Make a Lego Sundial

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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Learn about Time for Daylight Saving Time

Leif Erikson Day is celebrated on Oct. 9, and it’s a great time to learn more about the Vikings and why we still remember Erikson all these years later.

If you don’t know about Leif Erikson (sometimes spelled Eriksson), he’s believed to have been born in Iceland, and is considered the first European to set foot on continental America, more than 500 years before Christopher Columbus.

123 Homeschool 4 Me has a printable mini book about Leif Erikson and the Vikings for kids to read and color. It talks about who the Vikings were, what kind of ships they used, how they got to America and more. It’s a good overview for younger kids to use.

A good unit study is available from Simple Living Creative Learning, which includes a page where kids can write what they know, what they want to learn and what they learned through the unit, as well as information on the Vikings, longships, helmets, clothing and more.

Get a printable Viking unit study with reading passages, comprehension questions and other activities aimed at grades 4-8 from Creative Classroom Core at Teachers Pay Teachers. (And see more Vikings content from TPT here.)

Tina’s Dynamic Homeschool Plus has some great unit study ideas, too, including suggested books and videos. The post includes information about the Viking voyages, society, mythology and ships, as well as some vocabulary and a list of famous Vikings. While you’re over there also check out her free printable lapbook, which includes mini books on ships, a timeline, a Viking women coloring page, draw your own Vikings, geography, ancient runes and more.

Piqolo Kids has a lesson on Viking women with (available for purchase) worksheets about a day in the life of Viking women. Even if you don’t grab the printables there’s some good resources on that page and a link to a video on Viking women.

Learn how to draw a Viking ship with instructions from Drawing How to Draw, or grab Vikings coloring and labeling worksheets from Kids Puzzles and Games.

There’s a Leif Erikson Festival annually in Norway, Michigan, which you can learn more about here.

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