My Shadow Creature — draw and write

My Shadow Creature: illustrated shadow activity worksheet with space for children’s ideas

Look, then try.

Shadows love to pretend. Spread your fingers and wiggle them: a hand can become a bird flapping, a wolf howling or a monster with ten wiggly arms. Lay a toy on its side and its shadow might become a mountain, a boat or a sleeping giant. Move your hands or the light slowly and watch the creature come alive on the wall. Ask a grown-up to dim the room first, keep the torch still or move it gently, and remember to blink and rest your eyes. Give your creature a name and a voice: does it roar, squeak or whisper?

Start drawing and writing below

Open the worksheet to print or save

Move lamps and torches with dry hands and keep them away from curtains and paper. Never look straight into a torch or the sun, and never stare at bright light. A grown-up dims the room and stays nearby, and an adult comes outside with you. Rest your eyes often, and nothing goes near your mouth.

Pen colourPen size

Use a finger, stylus or mouse in each drawing box. Type below it, or ask a grown-up to write your words. Your work stays in this tab. Save before refreshing or leaving.

ACTIVITY 1

Plan my creature

Try some hand and toy shadows. Draw the creature you like best.

My creature is a…It moves like…

ACTIVITY 2

Make it move

Make your creature walk, grow, shrink or fly by moving your hands or the light. Draw it in action.

When I moved my hands…When the light moved…

ACTIVITY 3

Tell its story

Give your creature a name and a tiny story. Where does it live? What does it love?

My creature's name is…Its story is…

Your ideas belong here. There is no score.

What are we learning?

Turning a shadow into a character grows imagination and storytelling. Moving hands and lights to change the picture also builds control and an understanding of how distance changes size.