Sunny fun brightens a wintry day

#Middlebury

The length of daylight is starting to feel a wee bit longer, kites are flying here and there, but cloudy and cold, stormy day weather forecasts are a reminder that spring isn’t quite in our grasp.

Here are some sunshine-themed ideas to boost your mood during remaining wintry, and sometimes gloomy days.

Breakfast Sunny-side Up
On a large sheet of white paper, draw suns and happy faces all over the surface with a yellow marker or crayon. Use it for a place mat at breakfast. Fry eggs sunny-side up and serve in the middle of slices of toast. On a separate plate, enjoy the sunny taste of cut-out sections of a juicy grapefruit. Or, make tasty tropical smoothies in seconds with a combination of frozen mango and pineapple chunks, and fresh banana.

Eva Holmlund, 5, adds details to a sunshine greeting featuring her “sunray” handprints.

Make a Sunshine Greeting
Your preschooler’s handprints are the rays of the sun in this poster greeting to share with a grandparent, aunt or uncle.

• In the center of a large sheet of heavy white construction paper, glue a round, 6-inch diameter piece of yellow paper for the sun (a small salad plate makes a handy pattern).
• Squeeze some bright yellow acrylic paint on a paper plate and dilute with a few drops of water. Stir.
• Place your child’s hand (palm down) in the paint and guide the painted hand to the white paper. With the palm near the center circle and fingers and thumb going outward to represent the rays of the sun, press lightly to create a handprint. Continue making six more handprints equidistant from each other around the “sun.” Let dry.
• Add details for a face on the sun with a dark marker, if you wish.
• For a kind greeting, print “You Are My Sunshine!” or “I hope you have a Sunny Day!” on the bottom, along with your child’s name.

Happy Flowers
Use acrylic paints or paint pens to draw a sun on the outside of an empty, clear jar with the label removed. Let dry. Fill it with fresh, yellow daffodils, daisies or tulips from your market and tie a ribbon around the rim. Give it to your neighbors to make their day sunny, too.

Follow the Sun
At bedtime, check the weather online or in the newspaper to find out what time the sun will rise tomorrow.

Donna Erickson’s award-winning series “Donna’s Day” is airing on public television nationwide. To find more of her creative family recipes and activities, visit www.donnasday.com and link to the NEW Donna’s Day Facebook fan page. Her latest book is “Donna Erickson’s Fabulous Funstuff for Families.”

© 2019 Donna Erickson
Distributed by King Features Synd.