Fun with Light and Shadow

Where it all began...

Our interest in shadow play started with the reading of a story called The Dark, Dark Night by Christina Butler. We noticed through the children’s conversations that they knew something about shadows. We wanted to know more…

We created puppets of the characters from the book and set up a shadow box. The children all crowded around the little shadow box area, some watched the show but most wanted to be the ones creating the shadows. So we also set up a projector against a white sheet and the children began making shadows with their whole bodies. Some of the children wanted to go behind the sheet - we wondered what they were looking for back there.

How did we nurture this play?

This prompted us to consider how our space could be reinvented to expand on the children’s interest and curiosity about light and shadow. We created an area where the children could fully explore both shadow and light. We hung a large sheet with a projector and disco ball. These changes to the space allowed for further exploration and we were amazed at the journey the children took us on!!

Color with light

Using the stacking cups they explored light with color. They chose to use the colors to represent night (blue) and day (yellow). “The sun is up”

Projection onto the ceiling

Manipulating Light:

Children noticed that depending on how close they were to the projector, the size of the object would change. They imagined themselves as bunnies and cats whose ears could get bigger and smaller! Children also experimented with their own bodies: “When I put it close, it looks like a monster hand, when I put it far, it looks like a human hand!”

While playing different games in the gym with flashlights and different lighting, children were noticing how their body moved and how their shadow moved with them.

Children were also exploring their shadows outside. They were waving and spinning to each other and at times speaking to their friends through their shadows.

The disco ball was an element we added to our environment. The children made observations about the light that comes from it: “If you wind up slowly and let it go, the light spins super, super fast!”

Transparency

Many of the children were interested to see that some of the objects placed on the overhead projector made a “shadow” and some “keep their colour”. We provided a variety of materials so the children could explore the way transparent and opaque items were projected. Through their questions and experimentation some of the children began to realize that the opaque items “block the light.”

Friendship/Belonging:

Children were using the large objects projecting on the walls and the ceiling to connect with each other. Children could be in another part of the classroom and see what was going on the wall and ceiling and could respond to it. It created a new way for the children to communicate with each other.

During their explorations, children shared their learnings with each other, they helped answer each other's questions, such as, what you need to do to make a shadow.

Making Meaning from Children's Play:

“Every child is a mighty learner. A mighty learner brings body and mind - his or her whole being - to playing and learning.” (Makovichuk et al., 2014)

The children are full of wonder, they are building theories, testing them and adjusting their expectations based on what they find. Through this play, children displayed many dispositions for learning. We noticed them seeking through the questions they asked and the different ways they experimented with the materials.

“Look at the ground and spin it. The light is blue and moves”

They were playfully exploring the property of light by experimenting with cause and effect. The children were playful as they imagined and created narratives in their play, at times being different animals with changing ear sizes and turning themselves into nocturnal animals in the gym!Â

So many children came together and participated in this light exploration. They shared their thoughts, expressed their ideas, negotiated, collaborated and took turns. They created new ways to communicate using the overhead projector.

The Dispositions to learn of Playing, Participating and Seeking are just some of the dispositions to learn that we observe in children. They are..

"...the inclinations that are revealed in uniques ways through children's play.....as young children learn about the world, they also learn about who they are as learners."

Makovichuk, L., Hewes, J., Lirette, P., & Thomas, N. (2014) Flight: Alberta’s early learning and care framework. Retrieved from flightframework.ca

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