a sunny day, you really can’t go wrong. For best results:
- Slow down & enjoy the view. We discovered the coolest shadows when we sat down and looked around. We talked about what we thought the shadows looked like or reminded us of.
- Bring along some chalk. Tracing shadows can be fun, especially for the little ones.
MORE IDEAS FOR OUTDOOR FUN
There are still a few more weeks of summer to enjoy (or so the calendar says), even if your little ones have already started school. Some of my favorites from around the web this week:
- Climb a tree
- Start an herb garden
- Go wild blueberry picking
- Create a backyard wildlife habitat, refill your birdfeeders or connect with nature with another of these simple ideas
- Or try one of 50 ways to explore nature in your own backyard
Make fun your top priority this weekend – for you and the kids in your life. Happy exploring!
@backyardsafari: Thank YOU for the inspiring post! Hope you have some fun on tap for the weekend!<br /><br />@Michelle: The silly side of kids often helps make these adventures that much more fun. Hope you try it on one of your hikes!
Fabulous shadow play, love your photos! Shadows often inspire my artist side too (I like the contrasts/patterns and I've also traced shadows as a starter during full moon sketching)–but it sure is fun to get the little ones to discover things about shadows like you shared 🙂 Great ideas, I really like the idea of tracing them, it adds another dimension, enhanced focus–will keep in mind for
What a great post! I'm so glad this idea worked out well for your guys. The Big Explorer has so many good ideas and insights! I love his 'butterfly still on the flower' shadow. The mountain range shadow is also really interesting. Thanks for sharing–have a great weekend!