Whose Shadow?
Shapes and shadows: a shadow is where something blocks the light, so it keeps the outline.
How it plays
Animals on one side, shadows on the other. Your child taps an animal, then taps its shadow; a match stays together. The shadows are made from the animals' own pictures, so the outline always matches. Three pairs first, then more, up to six, from eight animals.
What it's for
Shapes and shadows: a shadow is where something blocks the light, so it keeps the outline. There is no score to lose and no way to fail: a wrong move is met with a gentle nudge, and a level ends when it's done.
Away from the screen: Shadow puppets
About two minutes, with things most homes have.
- In a dark room, point a torch at a wall.
- Hold a toy between the torch and the wall: there's its shadow!
- Move it closer to the torch, then further away. What happens?
- Make an animal shadow with your hands.
Three questions to ask while they play
- How did you know whose shadow it was?
- What colour is a shadow?
- Can you find your own shadow outside?
Play together
Things to say or ask
- Look at the long beak. Whose shadow has a beak like that?
- The shadow is the same shape as the koala!
Taking turns on one device: One of you taps the animal; the other finds its shadow.
If they find it hard
Trace the outline of the shadow with a finger together, and look for the ears, the beak or the tail.
Every fact, and where it comes from
What Ruby Roo says in Whose Shadow? was checked against the page it links to.
- A shadow forms when an object blocks light from reaching a surface. The closer the object is to the light, the bigger its shadow. (Questacon)
- Moving an object towards the light makes its shadow bigger; moving it away makes it smaller. See-through cellophane lets some light through and makes a coloured shadow. (Questacon)
What it practises
- Noticing what's the same. Looking closely to find two that match.
EYLF 4.2 (Early Years Learning Framework V2.0) - Shapes. Naming and sorting circles, squares, triangles and stars.
AC9MFSP01 (Mathematics, Foundation)
The codes are from the Early Years Learning Framework V2.0 (for children from birth to five) and the Australian Curriculum v9 (Foundation to Year 2). Each links to the official wording. Every skill, and the games for it.
What it costs, and what we collect
Nothing, and nothing. There is no account, no advertising and no tracking of any kind. Which games have been played is remembered on your own device and is never sent anywhere. The full version is here, and it's short.
Where it lives
Whose Shadow? is part of Science Lab. It works on a phone, a tablet or a classroom screen, and once it's been opened it keeps working with no signal at all.
Updated