One of the many brilliant things about natural play is that it doesn’t take much, if any, preparation! And sunny days deliver an abundance of fun play opportunities, whether your children are at home or out and about with you. Here are some quick, easy and super fun sunny day play activities for you and your kids to enjoy, wherever you are.
Paint shadows
Your children will love comparing the shadows of their favourite toys, and seeing the Dali-esque results of their shadow paintings.
All you need is some paper, paint and and a sunny day! Old rolls of lining paper work really well, if you have any scraps hanging around.
This activity is best done early or late in the day when the shadows are looooooooong!
Play shadow chase
The simplest game ever! And it’s really fun.
The ‘shadow chaser’ runs after everyone else’s shadows… and when they land on one, that person is ‘stuck’ and stands still. Keep going until everyone in the group is ‘stuck’ – the final person then becomes the shadow chaser in the next round.
You could also play a version in which unstuck runners can ‘free’ the ‘stuck’ by jumping on their stuck shadow and calling out “free”!
Make sun print pictures
Cyanotype paper is easy to get hold of (check online stores), and creates a very special kind of nature magic.
On a bright, sunny day, children can position their selection of objects on the paper, lay a clear piece of plastic or glass over the top, and wait up to an hour for the sun to work its magic and create a glorious natural print.