The Sun

On a sunny day put on some shades and sunscreen and go outdoors with your child to make solar-powered pictures using sunlight.  Have your child collect flat objects from your yard like leaves, flowers, blades of grass, etc.  In a location with dim lighting, place a sheet of light-sensitive paper in a frame holder (should be included with your paper kit) and have your child arrange their objects on the sheet of paper.  Set in the bright sun.  Place a piece of clear acrylic or a glass baking dish over the arrangement to hold everything in place.  Allow to sit in the sun for 3 to 5 minutes.  Follow the development instructions included with your light-sensitive paper.  This usually involves soaking the paper in water for about a minute.  Hang to dry and enjoy the beautiful white on blue print that your child made.  Source: http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/family/sun-activities3.htm

Photo:  http://www.dickblick.com/products/nature-print-paper

Gross Motor Skills:

While your child's light-sensitive artwork is sitting in the sun, take turns with your child tracing one another's shadow with chalk on your driveway. Do this at least two other times during the day.  Observe how your shadows change through out the day and how the sun moves through the sky.  Talk to your child about how the sun rises in the east and sets in the west and provides light and heat to the earth.    

Photo:  http://tinkerlab.com

Fine Motor Skills:

Create sun catchers.  You'll need:  clear contact paper, colored tissue paper squares, yarn or ribbon, scissors, and a hole punch.  Cut a sheet of clear contact paper into the shape of your choice.  Peel the backing off of the contact paper and lay on the table with the sticky side up.  You may want to include a frame so that the contact paper is easier to handle.  The rim of a paper plate works well for this purpose.  Have your child stick pieces of bright tissue paper squares all over their contact paper. When your child is done, punch a hole in the contact paper and attach a piece of yarn or ribbon through the hole.  Hang the sun catcher from your ceiling or a window.  Source:  http://www.everythingpreschool.com/themes/summer/art.htm

Photo:  www.freekidscrafts.com

Reading Skills:
While your child is crafting away, read a couple of books on the sun from the following suggestions:
Energy from the Sun by Allan Fowler

John Denver's Sunshine on My Shoulders by Christopher Canyon

Shine, Sun! by Carol Greene

Sun Song by Jean Marzollo

Math Skills:
The sun is a star – the closest star to earth. Draw a grid (3 columns by 4 rows) on a sheet of paper.  Write one number (between 1 - 12) in each section of the grid.  Give your child tiny star stickers and ask them to practice counting by sticking the correct number of stars into the section of the paper to match the specified number.  Source:  http://typeaparent.com/sun-themed-preschool-unit-study.html

Photo:  www.carnivalsource.com

Science Experiment:
Compare the sun to the shade.  Take six paper bowls and place a cube of butter in each of the first two, a few ice cubes in the next two, and some crayons in the last two. Set one bowl with each item in hot sun. Set the other three bowls in the shade.  Ask your child to hypothesize which set will melt first.  Check back about 5 minutes later to observe what is happening.  Source: http://stepbystepcc.com/science.html

Snack:
Serve sun tea and sun-dried raisins.  Explain that the warmth of the sun heats the water and steeps the tea.

Photo:  http://kitchensimplicity.com