Sunny fun
Spring weather is far from dull. In Victoria, Spring always keeps us guessing: should I take an umbrella? will I need my sunglasses? It’s often sunny one minute, rainy the next. The old cliché of four seasons in one day is something we know well and experience often.
One thing that’s pretty predictable is the effect that a dose of sunshine can have on our moods. It seems to me that when the sun lights up so do people’s smiles.
As a freckled fair-skinned person I take care in the sun. I was once told by a doctor that the peak time for damaging sun exposure was not Summer (as I’d suggested) but Spring… during the weeks when we’re often caught off guard by sun exposure, and might not have our sunsmart routine ready to go.
You’ll find a lot of information on how to be sunsmart at www.sunsmart.com.au
“Children copy those around them and learn by imitation. If adults adopt sun protection behaviours, the children in their care are more likely to do the same.”
Slip on sun protective clothing
Slop on SPF30 (or higher) broad-spectrum, water-resistant sunscreen
Slap on a sun-protective hat
Seek shade
Slide on sunglasses.
Our kids need to learn sunsmart habits from an early age. Following are some simple ways to weave a conversation about wearing sunhats into some fun art making.
Sunny smiles
Washi tape is lightly adhesive, comes in colourful patterns, and is a good material for kids to exercise their little fingers and build their fine motor skills. These days its easy to find cheaply in craft sections of big stores.
Materials:
a circle of coloured paper (to cut a circle trace around a plate)
washi tape
drawing materials (crayons, pastels etc).
Cut a circle from one piece of paper by tracing a plate. This will be the sun’s face.
Glue the circle onto a larger background.
Use short pieces of washi tape to make sun rays all around the edge of the sun. Washi tape has a gentle stickiness, and is easy to tear with just fingers. To make this task easy for children you can pre-tear small pieces of tape and stick them loosely around the edge of a plate, so that your child can easily lift them and then place them onto their sunny design.
Fun Sun hats
Materials:
3 pieces of coloured paper: 1 for face, 1 for hat, 1 for background
scissors
gluesick
drawing materials (crayons, pastels etc).
Cut a face circle from one piece of paper by tracing a plate.
To cut a hat shape trace halfway around a plate, then extend lines out to the edge of the page. Finish with a straight cut edge at the bottom.
Offer both shapes to child to arrange a face and hat image. Glue into place on background paper.
Encourage child to draw on features, and to decorate hat with stripes, spots or any decorations they choose.
Suncatchers
Make a little window by sandwiching some collage materials between two pieces of clear sticky vinyl. Hang it in a sunny spot to watch the sunshine stream right through.
Materials:
2 pieces of clear adhesive vinyl (the type you use to cover books), cut to a size that suits your child’s reach
tape
scissors
any collage materials, paper, textile or natural
Adhesive vinyl can be annoyingly curly and tricky to manipulate… but here are my tips:
Cut two pieces of adhesive vinyl
Pre-cut 4 pieces of tape and have them loosely attached to your table edge, ready to use
Carefully peel off the backing paper from one piece of vinyl… as you do this the vinyl will relax and flatten out
Lay this piece of vinyl flat on the table with its sticky side facing up
Secure it to the table by taping down each corner
Offer your child a selection of flat collage materials to choose from, such as the following:
petals and leaves
paper scraps, tissue and cellophane
pieces of wool or fabric
Once your child places their chosen materials onto the vinyl they will magically stick there.
When they’re happy with the way it looks it’s time to top it with the other piece of vinyl. Peel the backing paper from the second piece and carefully lay it on top of your collage so that both sticky sides face each other. Two pairs of hands are extra helpful for this job. Once covered, rub flat hands over the whole surface to seal everything together.
Trim any wonky edges with scissors. You might like to add a paper frame of paper, or simply leave the edges raw.