Home » Education & Career » Pagan Homeschooling » Welcoming the Sun Craft Activity

Welcoming the Sun Craft Activity

© Kimberly Moore.

For this activity you will need paper plates, dried beans, peas, or macaroni, glue, and yellow, orange, and red crayons and/or paint.

It would be great to relate through stories how our ancestors perceived the sun. After reading or telling stories about the god Appollo, or the Celtic god Lugh, or any others that you find of personal interest, this craft activity will allow your child to express how she personally perceives the sun.

Take two paper plates and allow your child to decorate it with his sun images. Colour or paint on the designs. Older children may even wish to use paper to create a collage effect. Once the decorating is done, and if painted, the paint is dry, glue the two paper plates together, image sides outwards. Be sure to leave a small opening between the two. Weigh down the edges to ensure good cohesion. Once the glue is dry, take your dry beans, peas, macaroni, et cetera, and carefully place inside the two halves. Now glue the opening shut, once more weing down the edge. Ta da! Your child now has her own sun tambourine to welcome back the sun.

Other great activities for young children include decorating a box. The box becomes the chariot and paper bags or paper plates can be made into sun masks so that your child can "become" the god Apollo as he drives his fiery chariot across the skies. These are so fun that you will find yourself playing along, so cut loose and have fun!

For sites that have information and stories on various cultures and their sun gods, visit the links below. 1. Ra, the Egyptian sun god at http://osiris.colorado.edu/LAB/GODS/re.h... 2. Surya, the Hindu solar god at http://users.hartwick.edu/~hartleyc/sury... 3. Wotan, the Asatru sun god at http://www.asatru.de/ewotsun.htm 4. Fun Myths About Ancient Sun Gods is an article that tells about the Egyptian, Eskimo, and Chinese sun deities at http://familyeducation.com/article/0,112... 5. This is an excellent refernce entitled "The Sun: Man's Friend and Foe- a List of the Sun Gods". Included are as many different cultural beliefs as can be desired, from African beliefs, to the Basque, to the Celts. http://library.thinkquest.org/15215/Cult...