A child held a fish puppet as its shadow formed on the wall and swam past the shadow of a gingerbread man. Above them, the butterfly shadows cast by other children flew by.
The activity involved children making their own shadow puppets and playing with them on the wall as part of a weekly preschool science and math program Tuesday at the Monroe County Public Library. Other activities included light-painting with a flashlight, testing the opacity of objects under an overhead projector and matching shapes with their shadows.
Community engagement librarian Christina Jones said the shadow activity was a distinct learning opportunity for the children attending.
“It’s a simple activity, but the children are learning so much about the properties of light, the position of shadows and the way shadows move and change.” Jones said.
While parent Amber Dhanawade said her children had fun creating and playing with their own horse-shaped shadow puppets, it was the light-painting activity that stood out to her children most.
“They really love playing with flashlights in the dark,” Dhanawade said. “Even at home, they’re always turning the lights on and off. They’re pretty fascinated by it.”
Parent Randi Peach said these programs help build on the natural fascination and curiosity children have. These qualities are why she said she plans to bring her children to more MCPL events.
“They have this natural curiosity in them that really gets brought out in activities like this,” she said. “It helps their curiosity about the world grow.”
Dhanawade said in addition to building this natural curiosity, she wants her children to be exposed to math and science early on. She said son, who will be going to school as a kindergartner soon, is particularly interested in math.
During this formative time in her child’s life, Dhanawade said she hopes he will continue to have fun with science and math, which she said are integral for future success.
“They come here and see how fun science and math can be,” she said. “Then they carry that with them as they go to school.”
Jones said this interest and understanding of math and science can allow for progress in other avenues of learning as well.
“While here, they’re learning vocabulary as well,” she said. “They’re learning how to think through questions and make predictions.”
While the program can shape children’s lives, Jones said it is also an important opportunity for parents to learn and improve their own parenting skills.
The program also allows parents to meet one another and build a support network of parents, Jones said.
But most of all, Jones said the event teaches parents to engage in positive learning interactions with their children.
“We teach parents to engage with their children’s questions,” she said. “We also make the activities a bit too difficult for the kids on their own. That way, the parents are forced to engage and help their kids while they learn together.”
Peach said events like this also help her find ideas for simple things she can try with her children at home. By bringing these learning opportunities home, she said she hopes her child will become a lifelong learner.
“She learns so much, and she really loves to learn,” Peach said. “She always comes home excited to tell her dad what she learned. I hope she can keep that enthusiasm as she grows up.”
She said this program also helps children build connections between concepts in the larger world — a skill that is integral in becoming a lifelong learner.
“She’s like a sponge,” Peach said. “She takes in all this new information about the world and makes connections. She’s learning to question and seek answers and understand.”
