Paint a paper plate to look like the Sun, stand a paintbrush up through a hole in the middle, and trace its shadow every hour to build a simple sun dial. A fun craft that turns into a lesson about the Sun and telling time.
An adult punches the hole in the center of each plate.
Remind kids never to look straight at the Sun. Watch the shadow on the plate instead.
Hourly checks happen in direct sunlight. Use hats, sunscreen and water as needed.
Craft paint can stain clothes. Use aprons or old shirts and cover the table.
Before the kids arrive
Pick a sunny day when you know you will be home for most of the day.
Find a backyard spot that gets plenty of direct sunlight all day.
Steps
Set out paper plates with orange, red and yellow paints and brushes.
Mix and swirl the colors on your plate so it looks like the Sun. Use lots of orange and yellow.
Set the plates out to dry for a while.
Adult: punch a hole in the middle of each plate.
Set the sun dials out in a sunny spot outside. We faced ours North.
Push a paintbrush through the hole so it stands up straight.
Look at the shadow the brush makes on the plate.
Every hour, draw a solid line over the shadow with a marker and write the hour next to it.
When most of the hour lines are drawn, your sun dial is complete!
Tips
This activity turns out great on a day you know you will be home for the most part. The children will be happy to check out the movement of the shadow.from the author
Use good quality paper plates. They hold up to the paint and to sitting outside all day.from the author
We got the idea after my 5 year old enjoyed looking at a sun dial at a local observatory. A visit like that is a great lead-in.from the author
A kindergarten teacher did this as part of a Sun unit and said it worked great.from readers
The story behind it
By TurkeyMom · May 2014
When we visited a local observatory, my 5 year old enjoyed looking at a sun dial, so we replicated it. I set out good quality paper plates and our gorgeous neon paints.
The children mixed and swirled the colors to make their paper plates look more like the Sun by using more oranges and yellows.
Use paper plates to make a simple sun dial for kids. Fun kids crafts that can be turned into a great learning opportunity.
We set out the plates to dry for a while. Then comes the fun part.
We set out the sun dials in our backyard, facing North, with plenty of direct sunlight. We punched a hole in the middle and attached the paintbrush to stand erect.
The children observed the shadow the brush cast. We checked it every hour and drew a solid line over it. Do this on a day you know you will be home.
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What readers say
💬 1 comments🍎 tried with 1 classes or groups
🍎 In the classroom
Worked great in a kindergarten Sun unit
A teacher made these sun dials with her kindergarten class as part of their Sun unit and reported it worked great.
“We did this today as part of our Sun unit for kindergarten. It worked great!”
Recently tried
Read all 1 comments
Stacy (@stacymakescents) · Oct 2014
We did this today as part of our Sun unit for kindergarten. It worked great! :-) Thank you!!
Read all 1 comments
Stacy (@stacymakescents) · Oct 2014
We did this today as part of our Sun unit for kindergarten. It worked great! :-) Thank you!!