Sun Art

After school today, Trevi and I ran around in the backyard for a couple of hours, trying to throw a tennis ball clear across the lawn into a ridiculously small bucket. When we got tired of that game, we decided to play trains and magnets in our favorite spot inside by the sliding glass door. As it happened, we were playing in a bright strip of sunlight, and Trevor started to take note of the shadows we were creating with each item we held. He was thrilled to be able to manipulate the shadows, and every 30 seconds or so he would run into another room and bring back something whose shadow he wanted to test. One of those moments of pure childhood joy (and adult awe) happened when he held up a magnet sculpture he had made. The magnet bars were holding together transparent panels of various colors. A shadow with color in the middle appeared on our carpet.
Cranky the Crane managed to hold the magnets and panels upright for sun catching, even though he was wearing an upside-down trestle bridge on his head.
Once Trevor began to imagine the possibilites, he set to work building a bigger and (uncharacteristically) more symmetrical magnet sculpture for Cranky to hold. He also made a nice red crown for Cranky to wear, since his former hat (the trestle bridge) had been moved to a new position to maximize its shadow.
This was an off-the-charts fascinating activity. I dare say Trevi will find himself carpet-painting in the sun strip tomorrow, too.