Make a Lego Sundial – Lesson Plans

Kids are usually impressed by the idea that we can tell time using the sun, and making a sundial is a great summer activity that doesn’t have to involve being outside for too long (though it helps if you can go out and check it every hour for a few hours to see the difference as time goes on).

There are some really simple ways to make sundials, such as with a paper plate and a straw (Ontario Science Centre), using a printable clock face (Paging Supermom) or using a cardboard tube (Learn Play Imagine). I like that this one adds the engineering aspect of building the sundial out of Legos.

If you have multiple kids each one can make their own sundial and compare the lengths of the shadows they make at different times of day. They could also place them in different spots where there is more or less sun to illustrate that your sundial needs to be in the sun for you to be able to read it.

You can get all the details on how to build and mark the time on your Lego sundial from MomBrite. And if you want to turn it into a full-on science lesson, you can explain why a sundial works with a little help from Britannica Kids:

The surface of a sundial has markings for each hour of daylight. As the Sun moves across the sky, another part of the sundial casts a shadow on these markings. The position of the shadow shows what time it is.

The post also notes that ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Muslims all used sundials to tell time. And a fun fact for the word nerds: the part of the sun dials that sticks up is called a gnomon. I didn’t know that!

[Photo: MomBrite]

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Lego Building Ideas and Challenges for Summer

The celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe is important throughout Mexico and other parts of the world. Her feast day is Dec. 12, and the celebrations honoring her appearance to Juan Diego in 1531 begin a few days before that.

Whether you celebrate yourself or just want to share about the celebration at home or in your classroom, Las Mañanitas: The Beautiful Celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe is a good place to start. The book, by Ernesto Joel Vega Rosales and Jeanette Gonzalez Seneviratne, with illustrations by Dana Sanmar, tells the story of a family’s celebration of the feast day in both English and Spanish.

They prepare with a novena, which is nine days of prayers and preparations. The children, Lucia and Pablo, are given special outfits made by their grandmother that look like what Juan Diego might have worn when he saw Our Lady. The book describes the prayers that are made each day, such as a prayer for respect for life, for families and for the indigenous people of the Americas, to name a few.

As told in the book, Juan Diego was a native Mexican born near modern day Mexico City. His given name was Cuaauhtlatoatzin, which means “He who speaks like an eagle.” When he converted to Christianity his name was changed to Juan Diego, and as he walked to church he passed a hill called Tepeyac. One day he heard the birds singing especially beautifully and a voice called him to go to the top of the hill.

There he saw Our Lady of Guadalupe, who asked him to tell the bishop she wanted a chapel built in her name at the foot of the hill. The bishop asked for a sign that Juan Diego really saw her, and later she had him collect flowers that she blessed and take them to the bishop. When Juan Diego dropped the flowers, an image of Our Lady could be seen on his cloak, which is still on display in her basilica to this day.

The feast day is celebrated as mañanitas, which includes singing, indigenous music and dancing, and children presenting flowers to Our Lady. Juan Diego is remembered today as being humble, brave and faithful, and was the first indigenous American made a saint.

The book is colorful and tells the story in a clear way, and it’s fun to have it both in English and Spanish if you teach Spanish or speak Spanish at home or in the classroom. It’s a great way to learn the basics of the celebration and the story of Juan Diego and why he is still remembered today.

About the book: 40 pages, paperback, published 2024 by Loyola Press. Suggested retail price $14.99.

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