Did you ever play shadow tag? It’s a chasing game played outdoors. On a sunny day children chase each other trying to step on the shadows of other children.  How about shadow puppets, did you play that? Sometimes on a long car ride, my brothers and I would make shadow puppets on the backs of our parents’ seats. A pretend battle would take place between shadows, and inevitably the battle would carry over into reality when our hands would engage in combat and the shadow play would end.

Flashlights gave us kids the opposite of daytime shadows, and provided even more fun. A flashlight was several things: a light in the dark, a blinding agent for a mean older brother, a light saber (sound effects not included), a bat, a toy, a tool, and above all else a source of power. Everyone wanted a flashlight. I remember begging for a chance to take a turn holding the flashlight, whether we were camping, playing outside at night, or just hanging out.

Once, when I was eight or nine we were outside playing at night. Lots of kids in the neighborhood were out and the parents were all visiting in the front yards. I think everyone was outside because it was an especially busy night for lightning bugs, also known as fireflies. The porch lights were off and the adults had flashlights. The children were running around trying to catch as many lightning bugs as they could. When I got tired I asked the use the flashlight, then took it to the sidewalk. I stood there looking down at my shoes, standing on the sidewalk. I began to slowly walk forward. It was necessary to have the light on the ground because the sidewalk was very uneven due to tree roots.  What I discovered while walking is that I could see, in that circle of light, the texture of the ground move in what appeared to be an extremely fast way. It looked like I was practically flying over the ground. Of course the faster I moved, the faster the ground went by. I was fascinated by it.

The same effect occurs when you’re in a vehicle passing a field and the grass, or crop, moves past your window in a blur. The neat thing about the flashlight, sidewalk and my feet, was that only what was in the circle of light was visible and that even though I was barely jogging, it appeared that I was moving at warp speed.

Fast forward about 17 years. I purchased several flashlights from a discount store and took them to an after school program. We stayed open until 6 pm and during the winter it was dark by 5pm. At that time there were probably 10 children left in care. I handed out the flashlights and took the kids into the outside hallway for space. They played and enjoyed the flashlights, then I showed them what I had discovered as a kid.  They each tried it out, running or walking up and down the dark hallway, squealing and laughing at how fast they appeared to be going. Then the really fun part began as the kids, ages 5-12, discussed why they thought it happened, why some kids felt a little dizzy even while walking slowly, and why the flashlight shined on the wall didn’t have the same effect as it did being shined on the feet and ground.

The flashlights became a regular activity, often being modified and used in different ways. I truly love watching the creativity of children.

A couple of years ago my niece was outside, running around on a sunny day. She was two at the time, and very curious. I was following her and pointed to her shadow. She stared at it for several seconds, then moved on. She stopped often and looked at her shadow, then she began to move her body while staring at her shadow (picture above). It was a joy watching her, and I realized that I am still fascinated by shadows and light.

Activities using light and shadows are almost endless. What are some that you’ve enjoyed over the years?