Activity instructions

Ages - 0 to 2

What to do:

Preparation: Collect buckets of water, large paintbrushes and rollers.

Begin the activity by asking children to share what they know about the sun and sunshine. Use some of the provocation questions below to stimulate discussion.

Take the children outside (hats on) and give each child a paintbrush and roller and invite them to "paint" the footpaths, bricks, trees, etc with the water.

After a few minutes, ask which of the places they painted have begun to dry. Children will probably see that sunny areas dry faster than shaded areas. Explain that the parts that dry faster are in the sunshine and are therefore hotter; that's why the water dries faster.

Encourage children to experiment with painting in other places and to observe which areas dry faster or slower.

Provocations:

I wonder where the sun is?
I wonder how the sunshine feels?
I wonder if the sunshine is warm or cold?
I wonder why we have to be careful with the sun?
I wonder what else we know about the sun and sunshine?

Possible lines of development:

Talk to children about sun safety.
Give children sheets of coloured paper, acrylic prisms, coloured acetate film and other clear or translucent objects. Encourage children to see what happens when the sun shines through these items onto the ground. Repeat the activity with objects that block the sun (umbrellas, papers with holes cut out etc).
Give children torches to play with and encourage them to experiment by shining the torches through objects such as paper and fabric.
Put a range of different objects in the sun and see which ones get the hottest and which ones stay the coolest. Objects could include rocks, wood, paper, plastic tubs, glass, aluminium foil, fabric etc.

Ages - 2 to 3

What to do:

Preparation: Collect buckets of water, large paintbrushes and rollers.

Begin the activity by asking children to share what they know about the sun and sunshine. Use some of the provocation questions below to stimulate discussion.

Take the children outside and give each child a paintbrush and roller and invite them to "paint" the footpaths, bricks, trees etc with the water.

After a few minutes, ask them which of the places they painted have begun to dry. Children will probably see that sunny areas dry faster than shaded areas. Explain that the parts that dry faster are in the sunshine and are therefore hotter; that's why the water dries faster.

Encourage children to experiment with painting in other places and to observe which areas dry faster or slower.

Also encourage children to paint shadows. They could paint the shadows of each other, of the trees, of the building, or just about anything that has a shadow.

Provocations:

I wonder where the sun is?
I wonder how the sunshine feels?
I wonder if the sunshine is warm or cold?
I wonder where shadows come from?
I wonder what else we know about the sun and sunshine?
I wonder why we have to be safe with the sun?

Possible lines of development:

Talk to children about sun safety.
Give children sheets of coloured paper, acrylic prisms, coloured acetate film and other clear or translucent objects. Encourage children to see what happens when the sun shines through these items onto the ground. Repeat the activity with objects that block the sun (umbrellas, papers with holes cut out etc).
Ask children to cut shapes out of paper and take them outside to see the shadows they make. Can they trace these shadows with chalk?
Wet a range of objects and place them out in the sun to see which ones dry the fastest. Objects could include rocks, wood, paper, cardboard, aluminium foil, fabric etc.
Discuss turning off the light when we leave the room – we don’t need it on when we’re not there; save the light for when we need it.

Ages - 3 to 5

What to do:

Begin the activity by asking children to share what they know about the sun and sunshine. Use some of the provocation questions below to stimulate discussion.

Take children outside and ask them to look at the shapes of shadows cast by trees and other objects in the yard. Show children how to make chalk outlines of these shadows.

After half an hour ask children to revisit their chalk outlines and make new outlines with a different colour.

Repeat again after another half an hour. Each time, ask them to notice where the sun is in the sky. How far have the shadows moved?

Record children's comments and questions about the sun, and create a question board in the classroom that can be revisited at a later time. Ask children to first speculate on the answers, and consider undertaking research as a class to answer the questions the children raised.

Provocations:

I wonder where the sun is?
I wonder how the sunshine feels?
I wonder if the sunshine is warm or cold?
I wonder where shadows come from?
I wonder if shadows stay still or if they move?
I wonder what else we know about the sun and sunshine?
I wonder how we can use the sun to make electricity?
I wonder if there are any other ways to make electricity?

Possible lines of development:

Sun safety.
How many different types of light are there? For example: sunlight, torchlight, moonlight, ceiling light, firelight or candlelight, lightning etc. Use Cool Australia's Energy Flashcards to prompt discussion. Talk to children about which types of light are natural and which ones aren’t natural (natural light occurs naturally in nature, artificial lights are those that humans have made).
Encourage small groups of children to create pictures with their own shadows. You could suggest challenges such as, "Without actually holding hands, how can you make your shadows hold hands?"
Why nature needs sunlight (to give plants energy to grow, so that animals that eat plants can live, and so that animals that eat other animals can live).

Evaluation

Complete an analysis of learning listing evidence about:

Belonging	Finding something of interest
Communication	Expressing an idea or feeling
Exploration	Engaging with challenges and persisting when difficulties arise
Well being	Being involved

Embedding into Daily Practice

Switch it off - Practice a switch-off regime, encouraging children to monitor the switching off of lights and appliances when not in use.
Dress for the weather - Encourage educators, children and parents to dress for the weather to avoid the need for artificial heating and cooling.

Hydro Tasmania - Sunshine

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