Materials
- Push lights
- Glass Paint
- Mod Podge
I bought this pack of 4 (small) push lights at Walmart for under $4.00. The batteries that come with them are horrible, and we had to replace them the next day but their cheap and work last a while afterwards.
I used glass paint (also purchased at Walmart for under $2.oo a jar). Be aware that slathering on too much paint may cause the push lights to stick after dry. Ours did not, but I can see how it could happen. We also discovered that glass paint apparently doesn’t adhere well to plastic. When we pushed the lights to turn them on/off, some of the paint was peeling off. I sealed it with Mod Podge and it hasn’t happened since.
I initiated this activity by asking my son if he would like to help me put batteries in the new push lights. He played an active role in setting up the entire activity. We took the time to flip through each page of an astronomy book to see which planet he wanted to paint first – Jupiter.
My favorite parts of this activity was the dialogue it inspired, watching my son become so engaged in painting (something he RARELY does), and seeing him glow with pride.We talked about the colors in each planet, he chose the corresponding paints, and he counted out the number of brushes needed. He painted one planet at a time at his own pace.
Its been about a month since we created the planets with push light and today he was finally ready to add the sun. I asked him if he would like to use his book as reference and he said, “No thank you. I know what the sun looks like”.
I used glass paint (also purchased at Walmart for under $2.oo a jar). Be aware that slathering on too much paint may cause the push lights to stick after dry. Ours did not, but I can see how it could happen. We also discovered that glass paint apparently doesn’t adhere well to plastic. When we pushed the lights to turn them on/off, some of the paint was peeling off. I sealed it with Mod Podge and it hasn’t happened since.
I initiated this activity by asking my son if he would like to help me put batteries in the new push lights. He played an active role in setting up the entire activity. We took the time to flip through each page of an astronomy book to see which planet he wanted to paint first – Jupiter.
My favorite parts of this activity was the dialogue it inspired, watching my son become so engaged in painting (something he RARELY does), and seeing him glow with pride.We talked about the colors in each planet, he chose the corresponding paints, and he counted out the number of brushes needed. He painted one planet at a time at his own pace.
Its been about a month since we created the planets with push light and today he was finally ready to add the sun. I asked him if he would like to use his book as reference and he said, “No thank you. I know what the sun looks like”.
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