What your Preschooler will Learn about Sun Painting:

- The suns rays (UV rays) are so strong that they can actually change the color of paper

- The importance of wearing sun-block, hats and sunglasses on hot, bright days

- Shapes

What you Need for Sun Painting:

- A dark piece of construction paper such as black, green, blue, purple or a very dark red

- A sunny spot

- Thin cardboard that can be cut with scissors

- A pen

- Decorative supplies such as paints, chalk, crayons and markers, glitter, glue etc.

What To Do for Sun Painting:

Step one: Draw a few simple shapes onto your thin carboard. Name the shapes as you do this, so your preschooler can learn them. If your preschooler is old enough and has enough dexterity, have them draw their own shapes.

Step two: Cut the cardboard along the drawings. Depending on the scissors and the thickness of the cardboard, an adult may need to do the cutting.

Step three: Place the piece of cardboard on your dark construction paper wherever you want the shape to be.

Step four: Leave your piece of construction paper out in the sun for at least a few hours. The sun will fade the paper not covered by the cardboard, leaving the dark colored shape behind.

Step five: Have your preschooler decorate their sun painting however they want. Let them use their imagination and any decorative supplies you have to create a special art project.

Suggestions:

Start this activity as soon as the sun hits your sunny spot. Depending on your region, this preschool weather experiment may take a couple of days during the winter.

Hi! I'm Theresa Halvorsen, the preschool science and nature writer for Preschoolrock.com. I have twin boys and am blown away by their fascination with preschool science and how the world works around them. I am always looking for fun and simple science activities so preschoolers can learn about science and the natural world. Please contact me with any suggestions, ideas or questions you have about this site.

Helpful Tips for Parents

• Use correct scientific vocabulary from the start: observe, predict, experiment, hypothesis, result, evidence. Children absorb vocabulary in context without explicit teaching.

• Integrate science into daily routines: cooking (chemistry), gardening (biology), building (physics), weather watching (meteorology). A science-rich home requires no special equipment.

• Repeat experiments multiple times. Reliability — the same result happening consistently — is a key scientific concept, and repetition gives preschoolers the proof they find satisfying.

• Accept wrong predictions gracefully — "Interesting! The result was different from what we predicted. Why do you think that happened?" Models scientific resilience.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I build a child's science confidence when they get frustrated by unexpected results?

"Unexpected" is the word to use rather than "wrong" — in science, results that don't match predictions are the most interesting. "The result was different from what we expected — that means we discovered something! Let's figure out why." This reframe makes the unexpected result a success rather than a failure, because it produced a question worth investigating. Science confidence is built by treating all results as valid data, never as failure.

Are commercial science kits appropriate for preschoolers?

Commercial science kits designed for ages 4+ can be engaging starting points. Look for kits that use simple, safe materials and produce visually dramatic results (crystal growing kits, volcano kits, solar system model kits). Avoid kits with very small parts, complex safety requirements, or expected outcomes that are frustrating when not achieved. The best kits are those that leave children wanting to experiment further beyond the kit's instructions — look for kits with extension activities built in.

Related reading: See also our garden science guide and our weather science for more ideas on this topic.

🎓 Skills Your Child Will Develop

• 🌍 Nature Literacy — Learning the names, habits, and relationships of plants, animals, and natural phenomena builds the nature literacy that connects children to the living world and lays the groundwork for environmental stewardship.
• 💬 Science Vocabulary — Science introduces children to precise vocabulary — observe, predict, hypothesis, dissolve, absorb, transparent — that dramatically expands language range and supports the academic vocabulary children need in school.
• 🔄 Flexible Thinking — When an experiment produces an unexpected result, children practice adapting their thinking — a form of cognitive flexibility that makes them more resilient learners across all subjects.
• 🤔 Critical Thinking — Making a prediction, testing it, and explaining the result develops logical reasoning — the ability to move from observation to explanation that underlies all scientific, mathematical, and analytical disciplines.

Use sun painting to create an easy art project that is not only fun, but educational as well. Using the sun, you'll create shapes onto construction paper that you and your preschooler can turn into art. With this fun preschool weather experiment your preschooler will learn about the strength of the sun and why their plastic toys tend to fade if left outside.