Preschool Art: Activities on the Sun that Foster Creativity
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Concepts of the Sun

Preschool art activities on the sun are fun because children get to use the sun to make their art activities. Not only do they learn new ways to view the sun, but they also may get a sense of “magic” in the way the sun works for their art activities. The art activities listed below are activities that can be done using simple art materials like pencil, chalk, construction paper and safety scissors. To keep the children interested, you may want to do the outdoor shadow activity first since the second activity listed below takes a while to get the full effect. The sun can also be used as part of a science project for preschoolers by demonstrating the effects of sunlight and the lack thereof on plants.

Shadow Mural

This preschool art activity on the sun is a great activity to do outside. To make a temporary artwork, use chalk on a sidewalk. If you wish to keep the mural, use pencils or crayons and draw the images on large sheets of paper. Recycled newspaper end rolls are a great way to complete this project! Students will learn about the way the sun creates shadows even as they learn to express themselves and develop fine motor skills as they complete the project.

  1. Pair children up in groups of two.
  2. Take children outside to a sunny location near a sidewalk or other type of flat concrete.
  3. Give children a piece of chalk (or crayon as the case may be).
  4. Ask children to observe how the sun creates shadows. Give them fun things to do like stand separately without touching, but extending their hands to make their shadows look as if they are shaking hands.
  5. Help each child in the pair to trace the shadow of the other child. Allow them to be creative in their poses.

Children doing this preschool art activity on the sun not only get to learn about the sun and shadows, but they also learn to work together in pairs. Now is also a good time to discuss other ways that shadows can be made and how they change from long to short depending on our distance from the light source.

Sun Dyeing

By this time, children have learned how the sun can create shadows. If the science project has been used, they have also learned how the sun helps things to grow. Now it’s time for them to learn about how the sun can fade colors. This art activity can take a few days to get the full effect, which is why the other preschool art activities on the sun can be completed in the meantime. Since this activity can be done inside, it might be one best saved for a rainy day when the focus of learning is still on the sun. You will need construction paper, scissors and poster putty. Please note that this project is more fun if you have scissors with different designs on the edges.

  1. Give each child several sheets of construction paper.
  2. Ask the children to cut out different shapes on several pieces of construction paper. You may use one theme or allow the children to create their own.
  3. Once the children have cut out shapes, help them to cut out shapes inside of the ones already cut. You can also do this project by asking the children to fold their papers and cut them as if they were making snowflakes.
  4. Help the children to attach their designs to a sheet of construction paper using the poster putty.
  5. Hang the artwork in the window for about a week.
  6. Take the artwork down and remove the designs.
  7. Discuss how the sun faded the paper to leave the outline of the designs on the sheet of construction paper!

Once you have completed these projects, lead a discussion with the children to assess what they have learned about the sun. Through their artwork, the children should have learned the different ways to use the sun’s light to create art. They should also learn about the ways that the sun can fade colors too!