Teaching Children About the Sun, Light & Temperature

Posted by AIR Childhood Training Solutions Teacher Resource Team on Apr 27th 2023

In mid- to late spring, when skies are sunnier and the weather is warmer, young kids will start to notice changes in the world around them.

Drawing of sun and flowers in crayon

The sun, light and temperature make for fun, hands-on lessons all year long. But during the spring, we notice a big shift from the cold of winters to milder, warmer days (not too mention the sun staying out longer!).

Let’s look at fun and creative ways you can incorporate seasonal shifts and more into your early childhood classroom.

Shining a light on the sun

To make the concept of the sun more accessible to young kids, we can introduce them to a friendly sun character. You can create a paper cutout or a stuffed toy that looks like the sun and give it a name.

Next, we can teach them about the importance of the sun for plants and animals. You can even take your class on a nature walk and show them how the sun helps plants grow and provides warmth for animals to thrive.

For a fun activity, you can also create a sundial with your pre-schoolers. Explain how people used to tell the time by the position of the sun and have them make their own sundials using paper plates, straws, and markers. It's a great way to teach them about the sun's movement and the concept of time.

The video below has some great examples:

Lastly, don't forget to emphasize the importance of sun safety. We can teach our little ones to wear sunscreen and hats to protect their skin from the harmful UV rays of the sun. You can also teach them about the dangers of looking directly at the sun.

Get some free printable coloring book pages about the sun.

Learning about light, shadows & shade

Talking to pre-schoolers about light and how it works can be a fascinating topic. Start with familiar objects like a flashlight or a light bulb to help them understand what light is. You can show them how a flashlight or a light bulb emits light and how it brightens up the room.

You can use a flashlight and a mirror to demonstrate how light travels. Shine the flashlight onto a mirror and show them how the light bounces off the mirror and creates reflections.

You can also show them how shadows are created when an object blocks light. This is also the perfect setup for making shadow puppets! And you don’t have to stop at shadow puppets -- watch the video below to make a shadow theater for your class:

We also can’t talk about light without talking about colors. You can use a prism or a CD to show how white light can be split into different colors. You can also do a fun color mixing experiment with them by shining different colored lights onto a white surface and asking them to see what happens.

On a more practical note, you can talk to the class about how light helps us see things around us. Show them how different objects look under different light conditions, like natural sunlight, fluorescent light, or a lamp. You can also talk about how light is used in our daily lives, like in traffic lights or streetlights.

Let’s step outside for a minute: Natural light and warm, bright sunshine brings with them shadows and shade -- two fascinating topics for even the youngest of curious minds.

Check out these fun activities:

Talking about temperatures and the weather

Teaching toddlers about temperatures and the weather can be a fun and engaging experience -- especially during spring, when the climate in many states can range from warm to cool to cold to hot and back again.

Start by introducing different types of weather such as sunny, cloudy, rainy, snowy, and windy. You can show pictures or videos of each type of weather and ask them to describe what they see. You can also use props such as umbrellas, raincoats, or sunglasses to help them identify each type of weather.

Incorporate hands-on activities to help them understand the concept of temperature. You can use a thermometer to measure the temperature inside and outside the classroom, and talk about how the temperature changes throughout the day. You can also use ice cubes to teach them about freezing temperatures, and how they melt when it gets warmer.

The video below shows an easy yet active way to teach temperature using various bowls of water: