Play SunSmart

Songs/rhymes

Five little sunhats

Five little sunhats sitting in a row
Blue ones, red ones and one with a bow
Along came ____________ one sunny day
Took a sun hat and went out to play.
(NSW Cancer Council, SunSmart: A resource for preschool and childcare teachers)

Five little children

Five little children playing in the sun
The first one said, 'This is fun'.
The second one said, 'Please take care'.
The third one said, 'Here are hats to wear'.
The fourth one said, 'Let's use sunscreen'.
The fifth one said, 'Now we're a SunSmart team'.

The shining sun

(To the rhythm of 'Rain, rain, go away'. Mime each of the actions as you sing/say the line.)

The shining sun is out today
[lift arms and cross over to create a sunrise]
Put on my hat to go and play
[pretend to put on a broad brimmed hat]
The shining sun is out today
[lift arms and cross over to create a sunrise]
The shade is the best place for me to stay
[create a roof over your head and do a little wiggle]
The shining sun is out today
[lift arms and cross over to create a sunrise]
Put on some sunscreen, that's the way
[pretend to put on sunscreen]
The shining sun is out today
[lift arms and cross over to create a sunrise]
My skin is safe from the sun, hooray!
[crouch down and jump up when saying 'sun' – throw arms up when saying 'hooray']

Creative play

Collages

For collage experiences, provide a selection of different colours and weaves of fabric. Hold them up to the light before pasting to check how much sun protection they might provide.

Clothing design

Design and make SunSmart clothes to paste on a child's body tracing or dress a puppet or cardboard cut-out figure shape.

Dressing up

Provide a basket of SunSmart dolls' clothes and a doll to dress and undress with perhaps a large photograph nearby to indicate the type of scenario the doll is to be dressed for, e.g. a park, the beach, a playground.

The Outside 5

An easy way to remember the five sun protection measures is by associating them with the five fingers on your hand – the Outside 5. You can then do a 'five finger check' each day to make sure you've got all the measures covered.

Draw a large picture of a hand with each finger showing a different sun protection measure – hat, clothing, sunscreen, shade and sunglasses.

Outside 5 jigsaw

Mount an Outside 5 poster on card and laminate. Cut it into jigsaw pieces (sized according to the skill of the children in the group). Provide the jigsaw pieces in a basket on the floor. If children are unfamiliar with the poster, show them a complete poster they can use as a comparison and for reference.

SunSmart wide brimmed cone hat

Cut out a large circle from cardboard (large enough to provide good coverage of the child's head, face, neck and ears). Allow children to paint, draw or paste to decorate. Mark the centre of the circle and cut from the edge of the circle into the centre. Overlap edges to fit the child's head and sticky tape. (Idea from Sue Stanecki, Playgroup Victoria.)

SunSmart stencil art

Download the six SunSmart stencil templates [pdf 21K]. Use strong cardboard to cut out your own stencils. Children create their own SunSmart poster using the six stencils and/or the cut-outs.

SunSmart match-up

Use the cut-out shapes and stencil templates [pdf 21K] used in the SunSmart stencil art activity to create a matching shapes activity.

Shady places

SunSmart shady tree

Download the shade leaf template [pdf 12K]. Copy an assortment of leaves. Cut out the leaves or ask children to do this. Create a 2D or 3D tree trunk using real bark/sticks, a collage of materials or paint. Make sure you have plenty of lower lying limbs on the tree. Ask children to decorate their leaves and attach them to the tree limbs to create a shady tree. Explore any shady trees at the service. What shade do they create? What patterns do the leaves create?

Flowing shade

Ask families for any spare tablecloths, sheets or large pieces of tightly-woven fabric they can spare. Gather some pegs, string and plastic laundry hooks. Children can use the fabrics to drape across various areas to create their own little shady nooks for different play spaces. They can also explore where the shade falls, the effect of the sun's light on the fabric and the different colours and textures created.

Creating shady cubbies

Creating shady cubbies will require different levels of adult support according to the age and skill of the children involved. Like all outdoor workers, cubby builders need to be SunSmart too.

Ensure there is a range of organised, accessible construction materials, such as:

  • outdoor blocks
  • short lengths of timber 1–1.5 m
  • close weave, dark coloured cloths (Old bedspreads or curtains from the op shop will do. Note that lace or loose weave cloths do not offer effective shade)
  • moveable A-frames
  • short climbing planks
  • large cardboard boxes
  • large sheets of cardboard or masonite up to 2 m square
  • bamboo or tea tree poles
  • logs and pegs
  • bulldog clips, shoe laces, thick rubber bands or short lengths of rope for securing.

Consider the most appropriate surface for building on given the materials to be used. Remember outdoor blocks need a very flat surface to be stable, whereas a teepee made from poles lashed together at the top is more stable on uneven ground, such as grass or tanbark.

Some cubbies evolve in a spontaneous fashion on site, some are planned either verbally or on paper, some can be constructed by staff for toddlers and others may be constructed quite independently by a skilled and cooperative group of five-year-olds.

There are opportunties for children and staff to discuss the cubby location in relation to sun and shade at different times of the day, the orientation of the entrance/exit, the size, design, method of construction, choice of materials, etc.

A range of skills and knowledge can be explored through the process of building a shady cubby for sun protection.

Planned experiences

Download the Outside bulletin 2007 Spring insert [pdf 196K] for a list of planned experiences, literature ideas and shadow activities.

 Cover of SunSmart Countdown brochure
Slip on a Shirt Slop on Sunscreen Slap on a Hat Seek Shade Slide on some Sunglasses