Happy Winter Solstice

3 o'Clock Shadow

Nature doesn’t recognize all of the holidays and celebrations that happen at this time of year, but it does notice the winter solstice.  On Sunday, December 21, nature will experience the shortest day of the year and the longest night in the Northern Hemisphere.  It sounds like a sad time for those of us, like me, who enjoy the daylight hours and the ability to get out and enjoy nature.  I have to remind myself that the next day will be a little longer.  So even though the 21^st is a little short, I can still celebrate nature.  Your children can too!

Something fun to do on the day of the winter solstice is to mark your child’s shadow at noon.  Because the sun is at its lowest point in the sky on the winter solstice (due to the tilt in the Earth’s axis), shadows are their longest on this day at 12:00pm in the Northern Hemisphere.  What you can do is find a sunny spot in your yard and place a nice, flat stone on the ground.  Have your child stand on the stone and mark where his or her shadow ends with a stake, stick, garden decoration, etc. (something that you can leave in the ground for months).  It will be a fun place in your yard for your child to visit when playing outside to check where and how long his or her shadow is throughout the year.  If you have a nice garden area for this activity and want to leave it up year-round, you will want to redo the activity every winter solstice as your child grows.  You can make it a tradition to help your child celebrate nature!  And it’s one more way to help children notice the natural changes/cycles of the world around them.

I’d also like to advocate that you do something for nature this winter solstice!  At my daughter’s age, we simply filled our bird feeders, hugged a few trees, and explored our yard looking for signs of winter.  We’re taking small steps for now as my daughter begins to think of ways she can help wildlife at this time of year.  What will you and your children do for nature this weekend?