Sun up, Sun down

From the house

• A flashlight or phone light
• A dim room with a bare wall
• A blanket

How to play

1. Dim the room and sit together facing the wall.
2. Shine the light low on the wall, then slowly slide the spot up: “Sun up. Good morning!”
3. Slide it down and switch it off: “Sun down. Night night.” Snuggle under the blanket.
4. Switch it on again and pop out together: “Morning.” Repeat for as long as they giggle.

Fit it to your child

• Easier: Just switch the light on and off, saying “light” and “dark” each time.
• Harder: They make the Sun come up and go down while you pretend to wake up and fall asleep.

Words to use

• Sun
• light
• dark
• morning
• night night

Why it helps

Pairing light with morning and dark with night gives them their very first idea of day and night.