One of the best stories to explore light and shadow play is the story Flashlight by Lizi Boyd. It is told solely through images and using a spare yet dramatic palette, the exploration of night, nature, and art are a visual poem—like the flashlight beam itself. This story reveals that there is magic in the darkness, we just have to look for it.
A previous invitation to integrate this literacy experience was setting out with translucent blocks and a flash light as a simply way to explore light through block play. After seeing Leap Then Look's Instagram post about making paper sculptures, it ignited revisiting this invitation to recreate the story through small world play with paper structures, cellophane, flash lights and forest figurines.
Simply invite the child to explore, create, and play with the materials. The best part of all these open ended materials is that it is such an ideal way to let young children explore color, shapes, nature, building, and more through light and shadow play. As they maneuver the materials to build in different directions and combinations, the colorful shadows and structures recreate scenes from the story.
Open ended and hands on invitations that extend literacy experiences, further develop a child's comprehension and language and literacy skills, while building so man other skills.
This is yet another invitation that is inspired from taking Dr. Louisa Penfold's Light, Shadow, & Reflection workshop. It has continued to ignite new open ended play invitations that explore light, shadow and reflection. Here are the previous posts where we explored Rainbows, STEM, and Cellophane through light, shadow, and reflection.