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What happens to my shadow as the sun moves?

August 7, 2019 Ticia 5 Comments

Also known as, why did it have to rain on that day?  It’s very hard to do sun experiments for your homeschool science when there is no sun.  But, we gave it the old college try, and the kids learned some from it.

Update: We did these experiments as part of our lessons with My Father’s World From A to Z (affiliate link, looks to only be the teacher manual, not the full kit).  At the bottom, I’ll link to some experiments for older kids.

 

Sun Experiment 1: make raisins

Sun experiments making raisins
First we got some grapes. We put these in little metal cups to see how long it would take to turn into raisins. It took about 5-6 days, and they’re kind of raisiny looking now. I will say if you want instant results experiment that is not it. Go for the next one:

Sun Experiment 2: Shadow measuring

The great shadow experiment

I first did this experiment back when I was teaching first grade, only then we did it for Groundhog’s Day, and I had a cute little groundhog puppet they stuck in the ground and measured the shadow.  Not super accurate because the grass really threw the shadows off, but the kids loved it.

 

We started off the morning lining everyone up on the sidewalk and drawing a box around them. That was so I knew where to have them stand next time we came out.

Shadow experiment

Then I drew a line where their shadow ended and then have them make a prediction of where their shadow would be when we came out again.

We would come out approximately once an hour. Each time we came out our shadows had grown shorter. The boys eventually caught on and changed their predictions to reflect that.

After our 1:00 measuring they went in for their nap. When we came out at 3:00 the clouds had covered up the sun, so no shadow. Instead, they got to predict why they didn’t have a shadow. They all were able to explain that the sun was hiding behind the clouds. Score!

shadow experiment failure due to bad weather
At 3:00 the experiment was called on account of rain, but they were still able to see how their shadows moved, so they learned most of the concept.

More kindergarten ideas

Wheat Doll westward expansion us history kid craft kinder
reading a map lesson for me on the map kinder preschool primary
Where is the baby plant in the peanut
Great Wall of China lesson
Liberty Bell craft kinder
  • Archeology dig
  • Me on the Map: Reading a map lesson
  • Where is the baby plant in the peanut?
  • Great Wall of China lesson
  • Liberty Bell craft

 

Looking for more Sun experiments?

  • Sun unit for older kids
  • Sun unit from Bright Ideas Press
  • Sun lesson from Finding the Teachable Moments

Originally published on August 19, 2009 (wow, that’s a full 10 years ago almost!)

science astronomy, kindergarten, preschool

Comments

  1. Christy says

    August 19, 2009 at 7:53 pm

    Wow, what great experiments!

    Reply
  2. Raising a Happy Child says

    August 20, 2009 at 3:46 am

    I didn't know that you could really make raisins out of grapes at home without spoilage. Of course, there is also a danger of some wild creature eating them first. I really liked your shadow experiments – too bad rain interfered. I thought it never rains in your part of the world 🙂

    Reply
  3. MoziEsmé says

    August 20, 2009 at 4:23 am

    Thanks for some fun ideas! Rain sounds pretty good right now, though – it's too hot!

    Reply
  4. Ticia says

    August 20, 2009 at 1:20 pm

    Yeah, it never rains except when you have plans to do something outside. Then it rains just enough to spoil your plans, but not enough to do some good.

    Reply
  5. Orange Juice says

    August 20, 2009 at 8:38 pm

    That;s cool! I love the grapes idea! I never would have thought of that!

    Reply

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Ticia Adventures in Mommydom Hi, I'm Ticia! This is the adventures of my family in life and learning. Follow along with us as we share our adventures. We're having a lot of fun and learning as we go.

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