Anything Can Happen: Remember Hand Shadows?

Did you ever make hand shadows on the wall?  I did.  Winter's early evenings are a great opportunity to teach your children this old time fun. Who knows? You might even rediscover it yourself in the process!

Flying birds are the easiest, but there is a whole world of figures to explore: dogs [see the how-to diagram at right], boys, elephants, rabbits, and many many more.


Click here for a blog with pictures like the one above that will teach you how to help your kids make 5 different hand shadow shapes.

Click here for Henry Bursill's  Hand Shadows To Be Thrown Upon The Wall. Here you can choose from a variety of formats, even slideshow! The free text & illustration version is also available from the Guttenberg project and can be downloaded if you click here.

Google on YouTube for "hand shadows" and you will find a video of Louis Armstrong and friends singing "It's a Wonderful World" with a super sweet baby hand sequence, even a German car commercial based on multiple hands shadows.  And last, but far from least, even if you don't speak the language you can be amazed by the hand shadows in this clip from India's Got Talent tv show.

Go forth and shadow....

Image credits: earlychildcare.wordpress.com