The sun is coming! The sun is coming! We’re halfway through winter time already, and even though it may seem dim out there, it’s really, truly going to get brighter soon. Celebrate the return of the sunshine by creating a sun catcher!
Sun is the power that fuels life on earth. It’s the source of energy for plants, who use sunshine, water, and carbon dioxide to create sugars through a process called photosynthesis. This is amazing! People and animals eat the plants and get energy from them as well. Other animals eat those animals, and an ecosystem is born. In this way, the sun fuels life on earth.
To children, the sun may just be something bright in the sky. But it’s much more than that. It’s a star, and while it may look like a flaming ball in the sky, but in reality, the surface of the sun is full of shifting, whirling gas. In the core or center of the sun, fusion produces energy. It is surrounded by the solar envelope, an area that put pressure on the core. Then, there’s the photosphere, the place where the light you see come from. The hot corona covers the surface of the sun.
Create a sun catcher to celebrate the coming spring. This craft is so simple. Take a piece of white paper, and draw a sun on it in black permanent marker. If you wish, draw lines or spirals in the sun to decorate it. Use children’s markers to color the inside of the sun. Now, take a bowl of cooking oil and a sponge. Place the paper on a piece of newspaper. Use the sponge to dab the cooking oil over the paper. The paper will become translucent! When you’ve finished, hang the sun catcher outdoors in a place where the sun will shine through it, and welcome the spring!
Image Credit: [rayagr]