Skip to the content
Peabody TeachFor teachers and grown-ups

Shadow theme for toddlers: a week of activities

A shadow theme lesson plan for toddlers: what a day looks like, then the week's circle time (two or three minutes, on laps), books, craft, song, snack, letter and outside time, each with what changes at this age.

Plan this week for toddlersThe whole shadow week

A day of the shadow theme with toddlers

  1. Arrival and free play on the floor.
  2. Sing “Hey Diddle Diddle” with actions; repeat it while you change and feed.
  3. Hold and pass something real for the week (light), and say its name.
  4. Snack: a toddler-safe version of frozen banana pops (check the recipe's lines for under-4s).
  5. Outside: a short walk looking for shadow.
  6. Read I See a Boy on laps, pointing and naming.
  7. Nap, then the song once more at pick-up.

Shadow circle time

  1. Hello song: sing hello to each child by name.
  2. Look out of the window together: sun, rain or clouds?
  3. Show the theme: hold up something real and name it.
  4. Sing: Hey Diddle Diddle.
  5. Read: I See a Boy (level 3).

Infants and toddlers: two or three minutes, on laps.

Shadow theme books

  • I See a Boy (level 3, free on peabody.kids): Seeing things: what we need light for.
  • Where Is the Cat? (level 3, free on peabody.kids): Hide and seek: where is it hiding?
  • The Little Lantern (read aloud, level 6): A read-aloud: a small light at night.
  • The Sun Is a Star (read aloud, level 5): A read-aloud: our biggest light.

Infants and toddlers: one book, read every day; point and name.

Shadow craft: Shadow puppets

You need (4): dark card animal shapes (grown-up cuts), craft sticks, tape, a flashlight.

  1. Tape each shape to a stick.
  2. A grown-up shines the flashlight on a wall.
  3. Make the animal's shadow move and talk.

With a grown-up. No heat, nothing hot.

Infants and toddlers: let them touch and hold the materials while you make it; nothing small enough to swallow.

Shadow song: Hey Diddle Diddle

The words

Hey, diddle, diddle, The cat and the fiddle, The cow jumped over the moon; The little dog laughed To see such sport, And the dish ran away with the spoon.

Traditional; public domain. From Top 52 nursery rhymes with lyrics.

Shadow snack

Frozen Banana Pops from the Peabody Kitchen: picture steps, allergy swaps and safety lines on the recipe.

Swap: Yogurt → oat yogurt.

Letter L activities

LlL is for light. Print the two pages (a trace page and a color page).

Infants and toddlers: skip the trace page; show the picture page and say the word.

Outside activity: Shadow tag

On a sunny day: try to step on a friend's shadow. Where does your shadow go in the shade?

Shadow theme for 2 year oldsShadow theme for 3 and 4 year oldsShadow theme, all ages

Checked 2026-10-30