Shadow Play
Hope Springs Eternal When Playing With Shadows
Think about shadows.
They are around you at various times of the day.
In my mind, I’m humming lyrics from a song. I recall the verse as containing the words, me and my shadow, wherever she goes, everyone knows, it’s me and my shadow.
Yet, when I used those words to do a search for the song, I did not get a match. Well, I’ll keep humming and smiling. The shadow I see, the stretched out version of me in the road and the shadow on the growing trees, is a fun playmate.
The shadow morphs. How it looks and where it can be found depend upon the time of day and the sun, in relation to me. Ah, something revolves around me! That’s fun for a different blog post, revolving.
In only two years from now, 2024, it will be the 120th anniversary of the first staging of Peter Pan. That play, the songs from the movie, and the multiple uses and interpretations of shadows make it ripe for use in both indoor and outdoor learning experiences.
From hand shadow puppets to creating sundials to playing with your shadows outside—enjoy, engage, educate and explore!
Here is more to get you started. In general, the suggestions are listed in order from least to most characters, not in order of difficulty or age.
· Create sundials.
· Use chalk to trace a friend’s shadow.
· Use the word shadow in your poetry.
· Challenge yourself and your buddies.
· Where do you see shadows and why?
· How do shadows impact architecture?
· Learn to say shadow in different languages.
· Use photography to take photos of shadows.
· What’s the folklore associated with shadows?
· Explore idioms and superstitions about shadows.
· Hold an open mic night with shadows as the theme.
· Walk and observe and then create a shadow journal.
· Investigate the connection between shapes and shadows.
· Learn about the use of shadows in special effects and movies.
· Become a Shadow Sleuth, what doesn’t have a shadow? Why?
· Using only the letters in the word shadow, how many 2 to 6 letter words can you create?
